LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Need a mentor? Have something you need to discuss? Did you know you could reach out to the NFCA's WISE Cabinet?
The idea came out of the Emeriti meeting at a recent NFCA Convention, and the group is comprised of a select number of NFCA Emeriti members.
The WISE Cabinet’s purpose is to preserve and promote the culture of integrity, respect, collegiality, and sportsmanship in softball as well as to provide individualized services to members.
The cabinet is available to member coaches seeking advice or guidelines on how to navigate various situations or professional circumstances. As an extension of the NFCA’s Ethics Committee, Emeriti will educate and mentor when an ethical concern or question is submitted to the Association by a member.
“The WISE Cabinet was developed to address concerns among the coaches about certain ethical issues within our game that go unaddressed,” noted NFCA Hall of Famer Linda Wells, who was one of the Association’s founding members in 1983. “The role of the Wise Cabinet is to manage submissions of (bad) sportsmanship, behavior or language that is of concern to the Ethics Committee, but believed to be best handled through the Wise Cabinet.”
“The purpose is to utilize the knowledge, experience and influence of members of the committee to educate, discuss and parent some of these issues. The Wise Cabinet will designate a member to contact the coach with any questionable ethical issue and adjust the behavior through discussion and education. These are calls to point out areas which could use improvements to meet the general standards of sportsmanship and professionalism expected of an NFCA member coach.”
“We wanted to be a step a coach could use prior to filing an ethics issue,” Hall of Fame former Michigan State coach Jacquie Joseph explained. “A resource for any coach facing an issue they weren’t sure where to go with.”
“We are all more than happy to help. I think no one coaches alone. So, if they don’t already have a trusted colleague they can call, I think this would be an excellent resource for them.”
Fellow NFCA Hall of Famer Dee Abrahamson, known maybe more for her long (and continuing) service to the NCAA, first as Softball Secretary-Rules Editor and now as the NCAA’s Softball Equipment Consultant, than her equally-successful run as a coach and college administrator, agreed.
“Take advantage of this NFCA resource just as you do for the obvious ones of softball skill instruction, teaching tips, team building and professional development,” she said. “We have so many Emeriti members, who, while they are retired from coaching, are still actively involved in the sport and willing to listen and offer suggestions or refer NFCA members to people they know who might be able to be helpful.”
“There are NFCA members who might want to brainstorm about their concerns with colleagues who are neutral parties,” Abrahamson continued. “We want to be a safe resource for members to explore opportunities, express concerns or learn about the historical backstories of issues of interest to them or important to their programs.”
“The WISE concept has tremendous merit as a non-punitive resource available to mentor and guide coaches who may be close to crossing the line,” NFCA Hall of Famer Marge Willadsen explained. “Younger coaches may need guidance when faced with situations they have not experienced or may not even realize either the consequences of their actions or that they may be crossing the line, whether on or off the field. As Emeriti, we have both the time and experience to mentor and guide them without assessing punitive action.”
“This opportunity to enhance our coaching ideals/values cannot be overlooked. They are the values we must instill in our athletes and ourselves.”
“I would love to see more coaches using this resource as an aid to help maintain integrity and ethics in competition and recruiting,” longtime coach, mental game guru, clinician, athlete advisor and NFCA Board of Directors member Karen Linder noted. “Reach out and have a conversation with experienced members who can help gain insight into how to deal with challenging situations.”
“I believe the goals we have center around using our educational, competitive and longevity experiences to do a little ‘coaching the coach,’ Wells added. “Some of the issues likely to be included are trash-talking an opponent, intentional moves to put an opponent in danger, a coach exhibiting verbal abuse, losing emotional control or attempting to circumvent the rules of the game. Your submission will be confidential, and you will be doing your team, the NFCA, and the game a favor.”
It is encouraged that suspected ethics violations be emailed to the NFCA Ethics Committee at ethics@nfca.org or submitted via the WISE Cabinet request form
for confidential review. For additional information, click the following helpful links:
