Harsh or tyrannical treatment

The following quote is memorized by all classes of cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Read it as applied to children, not soldiers, a youth team, not an army. The principle is the same though the audience different.

The discipline which makes the soldiers of a free country reliable in battle is not to be
gained by harsh or tyrannical treatment. On the contrary, such treatment is far more
likely to destroy than to make an army. It is possible to impart instruction and to give
commands in such manner and such a tone of voice to inspire in the soldier no feeling
but an intense desire to obey, while the opposite manner and tone of voice cannot fail to
excite strong resentment and a desire to disobey. The one mode or the other of dealing
with subordinates springs from a corresponding spirit in the breast of the commander.
He who feels the respect which is due to others cannot fail to inspire in them regard for
himself, while he who feels, and hence manifests, disrespect toward others, especially his
inferiors, cannot fail to inspire hatred against himself.



Major General John M. Schofield
Address to the United States Corps of Cadets, 11 August 1879


Proposed youth team version (with apologies to Schofield):
The discipline which makes the players of a free team reliable in the game is not to be
gained by harsh or tyrannical treatment. On the contrary, such treatment is far more
likely to destroy than to make an team. It is possible to impart instruction and to give
commands in such manner and such a tone of voice to inspire in the player no feeling
but an intense desire to obey, while the opposite manner and tone of voice cannot fail to
excite strong resentment and a desire to disobey. The one mode or the other of dealing
with teammates or players springs from a corresponding spirit in the breast of the team captain.
He who feels the respect which is due to others cannot fail to inspire in them regard for
himself, while he who feels, and hence manifests, disrespect toward others, especially his
players, cannot fail to inspire hatred against himself.