Player forced to run after missing practice for sickness eli.cranor@gmail.com November 28, 2021 Eli Cranor is a former professional quarterback and coach turned award-winning author. Please use the “Contact” page at elicranor.com to send in questions for “Athletic Support.”

Dear Athletic Support: My daughter missed basketball practice. When she came back, the coach made her run fifteen laps around the gym. Now, that might not sound all that crazy, but here’s the kicker: my daughter was sick! She had a low-grade fever, so she stayed home. I thought the coach would appreciate that. The last thing anyone needs is the whole team getting sick. But no, this coach punished my daughter for doing the responsible thing. My daughter even said she asked her why she was running, and the coach just told her that was the rule. Like that explained it. I’m seriously struggling with what to do here.

— Sick of It

Dear Sick: Back when I was coaching, I had a “makeup” policy for players who missed practice, and yes, that included players who missed for sickness.

I compared it to school. How, when you miss school due to sickness, you still have to make up the work.

My “makeup” consisted mainly of running extra after practice. I wasn’t trying to be mean, I really wanted my players to stay in shape. I wanted the players who were at practice to see that anyone who missed would have to do something to account for what they missed the day before.

Lou Holtz once said, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch,” and if I had to guess, the old ball coach was probably talking about something like this, talking about practice.

Dear Athletic Support: I played basketball in high school. We were good. Really good. Like, only-lost-one-game-my-senior-year good. But I’m a dad now, and my son is the one out on the court, and his team will be lucky to win a game. Period. The worst part? The coach doesn’t seem to care. They lost a game the other night, and as soon as it was over, all the kids were laughing and goofing off. Back when I was playing, if we lost a game, nobody laughed. Heck, nobody talked for the whole bus ride home. It’s all just so different. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how I can help, or how to talk to my son after they lose every game. What’s my role supposed to be as a dad for a team like this?

— Losing Isn’t Fun

Dear Losing: The easy answer here is that, regardless of the wins or losses, your role as a parent shouldn’t change.

Sounds simple enough, but it’s not really true.

Your role does change. It’s much harder to be a parent — a player or coach — on a losing team. The practices and the season drag on forever. Every little problem is magnified. A lot of kids quit.

Which is probably why your son’s coach takes it easy on the boys and lets them goof off after the games. If he made them ride home in silence like back in your glory days, everyone would be in for one long ride.


Previous columns:

• Volunteering at tournament no fun
• Not enough help with Booster Club
• Hoping my son quits basketball
• I wish my son practiced less
• When should my son start football?
• No ‘bad faces’ in basketball
• Son wants to join football team midway through season
• Housekeeper can’t make daughter’s game
• Auditions getting in the way of volleyball
• Foul language on the sideline
• Laundry Stinks
• Fit more important than price when it comes to cleats
• Facebook ads and too many practices
• Coach pushing vaccine on players
• Youth sports like a cult
• Coach’s pregame speech too crazy for kids
• Championship rings and multiple sweatbands — too much?
• Working out over the Dead Weeks?
• Summer School Blues
• Practices running late causing problems
• Softball games going past midnight
• Are athletes getting better with age?
• Are team sports a vital part of childhood?
• Summer schedule way too serious
• What if I can’t afford private speed camps?
• Quarterback lacks speed
• Should pro athletes talk politics?
• How to take a hit
• Wrestling in college, what’s the point?
• Removal of mask requirement could cost us games
• Overachieving daughter stinks at sports
• Why are we playing all the small schools?
• Freshmen don’t make varsity, usually
• Kids have changed, haven’t they?
• Esports and disc golf bigger than football?
• Little pitchers have big ears
• Pregame music offensive
• Fouls in girls basketball
• Red Shirting
• Coach makes political post
• 7th grade girls basketball woes
• Multi-million-dollar buyouts don’t make sense
• Private schools have the upper hand
• Best of 2020

Athletic Support Columns 2020


Outside of athletics, kids’ brains are also at risk. Who knows what sort of impact virtual learning will have on their cognition and critical thinking skills. In this regard, I offer one simple tool — a good book! And luckily, I know just the book for kids struggling with the shift to virtual learning:

BOOKS MAKE BRAINZ TASTE BAD! Okay, you caught me… I’m the author of this book. It was published last week and awarded a #1 New Release ranking on Amazon. BMBTB deals directly with the same topic covered in this column, except in a much more lighthearted, kid-friendly way (zombie teachers and brain-munching screens!) If you end up purchasing this book for your children or grandchildren, I only have one final suggestion — ask them to read it while standing up! Eli Cranor's new book Books Make Brainz Taste Bad has just been released. ZOMBIES HATE BOOKS! Especially the zombie teachers at Haven Middle School. That's why they're using VR headsets to fry kids' brainz. Luckily, Dash Storey knows how to save his classmates from the zombie teachers—BOOKS! They make brainz taste bad! "Eli Cranor has an almost unbeatable advantage. He can remember how it felt to think like a twelve-year-old and he can see the very same events like the adult he is. Don't try to resist this book!" - Jack Butler, Pulitzer-Prize nominated author