college soccer and alcohol

[Frank Wedemeyer]

For those of you out there that are or have been college coaches, how have you handled the issue of alcohol within your teams? I am interested in anything from policies to penalties to team dynamics.
thanks! Lang

[Dustin Sparks]

A typical rule that was instituted when I played was the 48 hour rule, meaning that student-athletes cannot consume alcohol within 48 hours of a match. I have also heard of a 3 strike policy for offending student-athletes, on the 3rd offense the player is removed from the team.

[Heath Oberle]

When I played, as well as the programs i have coached, we had "Dry seasons". By this, I mean drinking of any alcohol was prohibited while in season. I am not naive enough to believe that this happened for the teams I have coached (as I know it was never a completely dry season when I played), but I believe that setting this precedent is important. Myself or the head coach has always explained our reasonings and sited the negative physical affects it has on the the players as well as the potential social issues that it could occur that will mess with the team dynamics. I remember my college coach saying this and I have used it every year since, "If you can't go a few months without alcohol you have a problem that we need to address beyond soccer"