need help with grades, etc...

if they genuinely have the I don't give a $hit attitude why not play the less talented players to send a message that YOU do give a $hit. It's your program and 17 year old kids should not be dictating how you run the ship irregardless of the situation.

How do failing grades effect them in your state/district/school?

You seem to have tried the usual stuff with them and you also mention their behavior as an issue. That has to stop or the ship can't wait for them.

Small school or big school should not matter how you proceed with your expectations. If we have a struggling kid we will give him a window of time (two weeks with weekly grade checks) to improve. During this time he is not allowed into the weight room for one week. If he turns in his grade check, we'll let him back in the 2nd week and his second grade check must reflect improvement. It has always worked. If the kid didn't show improvement, I would repeat the two week cycle. We would never cut a kid off but we will have some steps in place.

If the kids you speak about truly don't care, you are wasting your time but I would still take them through these steps.

IF I had a player who did not respond there is no way he would be allowed to do spring ball with us. If his grade were low after the end of the school year, he would not be going to team camp.

Doing it this way will also force your hand to begin developing other players for the inevitable.

It is a matter of priorities for your program. Are you coaching to win games or to help young men grow up? I know what I would do, not play them at all (while seeking to help them with the academic problems). It is time that we as coaches look beyond the short term goal of wins and come to see that society needs us to meet the greater goal of producing young men of great character now more than ever.

Last year for our district game three of our best athletes stood on the sidelines while we were on offense all night. I will not bore you with what they had done and while they were not ineligible to play, they had not lived up to the things I expect from my players (I am the OC, not the HC). While we lost the game, I slept a little better knowing that I had done it the right way.

BTW - they did play on defense and we gave up 38 points.

[getting off the soap box]

I'd like to piggyback on what veerraid has touched on.

We have a program in our state that continues to put up winning seasons and many league championships I believe they have but one state championship to their credit in the mid-90s. For whatever reason they continue to attract 3 to 4 college bound athletes to their program from other programs every single season. One year they had 12 players sign at the D-2 to D-1 level - Insane! Seems like if they are missing a RB or a QB, one lands on their doorstep at the beginning of 2nd semester. They are a public school and there are many apartment dwellings nearby. I know their coaches are very good guys but don't hold their kids accountable the same way that we would in our program.

Anyway just about every single off-season there is an article about one of their former players (in college, in the pros, in public) who does something very stupid. Most of the time the stupidity involves drugs and alcohol and repeated behaviors. One year, about the mid-90's, it was a homicide from one of their players who was playing at a J.C. He was convicted for a drive-by shooting.

I have heard many stories (from their former coaches) of players who were allowed to play even though they had just told a teacher to F#*& Off on the same day of the game. I've been told that some of their players who transfer in aren't even living in their school boundary. And the list goes on and on and on and ......

When a leader allows players to behave in very inappropriate ways without taking immediate action and following through with relavant consequences, the feeling of entitlement amongst his players is something that may escalate way beyond the program's control.

My point? Why do you coach, Coach?

I am the HC at the program in question here, and op4 is my head JV coach.

Let me first state that WE COACH TO BUILD YOUNG MEN, not to win games. But within the constraints of this is a catch-22: if kids do not take care of grades=fail=bad program=lack of interest. This formula is the death penalty for small school athletics (we are a SMALL 2A school) Coming into this past year (my first at the school), we were faced with a senior class that had horrible attitudes, just downright terrible. This had spread to some of the juniors as well. Lack of work ethic in and out of the classroom, trouble with the Law, etc. Long story short, almost every kid with that attitude is gone, because of what my expectations are. They failed to meet them and either cut themselves or I did the honor for them.

We are looking to buck the trend at this school. We have scheduled a mandatory player/parent meeting on a Saturday for all kids grades 6-11. At this meeting, we will talk about regular issues, but before dismissing we are going to read a list of names off, and have those kids and their parents stay behind while the rest are dismissed. It is at this point that we will tell them why they are here (grades), and will ask the parents what can we as a staff do to help. I intend to enlighten the parents that don't already know about their kid's grades, but most importantly, I want the parent to understand that they have to accept a reality: their kid may not be playing football because of grades. I want to get it across the them that this problem needs to be addressed NOW, not in June. The parents will also find out that there is a delineation line (in terms of date) that, once crossed, will prevent kids from passing for the year and being eligible for fall sports. Once that line is crossed, we as a program are moving forward. A harsh but true reality.

Study halls and the like are great ideas, but scheduling conflicts often prevent them for kids. We also do a team study hall during the season. The bottom line is this: I'm putting some responsibility back in the parent's laps, and if they can't handle it, well they know what the outcome will be. All ineligible kids in our district are unable to participate for 3 weeks...that's 3 games. It might as well be the season for a small school with limited numbers and little depth. Those of you who have to play that chess game of "shifting players" when Johnny is hurt or absent know what I am talking about.

Anyway, that is the story...any thoughts? Thanks to Op4 for bringing this topic up before I could!!

Have them fill out weekly grade sheets, signed by teachers.

Making them aware of their current status in class is crucial. It forces them to face the music every week, rather than every 4 weeks like a progress report. They'll be more concious of their day-to-day affect on their grade.

Lots of kids don't even realize how bad they're doing, or how not doing homework/classwork affects their grades until they put themselves too deep in the hole to recover. I see it all the time.
Mandatory gradesheets turned in by 2pm on Friday will keep everyone in the loop- you, the parents (you can contact them if the grades suck), teachers (seeing the kid cares for his grades may help his cause), and especially the kid.

If they can't follow through with getting a paper signed by some teachers over a 5 day period, then how can you really put a game in their hands? Think about it...

coachd5085 - where do you coach?

Interesting to only give stickers for academics.