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Post by WolvesHC on Mar 13, 2009 19:36:27 GMT -6
How many of you out there are not teachers? We just got hired to take over a program that has not had a winning season since the 90s. They were 0-9 last year. The HC and I have been Jr High coaches together for the last several years. I will the DC but that is besides the point. Our entire staff (8) does not have 1 teacher on it. We will begin practice at 4:30 during the season. Our two-days right now are set up for 4-6pm first session and 730 - 930 pm for the second session. We have workouts twice a week at 5 right now. The turnout is great and the kids attitude has been wonderful. What obstacles do you foresee us encountering? I know there may be some parents upset that we cannot have practice after school. We practiced at 5:00 at the junior high level and never had problems. We are recruiting kids the best we can but it is difficult since we don't have a presence at the school full time. I just curious to hear what some of you think. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks.
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Post by coachwilley on Mar 14, 2009 4:26:29 GMT -6
I think one disadvantatge would be the academic standpoint. You will have to work harder than the coach/teacher to make sure things are getting done in the classroom. One way to get on the good side of staff and administration is to make it known that your athletes grades are important to you. Make your presence known by checking in with their teachers on grades and who is behind ect. This will also go a long ways in creating school spirit with the staff. I've always wanted someone outside of the school to be on my staff as a kind of enforcer. Outsiders can get away with a lot more. Best of Luck.
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Post by wingtol on Mar 14, 2009 7:02:50 GMT -6
I think the one issue I would see is the 430 start time during the season. What time does school get out? you might have kids milling around for 1-2 hours after school with nothing do to which can always lead to problems. We have started practices at 4 before but those were situations where the facility was off school grounds and there was transportation time factored in.
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Post by kcbazooka on Mar 14, 2009 7:18:30 GMT -6
I agree with the previous posters -- supervision between school and practice and academics. You may also run into a problem that since none of you are teachers those teachers may make it harder on you. Since you are not their companions they may not bend over backwards to make life simple for you. I think we get a little of that in our situation as a co-op school. Because of our co-op the sending school has a sorry soccer program - we are getting their athletes. I have seen some incidents where I thought some teachers were not helping the program - example, a student had to have tutoring because of low grades - the teacher would not do it before school so the student had to miss the co-op bus to practice. The sending school's basketball had illegal team workouts/practices during the fall in which our football players attended. Can't really turn them in or you lose out in the long run.
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Post by outlawjoseywales on Mar 14, 2009 7:23:01 GMT -6
Good luck coach.
When schools have losing records like this, there's usually a whole lot more to it than just poor X's and O's.
(I know you understand this)
My questions would be like everyone else's here.
Are you going to let the kids go home after school?
If not, who is going to watch them?
I'm sure those things have already been worked out with the Admin. or your staff wouldn't have even been allowed the chance to coach. You've already gone through proper channels are you wouldn't have even been hired to begin with. So this is really a none issue.
There's stuff that happens during the day that will effect our football team. If you had at least one guy who teaches they could keep you up with what was going on during the day.
There's a whole lot of stuff that goes on during the day that you will miss without at least one guy there to tell you about it.
Some of these things are bad-fights, suspensions, detentions etc.
Some are just scheduling issues-like kids being gone all day on a fieldtrip and they come back worn-out. (lived this one)
Also, don't overlook that some of the teachers are not going to appreciate the fact that y'all are all outsiders.
Teachers are a "clanish bunch" and some of their friends might have been the ousted coaching staff.
But all you have to do is win-and everything will be fine.
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Post by bluecrazy on Mar 14, 2009 7:40:31 GMT -6
{But all you have to do is win-and everything will be fine.}
[/quote]
True True.
Wild, I'm going into my fourth year as the head at our school. I'm not a teacher, and we have no one on staff that is.
You need to keep in constant communication with the A.D. and Principle.
I went out of my way to meet and talk to the teachers. If they have any problem with our kids, they will let me know.
The school is small, and has mostly Female teachers, and the male teachers wanted nothing to do with situation.
This was also a loosing school when we started. {0-41}
Changing the climate with parents, and so on, is the hardest part, and getting the kids to buy in to weight lifting, which sounds like you have a good start.
I know of teams in Michigan with non teaching coaches that have won state.
Good luck, it can be done.
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Post by touchdownmaker on Mar 14, 2009 12:22:38 GMT -6
I would strongly suggest that you all attend education meetings and become a real part of the faculty as coaches. Show that academics is your first concern, not just football. Gaining support of the admin and faculty will be the first major step you can take toward success and keeping this job long enough to turn things around for good.
Congrats and best of luck. I for one cant imagine being out of the school to do what I do now. Even though I am in the building I am sometimes last to know that one of my players has gotten into trouble. Recruiting kids is an all day, every day thing. you all need to find ways to get to all sporting events and smooze with parents and players.
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Post by baldingmullett on Mar 15, 2009 16:07:52 GMT -6
Coach good luck, you need to make yourself as visble as possible in order for the kids to see you in a different light.
I was teaching at another school in the district while being the head coach at the high school 2 years ago. It was tough, and I had an oppurtunity to move to the high school, and I did. I miss teaching the little ones, but it is great to see all my players everyday and keep tighter tabs on all of them.
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whjoe
Probationary Member
Posts: 9
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Post by whjoe on Mar 15, 2009 17:49:07 GMT -6
Hey Coach, I am a new non teacher hire at Wheaton in MD. Out of 10 Coaches 6 are teachers and 1 is a school system employee. 4 are in our building. 1 is lacrosse Coach, 1 baseball Coach, 1 PE teacher, 1 track Coach. This will allow us to get players from other sports to lift 2 times a week during their respective seasons. Fortunately 2 of these guys have tons of experience 1 being former OC at Howard U. It can be done but you will have to be super organized and prepared for anything. I suggest finding a teacher in the building to hire as a volunteer at least. This way you will know what is going on while you are at work.  |
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Post by magknights11 on Mar 16, 2009 0:08:45 GMT -6
Coach,
Obviously there are obstacles to your situation, but I think there are solutions to some of your more glaring problems that have been mentioned before. I was just hired onto a prominent staff that doesn't have a single coach on campus (though I am working on that for myself for the fall) but I think we have brainstormed a good system that deals with the academic issue and the time between the end of school and practice...
We are instituting a mandatory after-school study hall for the players in order for them to complete homework/study. In order for this to be accomplished, I think you need to build some sort of working relationship with at least a few of the teachers on campus - that way you can have one or a few teachers (maybe a rotating team of teachers - one for each day of the week, etc.) volunteering to help monitor the study hall and provide any sort of academic assistance that the players my need. Obviously paying these teachers is probably out of the question, but they might appreciate any other perks you can provide, such as special shirts so they are recognized, inviting them to team/pre-game meals, including them on bus rides to away games, or honoring them in any other capacity you can think of. Having a coach or two that can get to campus early in order to assist in the monitoring of the study hall is also beneficial - it doesn't put undue disciplinary pressure on the volunteer faculty and shows that the coaches are most interested in academics.
The other thing that I feel is imperative is to have the players and their teachers fill out weekly or bi-weekly progress reports for each class. Obviously, contact between the coaching staff and the faculty is vital to the success of this (perhaps having an appointed member of the staff as the "academic coordinator"). This ensures that the staff is involved in the academic success of the athletes and proves to the faculty, AD, and admin that the staff is committed to the well-rounded success of the student-athlete. If you would like a template of the progress reports we have used in the past, I'm sure I still have it somewhere...
I think these would be great solutions (if you could swing them) to the two glaring problems of academic involvement and the time after school and before practice.
Just my two cents Coach, take it for what it's worth to you. Good Luck!
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