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Post by hlb2 on Jan 6, 2009 8:31:34 GMT -6
Coaches,
I guess for a guy that is 32 years old, I'm old-fashioned according to some of the players and my assistants in that I don't allow players to dress any way they want to on game day (uniforms). What I mean is, I have a policy of no wristbands (other than those provided), no arm bands, white socks only, and I do not allow the players to spat their shoes unless told so by a trainer. I'm of the thought process "nobody is greater than the whole" and to me, all this adornment is doing just that, it brings attention to you and not us in my opinion. The players and some of the coaches are in disagreement and they say "when you look good, you play good" to which I say b.s. and go along my way. However, an 0-10 first season will really get you thinking!!! Was I off, should I be more leniant? Am I being to hard on them by not allowing them to be individuals that are a member of a team? I'm sure this goes deep into the psychological aspect of coaching young men, to which I am, by far, no expert (yet willing to learn) and I was wondering what most of you do when it comes to this sort of issue?
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Post by knighter on Jan 6, 2009 9:09:30 GMT -6
You can only be who you are, and you can only believe in what you believe. You be you hlb2, kids will eventually buy in if you stick to your guns.
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Post by coachjd on Jan 6, 2009 9:10:28 GMT -6
If this is what you believe in then stick to it. The Federation rules say you cannot have a wristband no higher than 3" from the thumb, so the little all show 1/4" wristbands cannot be worn.
We tell all our kids that they all must have black shoes. I don't care what brand and they can have white or gray, but the shoe must be black. All of our kids must wear all purple socks.
This year we went away from introducing individuals at the beginning of the game. We introduce the team. Some kids did not like it, but the majority did. I don't care what the kids think when it comes to these type of decisions. Is this what is best for the program in the long run? I would say in our situation -- YES.
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Post by phantom on Jan 6, 2009 9:58:05 GMT -6
Coaches, I guess for a guy that is 32 years old, I'm old-fashioned according to some of the players and my assistants in that I don't allow players to dress any way they want to on game day (uniforms). What I mean is, I have a policy of no wristbands (other than those provided), no arm bands, white socks only, and I do not allow the players to spat their shoes unless told so by a trainer. I'm of the thought process "nobody is greater than the whole" and to me, all this adornment is doing just that, it brings attention to you and not us in my opinion. The players and some of the coaches are in disagreement and they say "when you look good, you play good" to which I say b.s. and go along my way. However, an 0-10 first season will really get you thinking!!! Was I off, should I be more leniant? Am I being to hard on them by not allowing them to be individuals that are a member of a team? I'm sure this goes deep into the psychological aspect of coaching young men, to which I am, by far, no expert (yet willing to learn) and I was wondering what most of you do when it comes to this sort of issue? We do it the same way. |
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Post by bigdog2003 on Jan 6, 2009 11:32:48 GMT -6
We do white shirt under jersey, white socks. They wear their jersey to school on game day, but only if they were a white shirt under it.
Our varsity coach has just started allowing players to wear the under armor type skull caps under their helmets. He would always tell guys I played with to get the condom off their head when they would try and wear one. I guess after 20 years as a head coach at one school you start to be more leanient. But, I graduated in 03 so that isn't that long ago.
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Post by CoachMikeJudy on Jan 6, 2009 12:01:49 GMT -6
I used to be a stickler on the off-the-field gameday atire; shirt & tie for away games/jersey tucked in for home games...
Now that I look at things-
If it doesn't help focus my guys or win why bother?
Tradition? Maybe...
Just for my benefit? I can adjust...
I just found that it became more of a distraction to ask my kids to round up a shirt and a tie, khakis, etc...(which btw none of them had anyway and most didn't have a dad to borrow them from)
I do think that we should wear program atire- but that would change if we couldn't provide the kids with at least 1-2 shirts each year...
Game Uniform- I'm with phantom and the others...
UNiform mean similar- either we all do it or nobody does it...
No forearm/elbow/chin bands. Same color socks a must, either all high or all low. Same color cleats are highly encouraged (out of our control sometimes)
No SPATTING- tape get's wet and heavy, our trainer is on board with spatting
Captains had the choice of high or low socks- decision is made in camp and we stick with it.
Gloves have to be NCAA approved...
Ohh- JERSEYS TUCKED IN-NO SLOP BUCKETS ALLOWED- IF YOU'RE TOO FAT FOR THE JERSEY THEN YOU NEED A NEW NUMBER
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Post by aztec on Jan 6, 2009 12:32:39 GMT -6
Game day attire for us is shorts or jeans with the game day polo with our logo on it.
Uniform- white socks no higher than the bottom of the calf. Black cleats spray painted gloss black (we provide the paint each week). No spats, no wristbands, none of those armband things that look like evening gloves that women wear. We all look the same game night. No names on jerseys, no helmet awards, it is about the team and not the individual.
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Post by groundchuck on Jan 6, 2009 12:41:22 GMT -6
I don't get into what they wear to school as long as it looks nice.
We wear high black socks. Wristbands are fine so long as they conform to the Federation rules.
I did not specify show color to them but they all wore black anyway.
We did pregame introductions this year (first year at school) b/c it was what was done in the past. I don't have a problem with it. I have actually done it both ways. It is something I plan on talking with my captains about this off-season.
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Post by bigdog2003 on Jan 6, 2009 13:06:53 GMT -6
Ohh- JERSEYS TUCKED IN-NO SLOP BUCKETS ALLOWED- IF YOU'RE TOO FAT FOR THE JERSEY THEN YOU NEED A NEW NUMBER We had a kid on the varsity team two years ago that was 6'8 380 pounds, he played DT. How do you handle that situation? |
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Post by superpower on Jan 6, 2009 13:08:47 GMT -6
. Black cleats spray painted gloss black (we provide the paint each week). Coach, when do you paint the cleats? I love this idea. Also, how much $$ does it take for paint throughout the season? |
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Post by coachjoe3 on Jan 6, 2009 13:13:59 GMT -6
Coaches, I guess for a guy that is 32 years old, I'm old-fashioned according to some of the players and my assistants in that I don't allow players to dress any way they want to on game day (uniforms). What I mean is, I have a policy of no wristbands (other than those provided), no arm bands, white socks only, and I do not allow the players to spat their shoes unless told so by a trainer. I'm of the thought process "nobody is greater than the whole" and to me, all this adornment is doing just that, it brings attention to you and not us in my opinion. The players and some of the coaches are in disagreement and they say "when you look good, you play good" to which I say b.s. and go along my way. However, an 0-10 first season will really get you thinking!!! Was I off, should I be more leniant? Am I being to hard on them by not allowing them to be individuals that are a member of a team? I'm sure this goes deep into the psychological aspect of coaching young men, to which I am, by far, no expert (yet willing to learn) and I was wondering what most of you do when it comes to this sort of issue? I always thought if a kid had a few bells and whistles on his uniform, he felt good and that contributed to the confidence you need to play good. But as a coach you stick to your beliefs. And if those beliefs change over time, you stick to those changes too. We all evolve in our coaching philosophies from time to time with what is important to us personally. |
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Post by coachbdud on Jan 6, 2009 13:26:24 GMT -6
we pretty much say do whatever. If a kid thinks he looks good then hey maybe like coachjoe3 said maybe he will have more confidence on the field.
In comparison my uncle coaches at a nearby HS and they are really strict on this, every kid has to wear black cleats or he doesnt play. To me its not a big deal what they wear, just how they play
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Post by aztec on Jan 6, 2009 14:05:54 GMT -6
. Black cleats spray painted gloss black (we provide the paint each week). Coach, when do you paint the cleats? I love this idea. Also, how much $$ does it take for paint throughout the season? We paint them game day about 2-3 hours before we leave to our game. We don't have an on campus stadium. I buy the $.99 cans at Home Depot and normally it runs us about $45-$50 for the season. The paint can dry with in 15-30 min of painting. |
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Post by superpower on Jan 6, 2009 14:10:19 GMT -6
Thanks for the info, Coach.
The image of the painted black cleats in my mind reminds me of Mike Tyson in his glory days - solid black shorts, no socks, black boxing shoes - all business!
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Post by hlb2 on Jan 6, 2009 14:34:10 GMT -6
Wow! Thanks guys, I appreciate all the information.
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Post by airman on Jan 6, 2009 14:39:28 GMT -6
I am a stickler I admit. I expect a shirt, tie, dress pants and dress shoes on game day. I do let them wear their game jersey over the top. No ear rings or othe pericings of any kind.
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Post by seagull73 on Jan 6, 2009 14:55:08 GMT -6
I don't dictate shoe color. We usually have to give a kid or 2 a pair every year that were left behind because of lack of money. My rule is you can't wear anything that says "hey look at me". This includes those under armor bands, unnecessary tape jobs, visors of any kind & different color socks.
The kids can't stand it. The want to wear 1 red sock & one blue sock & other ridiculous stuff. I think it is a fight worth fighting. How often do you see other teams wearing this stuff and think about how stupid in makes the team look.
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coach11
Sophomore Member
Posts: 162
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Post by coach11 on Jan 6, 2009 15:25:47 GMT -6
For gameday, I have always liked the "wear your jersey and jeans!" Don't wear your under armour stuff under your jersey, or 6 different wrist bands, and no "bling" to school. On game night, I don't mind the wrist bands as long as they meet the rules and many of our kids spat, which I don't mind, but it better be the same color spat on both shoes. One of these days I'm going to ask someone to get us some team shoes. I do want our kids to wear white socks that you can see, not those ankle socks. I like the thought that I want our kids to feel like they have confidence.
A kid told me a couple of years ago, "coach if you look good, you play good." Thought it was stupid at the time, but now I think that if a kid needs that, then get after it.
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Post by chadp56 on Jan 6, 2009 16:26:06 GMT -6
I am a stickler I admit. I expect a shirt, tie, dress pants and dress shoes on game day. I do let them wear their game jersey over the top. No ear rings or othe pericings of any kind. This is how I feel. I think part of learning to become a man is learning how to dress up in a shirt and tie. I let them wear there jerseys with dress pants for school on homecoming. I think I'm going to allow the jersey over top for senior night this year. Funny story, when I was in high school we got a new coach my senior year. He told us we didn't have to wear a tie. When we showed up for school the principal (who 25 years earlier had been the coach for a short time and who played O-line in the Big 10), told us to go home and get a tie or we wouldn't be playing! I love that kind of tradition, you can't create that overnight! |
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Post by mariner42 on Jan 6, 2009 16:31:03 GMT -6
I've been under head coaches that have gone both ways on it. One followed the rule that as long as it was legal by the rulebook, you're fine to wear it. The other chewed a kid out for having receiving gloves on.
My thoughts on the matter are that you should look CLASSY in your style, as a coach and a player. Tucked in, fitting, matching, appropriate attire at all times, presenting yourself as a class act and model citizen. I hate sloppy uniforms, mis-matching colors, untucked undershirts, necklaces, 'livestrong' type bracelets, unnecessary taping, scrubs with $200+ outfits while starters only have handouts, and much, much more.
That said, bottom line is that we have enough conformity within the sport of football and what we have these young men do that I feel a certain degree of freedom should be granted to the athletes to express themselves as individuals. Were I a head coach, I would make it explicitly clear to the athletes that any sort of game-day attire that I didn't like would be fixed by the next game or they wouldn't be a part of that game.
For example: Randy Moss used to intentionally tear his practice undershirts at the bottom hem, spaced about 1-2 inches apart. It created a fringe/frilly thing on the bottom of the shirt and hung out under his practice jersey. I hated it. My uncle had a backup TE that would do the same thing on game night. That kid would have to lose that shirt in between game 1 and game 2 if he had any hope whatsoever of seeing the field.
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Post by k on Jan 6, 2009 16:40:06 GMT -6
I am a stickler I admit. I expect a shirt, tie, dress pants and dress shoes on game day. I do let them wear their game jersey over the top. No ear rings or othe pericings of any kind. One of our coaches spent four years begging me to wrestle when I was in HS. I always shrugged my shoulders when he asked why because I didn't want it to start applying to football too (where he was just an assistant). A couple days before graduation he asked me again why and I told him I didn't want to wear a suit and tie for meets. The next year he stopped forcing the kids to do it... I don't feel comfortable dressed like that and I'm not sure I'd have played football if I had to dress like that for gameday. Banquets at the end of the year? Fine I can deal with it a couple times a year. |
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Post by airman on Jan 6, 2009 18:21:07 GMT -6
I am a stickler I admit. I expect a shirt, tie, dress pants and dress shoes on game day. I do let them wear their game jersey over the top. No ear rings or othe pericings of any kind. One of our coaches spent four years begging me to wrestle when I was in HS. I always shrugged my shoulders when he asked why because I didn't want it to start applying to football too (where he was just an assistant). A couple days before graduation he asked me again why and I told him I didn't want to wear a suit and tie for meets. The next year he stopped forcing the kids to do it... I don't feel comfortable dressed like that and I'm not sure I'd have played football if I had to dress like that for gameday. Banquets at the end of the year? Fine I can deal with it a couple times a year. Life is often about doing things we do not like to do or having to work with or for some one we do not like. My attitude is no one is greater then the team and this is how we do things. I tell kids this is how the world works. you dress like a slob you are not oging to work on wall street or anywhere else where you make large sums of money. |
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Post by chadp56 on Jan 6, 2009 20:41:11 GMT -6
Wow, I have heard of people not wrestling because they have to wear a singlet, but a suit and tie? If a kid doesn't want to play football because he doesn't want to go through the hassle of wearing a shirt and tie, he probably will have a long list of stuff that we do that he won't want to do and is better off joining one of the teams in our school that don't have too many rules. It will be his loss in the long run.
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bighit65
Junior Member
Make a statement without saying a word.
Posts: 397
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Post by bighit65 on Jan 6, 2009 20:48:47 GMT -6
I agree that you should look clean at school on game day but have never undestood coaches who say a kid with a visor or spatted shoes or "sweet" gloves was trying to be more than the team. They'd say he's trying to draw attention to himself. Really? Attention from who? They all have on the same helmet, pants, socks and jersey. Let them put their own small touch on it. On game day there are more pressing issues than if a kid tapes their cleats. In my experience, chewing a kid out on game day for stuff like that does more to throw them off than anything else. Also, no I never did or wore any of that stuff.
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go42
Sophomore Member
Posts: 147
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Post by go42 on Jan 6, 2009 20:51:39 GMT -6
to school on game day the kids wear their jerseys, however it is not mandatory, some kids just don't like it...but on the field - we win together, we lose together, we all look the same; zero tolerance for players trying to be different for attention
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Post by mariner42 on Jan 6, 2009 22:16:45 GMT -6
I think it oughta be the other way around, to be honest. Kids without the pride to wear their jerseys at school are clearly trying to avoid being identified as a football player or aren't proud of being a member of our team, which is thoroughly unacceptable in my eyes. If you don't want to wear your jersey to school, what changes once it's gametime?
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Post by tim914790 on Jan 7, 2009 12:02:38 GMT -6
We bought a team set of socks for everyone so the socks wer ento an issue. I did not put a rul eon anything else and really didnt see the need to. The guy before me made a big deal out of it and it made for more kids pushing the envelope. I just told them they have to wear the team socks, and if they have a visor it has to be clear. I dont think it seperates the kids from the team as much as some may think when they have extra wristbands on or something. I agree with the taping if you get taped a certain way for the game you better be getting taped that way everyday before practice. That usually elimenates all the look at me tape jobs.
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Post by Coach Bennett on Jan 7, 2009 12:09:41 GMT -6
To the idea of letting kids be individuals I tell them they should be...do it by working your tail off in the off season, in camp and make plays on the field. Separate yourself from your peers through action not window dressing.
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Post by tim914790 on Jan 7, 2009 12:22:05 GMT -6
We bought a team set of socks for everyone so the socks wer ento an issue. I did not put a rul eon anything else and really didnt see the need to. The guy before me made a big deal out of it and it made for more kids pushing the envelope. I just told them they have to wear the team socks, and if they have a visor it has to be clear. I dont think it seperates the kids from the team as much as some may think when they have extra wristbands on or something. I agree with the taping if you get taped a certain way for the game you better be getting taped that way everyday before practice. That usually elimenates all the look at me tape jobs.
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Post by Coach Goodnight on Jan 7, 2009 12:49:23 GMT -6
Do any of you have rules as far as hair? My wife taught at a school that the baseball coach wouldn't let them have hair that touched the collar. Any have anything like this?
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