Does getting a spray actually ... work?

[Sturty2Hurty]

In most workplaces if your boss walked in and started abusing staff about performance it would be completely unprofessional and counter-intuitive.

By all accounts everyone in the industry sees the afl as a workplace first and foremost - so what’s the difference?

On the flipside there are a few ex-players (particularly Nick Riewoldt) who stress that’s what they needed to perform at their best.

There’s modern examples such as Noble completely butchering a serve and losing the players. Ross Lyon is being considered for the Essendon job is another interesting watch - will the master of the spray manage to turn around Essendon’s lack of standards?

I’d be interested to hear from people who have played footy at whatever level - did you cop a spray? did it work?

Will Jaiden Stephenson be wearing sleeves rd 1 next year?

 

[Kwality]

If you dont like your boss, get a new job.

 

[NorthernBastard]

If it's well-timed and the coach chooses the right target, then it can certainly work.

If it's done every week it will lose value, and if you pick on the wrong person it might not get a positive upturn in performance.

 

[Shane Heard]

As a former coach myself, when the team is obviously not switched on and the intensity and desperation is missing, a halftime spray to remind them what’s required is sometimes good for the players.

You obviously don’t do it to 12 year olds and below, but a short burst of raised voice can work wonders …but not every time.

 

[PhatBoy]

In most workplaces if your boss walked in and started abusing staff about performance it would be completely unprofessional and counter-intuitive.

By all accounts everyone in the industry sees the afl as a workplace first and foremost - so what’s the difference?

On the flipside there are a few ex-players (particularly Nick Riewoldt) who stress that’s what they needed to perform at their best.

There’s modern examples such as Noble completely butchering a serve and losing the players. Ross Lyon is being considered for the Essendon job is another interesting watch - will the master of the spray manage to turn around Essendon’s lack of standards?

I’d be interested to hear from people who have played footy at whatever level - did you cop a spray? did it work?

Will Jaiden Stephenson be wearing sleeves rd 1 next year?

The three best acknowledged coaches in the NRL of the last 25 years are Bennett, Bellamy and Robinson.

Bennett is renowned as being fatherly, calm, and very grounded with all of his players, incredibly protective of them from outside criticism and spares the players from a spray under pretty much all circumstances.

Bellamy while loved by his players and very protective of them too, is famous for giving it to them with both barrels when they stuff up. He doesn’t settle for anything less than perfection.

Robinson is probably the deepest thinker about the game itself and I would say as a tactician is the best of the lot. Like the other two he’s famous for how much he cares for his players and that’s exemplified by the care he’s taken with the string of concussion injuries roosters players have had in recent years and the care he’s taken to nurse them either back into the game, or into retirement.
He doesn’t deliver sprays but he is more sternly worded from what I understand than Bennett. When someone needs pulling into line he will do it privately but defend them publicly. He’s taken a handful of players who were renowned for being dickheads and turned their careers around. Bennett has done similar. Bellamy doesn’t have as good a track record in that respect.

TL-DR: there is nothing wrong with a spray if there is justification for it but the common theme with success is that for every confronting moment there is an equal amount of support and personal care

 

[GeelongFTW]

My take is that sprays work when the 'issue' could be simply fixed with more effort. For example, if the team on the top of the ladder is struggling against a bottom 4 team than a well-placed spray could help them get the game back on track (because they clearly already have the edge in class). But obviously wouldn't work the other way round.

 

[TheGreatBambino]

Rocket Eade said he’d spray Brian Lake

Brian Lake

Age

43

Ht

195cm

Wt

98kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

14.7

4star

K

9.4

4star

HB

5.3

4star

M

6.5

5star

T

1.6

4star

MG

163.0

3star

No current season stats available

D

4.6

1star

K

2.6

1star

HB

2.0

2star

M

1.0

1star

T

0.6

3star

because he knew he’d always respond.

 

[jim boy]

I think the days of the coaches spray extolling his/her players to pull the finger out and try harder are gone. Players need to play to a plan and need to stick to it and not run around like headless chooks pumped up with redbull. The cry of 'Dont think, do!' is very much a relic of a bygone era. But sometimes do need to get their players to wake up and focus and the odd spray can work. For it to be effective though you need two things - the player has to respect the coach, otherwise they will just up being intransigent. And the spray has to come naturally to the coach. There is a place for a gee-up pep talk, but that should really come from the captain or at least within the playing group.

 

[MF]

Much like in a normal workplace, different people are motivated by different things and a good leader knows what they are for the individual.

A coach who goes around losing his shit at every player for every mistake probably won't do too well these days, but there's always going to be players who need it in a competitive environment like the AFL.

 

[Anja_Nees]

I think public humiliation is where some coaches get it wrong.

It wasn’t just Noble - there were reports McKenna got offside badly with a player for blaming him for his old club’s finals losses in front of the group and that Brendan McCartney did something similar before the 2014 exodus.

You can bake a whole group but praise individuals in public and criticise in private.

 

[JackFlash]

Football coaches speak a language that is all their own. It consists of short phrases repeated over and over again that sound as though they should make sense, but when you think about them, really mean nothing at all. Pre game, halftime and QTR breaks, they'll usually just jumble together a mixture of the phrases, "Not in our house!" "Keep your head over the ball!" "Pick up a man", "Stick to the game plan" and "@#$%&!".
The old Barrassi type of spray is long gone and it might've worked in the 70s and 80s, but each team has a number of coaches these days, if anything the head coach might be yelling at them more than the players?
However, in the post-game press conferences, when coaches have to string together coherent thoughts and answer some inane media quaetions, they sometimes run into problems. (Hello Luke Beverage) What we must realise is behind every one of these well trained, highly paid footballing athletes is a wrathful coach with a hair-trigger temper showing them all what temporary insanity is all about. Some respond and play better, some take their bat and ball and go elsewhere only to be confronted by similar insanity. A coach's job is to be the great motivator no matter what club he's at. Not every player will respond accordingly.

 

[00Stinger]

In most workplaces if your boss walked in and started abusing staff about performance it would be completely unprofessional and counter-intuitive.

By all accounts everyone in the industry sees the afl as a workplace first and foremost - so what’s the difference?

In a normal workplace if you broke your nose you wouldn't just patch it up and run back out to work

Same as if you saw a bloke wearing a competitors jumper you wouldn't run up and bump him

A professional sports environment is not really like a normal workplace so the comparisons are stupid

 

[SSSSSS]

Not footy but probably one of the best exponents in the history of sports.

Worked wonders for him. Picked his moments and picked his individuals.

 

[Wojcinski]

Rocket Eade said he’d spray Brian Lake because he knew he’d always respond.

I wonder how his sprays went on Minson

 

[Percel]

Everyone lifted for Carey when he sprayed

 

[zeggie]

I wonder how his sprays went on Minson

damn it, beat me to it, lol.

 

[zeggie]

Everyone lifted for Carey when he sprayed

I think Sturty2Hurty means a verbal spray...

 

[Percel]

I think Sturty2Hurty means a verbal spray...

damn...

 

[GastevsBeard]

Interestingly there was a recent interview with a Cats player (can't recall who) ... & the commentators were goading him for some goss about the coach doing his nana

He mentioned behind closed doors he had never really heard Chris Scott

Chris Scott

Age

49

Ht

182cm

Wt

89kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

16.6

4star

K

11.2

4star

HB

5.4

4star

M

5.1

5star

T

1.6

4star

G

0.4

3star

No current season stats available

D

13.2

4star

K

10.2

4star

HB

3.0

3star

M

2.2

3star

T

2.8

5star

G

0.4

3star

yell - seems to be the culture is shifting

 

[Brown Bottle]

I think the days of the coaches spray extolling his/her players to pull the finger out and try harder are gone. Players need to play to a plan and need to stick to it and not run around like headless chooks pumped up with redbull. The cry of 'Dont think, do!' is very much a relic of a bygone era. But sometimes do need to get their players to wake up and focus and the odd spray can work. For it to be effective though you need two things - the player has to respect the coach, otherwise they will just up being intransigent. And the spray has to come naturally to the coach. There is a place for a gee-up pep talk, but that should really come from the captain or at least within the playing group.

Couldn't agree more Jim. All things that we learn along the way as coaches. You have to know your players well enough for it to mean something to them, and it has to be genuine.

It's my understanding that it's one of the things that made Ross Lyon a great coach - he has a 'contract' with each of his players on what's expected, so that when you're off track and he lets you know about it it's specific and direct.

 

[Shane Heard]

Some bunch of blokes love this sort of stuff and respond accordingly.

Depends what league you’re in and how the general vibe is at the club.


Personally I think this speech is superb. Makes you want to run outside and hit a power pole

 

[Shane Heard]

The “ calling out individuals for their weak as ****ing P effort” spray approach.

I like it. Measured tone without going too ballistic.

 

[Rusty Brookes]

Alan Jeans noted he knew which players would respond to a spray (Dipper), a challenge (Dermott) or encouragement (Buckenara). The smart coaches figure out how each player in their team is best motivated - some will respond to a spray and go out and dominate; others will have their confidence shattered.

 

[Toump Ass]

Love a good spray.
If the wife isn't making eggs nice and fluffy- life is too short for good morning breakfast eggs on Sunday that are just ok, they should be extraordinary- that's a spray.
Customer Service campaigner isn't doing good customer service- that's a spray too.

(I'm happy to cop a spray when deserved too FWIW).

I'm sure it works in sport too I spray players over the boundary line and I've measured performance increases up to 16%.
Fact.

 

[juss]

If it's well-timed and the coach chooses the right target, then it can certainly work.

If it's done every week it will lose value, and if you pick on the wrong person it might not get a positive upturn in performance.

This.

Giving a spray every now and then when the group is particularly lazy or not respecting their opponents can rev them up to perform better. Giving a spray at halftime every week is going to have the opposite effect, not only lose impact but probably just become a shit environment to be in.