Conditioning is an important part of any youth sports program. Athletes benefit in practice and competition from being physically fit. Exercises, drills, and games can be used to achieve new levels of fitness and sport-specific skill development. Various types of running and strength training are part of an athlete's overall development. Using running or any other type of exercise as a punishment, however, can negatively impact the overall strength of the athlete, coach, and team.

"Using punishment with a player who loses a match or makes too many 'mistakes' causes a player to be fearful and anxious and overly concerned with outcome," said Dr. Anne Smith, Wimbledon champion and psychologist. "This is not the best way to coach. It indicates a deficiency in the coach's ability to encourage, empathize, and communicate."

Smith, recipient of the 2008 "Doc" Counsilman Science Award for her contributions in the areas of sports psychology and mental training, suggests that when a coach punishes a player for poor performance, it is a reflection on the coach, not the player.

"Parents should never allow a coach to use any form of punishment with their child," she said.

Physical education researchers Lydia Burak, Karen Pagnano-Richardson, and Maura Rosenthal suggest, instead of using exercise as punishment, coaches should:

1) Create a task-involved, student­centered environment
2) Adopt the FITT principle (frequency, intensity, type, time)
3) Adapt the fitness plan in response to schedule and fatigue
4) Use positive, detailed, timely feedback to increase desired social behaviors
5) Teach for social and personal responsibility, empower students with decision making
6) Focus on the positives
7) Reflect on coaching, class and team performance
8) Foster mutual respect between teacher/coach and student-athlete.

These aspects can create a more positive team environment and reduce the pressure under which young athletes play.

"I've had the opportunity to experience both styles," said Linda Bentzen, parent of a high school athlete in Fountain, Colo. "My daughter cringes when she goes to basketball because the coach is so negative. It puts her in a different frame of mind in playing the game. She is playing under so much pressure in basketball."

This approach, said Bentzen, can jeopardize the young athlete's self­esteem and make them hate the sport. Bentzen's daughter plays basketball and tennis and has coaches on both ends of the spectrum of athlete discipline. One uses exercise, such as running suicides, as punishment, while the other uses player contracts and performance goals, with the goals of accountability and team building.

Performance goals include sport-­specific items, like increasing topspin on a forehand or accelerating the racquet head speed on the serve in tennis. They may also include mental aspects such as staying focused or staying positive throughout the match.

In addition to performance goals, teams can establish player, parent, and coach contracts. Athletes, parents, and coaches collaborate on a list of 'acceptables' and 'unacceptables' when it comes to player conduct on and off the court.

"If a coach involves their players in the running of the team if they make an agreement and know the consequences of breaking a rule, they love it," said Jim Thompson, President & CEO of Positive Coaching Alliance. "You're being clear with them. Either they've helped establish the rules or they've agreed to buy in."

Punishment, on the other hand, said Thompson, can result in athletes losing motivation or even quitting their sport.

"I'm not in favor of punishment period," said Thompson. "Punishment implies something angry and emotional. As a coach you want your players to have a lifetime love of their sport."

Instead of punishment, Thompson uses a three-step approach:

1) Reward what you want
2) Ignore what you don't want
3) When you can't ignore, intervene in the least attention way possible.

Rewarding young athletes progress is one way of encouraging the child to keep working toward their personal goals, regardless of winning or losing the game.

"You want kids to love running, not hate it," said Thompson. "Sports are not just about teaching a kid how to play. It's about learning lessons that will help them be successful in life."