Interview Question

I think you've hit it on the head. Respect your players, demand respect from them and between them. The only thing is that, depending on what racial tensions in the area, you are aware and sensitive to some of those feelings. If there have been issues there in the past with teachers, coaches, or community members then you need to know that. If not, I would think your thoughts are dead on. I taught at a pretty diverse school for several years. One of our assistant principals made a great point. He was an old African American guy, been teaching for years...he flat out said, "Diversity does not come without problems, however, you need to be able to work through them because the positives can far outweigh those issues." Thought that was a great way of putting it. Whether you think of there being any differences or not, that's not the point...there will be kids of any race that will be very aware, possibly hyper-aware, of differences. You as a coach need to be able to get them past that initial awareness.