Some programs just not worth it??

WOW. I would say tough it out as best as possible. Remember that it is your dream to be a HC and this situation is a eye-opener to me that every job that I submit for may not be the best but to make the best out of it. I really wish you luck man...

Well the one thing I have learned.. being the header has LITTLE to do with actual football..

If it was just the football I was worrying about.. I could overcome.. its all of the other problems that take away from football..

I find myself looking forward to the end of the season.. and that is just not me..

I feel that in the right situation I could blossom as a head coach.. but this place might just be a career killer.

Wow, your in a pickle.

I would take some time and reflect on this whole situation and really try and do a self assessment.

I only know the situation from what I have read on this board, but here is my take, and please forgive me in advance if this sounds a little harsh:

-You had a problem with another coach and words exchanged after the game that you wish you never said. You were written up for inappropriate conduct.

- You have had a tough time getting kids to buy in to the program. A 50% drop off rate is an indication something is not well.

- You have not been able to build the trust and support of the principal.

- You have not been able to build the trust and support of the boosters.

- You[/b] have kids conducting themselves in embarrassing and unsportsmanlike conduct.

- You are the head coach.

It seems to me that you have to figure out whether it's a bad situation or if you could be part of the problem.

I'm not saying you are a terrible coach or created the situation entirely. Just wondering if there are choices you could have made to create a better outcome.

It seems to me the choice is whether to hang in there and try to do things to fix the situation, or whether it's truly hopeless and time to move on and learn from this situation.

I'm coaching with an OC this year that is a former HC. He is going to help us win our league title and we got a shot to go a few rounds in the post season. He's a great coach, but he's been in a couple of tough goes as a HC. I think he'd be the first to admit that if he had to do it over again he would have done a lot of things differently. He decided to step back in order to move forward again. I think that's a great option in some cases.

Something to think about. Not trying to bust your balls. I've read your posts and your a guy who cares and wants to be a great coach. I apologize if I'm way off base.

Coach there is no doubt there are several things I could have done differently..

but.. at the same time.. the reason this post has come up.. I have been questioning myself for the last several weeks.. and I am finally stepping back and looking at the big picture..

1 winning season in 10 years..

3 HC's in 3 years..
The last HC quit the night of game 10.. did not even return to school the next Monday.. Quit teaching.. everything..

0 peices of good solid weight equipment in the weightroom. Lots of old fitness center hand me downs..

Had 1 home game this season where we came out with $190 after paying officials. Have roughly $5000 in the account after playing 5 home games and not purchasing ANYTHING other than pregame meals.

These kids view football as something they do for fun.. if its too hard they dont view it as fun anymore and they quit. If they are not starting they do not view it as fun.. and they quit..

Hard to recruit kids out and get a solid commitment from them.. because if it gets too hard.. their original reason for not coming out comes back and they quit.

I probably have 4 or 5 kids that would do ANYTHING I said they had to do to play this game.. the other's.. would just walk away..

So with that you have to be careful of the way you handle them in certain situations..

I know I am not the only one in this situation.. but I dont think I am good enough to make it work in its current setting.. So either I need to make the situation here change.. or change my situation.

Air, sometimes things have to get much worse before they can get better. You need a plan and you and your assistants must stick to the plan. Do you have a vision for the program? if so, stay the course and keep your mouth shut. Loose lips sink ships and you are better off keeping all of your program problems "to the family" so that the boosters and principal etc will not micromanage your program.

you did the right thing by cleaning out the "dead wood" and you are better off with those 25 kids who want to play in YOUR program. It will be YOUR program until they buy in totally, then and only then will it be THEIR program. The selfish kid who quit was a cancer and you are better off without him.

Its not about one kid, its not about one year, it has to be about where you want the program to go over time. rome was not built in a day. this is your first year with alot of the left over problems and toxicity from prior staff. do it you way but keep it in the family. my suggestion, tell the kids "its us against the world" and use that to motivation to win the next two games. Your numbers will grow if you remain upbeat and positive. forget kids who arent there, do not talk about them. coach up the ones who are there and celebrate their courage and tenacity.

Airraider,

I have been following all your posts on your situation. It seems to me that the season has not gone as you had planed and you are felling a bit in the dumps about it. You are still in the season and you shouldn’t make any decisions till after it’s over and you can sit back and reflect on what happened with out emotion involved.
Remember, you wanted to be a head coach, you knew the situation at the school, you wanted to turn the program around and get it heading in the right direction.
I have read many times on this board from coaches who posted about rebuilding that things will get worse before they get better. How coaches lost their whole team and played with the few who stayed… How the weight room had nothing ect….
You said you now have $5000 in the account… if I remember correctly you had nothing when you started.
Last year this team scored 98 pts and had 381 scored on them this year so far PF 108 and PA 231… that’s an improvement. You have stated they are much improved from last year, if so then you are headed in the right direction.
Form a plan of action.
Coach who you got, Get the weight room going before or after school in the off season (be creative if you have no equipment, check craigslist for cheap stuff, and old rusty 50lb weight is still 50lbs.. and paint does wonders), get recruiting, get fundraising….. most importantly get the school, boosters, kids and faculty, on your side… do this by showing them you care and are not going to leave the first chance you get like the coaches before you. Try to get the principle on your side again, don’t sign anything where you would be financially liable but work him or her with kindness, and show them you are serious about turning around the program. Also look at things from where the principal is coming from, he has seen coaches come in and leave the program in shambles. He said: “I hired you” well if he did he wants you to do well, no one who hires someone wants them to fail, it looks bad on them.
Like the others said, talk with your coaches…try to bring in more.
I know you did not think it was going to be easy… and the grass will always be greener. But look at some of the positives where you are at, you will always get some athletes, especially for your offense, and the program has nowhere to go but up. Also next year you have another chance at the coach who got you written up. You are the HC of a program, what you wanted.

Good luck whatever your choice

Coach D, please expand, am interested in your thoughts here

air you mentioned something i learned the hard way.....

being the header isn't about being the one to hold the dry erase marker.......

it's about making sure you have all the tee's on the bus.........getting the trip ticket from the transportation office.........does the 2nd team linebacker have a belt?.........one of the assistants had a flat, he'll be late for practice......

i found very few problems with the x's and o's............

I get VERY excited about the possibilities.. I get very distracted about the probable road blocks..

I am going to just keep my nose to the grind.. and do what I feel is right.. and not back down on what I think is right.. if they push me to the edge.. then I will jump.. but until then.. I will guide this ship..

Coach - I am not a HC nor have I ever been one. However, I have coached long enough now to see programs that have struggled despite having some pretty good coaches. It is easy for coaches to get on here and tell you that you need to take a look in the mirror when they have never experienced the exact same circumstances. I have seen average coaches who look like great coaches because of the athletes and the community/administrative support. I have seen very good coaches struggle because they lose athletes to other schools and do not have any community/adminsitrative support.

Finish the season and take a look at what you can change and what you cannot. If you don't like what you see....then I would cut my losses and move on. You may have made a mistake in accepting the position but it does not mean you have to compound it by staying. Just my 2 cents.

My theory is life has no reset button like their video game- don't like hao things are going start all over again.

They don't have to face adversity or take responsibility for their mistakes or failures in their video game world they just push the reset button.

That and not as many parents see quitting as something that is just not acceptable- there's no preasure from them to see things out.

Air,

I am going to try to take a different approach.

I may not have all the answers (for that matter any answers) but I have been where you are right now. I became a young head coach with very little experience, and quite frankly wasn't ready for it. But here I am 4 years later, taken a team with 10 wins in 12 years and now we are 8-1 with an opportunity to win a conference championship for the first time in almost 40 years.

My first two years were about as awful as an experience as I have encoutered. Some of it my fault, some of it because that is the way it has been for many, many years before I got here. I had drunk parents chewing my A%% on the sidelines before games, to kids not showing up to practice or games, had athletes starting fights, spitting on a referee's shoe, etc. You get the point. A lot of the "cancers" left the team either by their choice or by my choice.

Now to my point, knowing that I was really inexperienced, but eager for the challenge, I set out to become the best coach I could and turn this program around. It has not been easy, but I stuck to my guns and brought my philosophy with me. I have been ridiculed through the course of my time here more than anyone should be in their entire life, but I made a choice to stay. WHY you may ask? Because, I wanted to be the first person at this school in many, many years that turned a dreadful football program into something special. I wanted to sit back and extend each one of the people who doubted me, my staff, and my philosophy "the international peace sign" after I turned this around. This years happens to be that year, where I can just do that.

It has been a constant struggle everyday. I doubted myself, I doubted whether I made the right move, but I stuck it out. I wanted (maybe a little ego) to be the one (along with my coaches who started with me) to turn this around. Hopefully that made sense, kind of rambled on.

Work through the adversity, stay and be successful DESPITE the principal and boosters.

Air,

If you would have just installed the DW from the start you wouldn't have any of these problems.... ;D
Programs aren't built in one season, win the little battles first program wise and get some momentum, then it will carry onto the field.
No weight room, then improvise. There were strong people long before weights were invented, flip tires, push cars, lift rocks, toss hay bales, carry logs, row boats through the swamp...LOL, wheel barrows, whatever, create mental toughness by overcoming adversity.
I've coached at 4 different inner city schools, and its tough. The key is getting kids to buy into ownership in the program. This comes through little steps of trust, but once they "own it", then watch out. Stick it out, develop your core kids, and others will buy in. Its a process, but worth it in the end. As far as the admin, he needs kicked in the nuts. My advice is to keep your books seperate from him so that he doesn't go to Tahiti on your dime....