coachy
Sophomore Member
Posts: 219
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Post by coachy on Sept 22, 2010 8:00:41 GMT -6
We have absolutely no leaders...our Jr's hate our Sr's....
Our Jr's are our best players...the Sr's we do have our selfish kids. We're a small school and don't have a very deep depth chart....I'm just at a breaking point.
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Post by coachdennis on Sept 22, 2010 8:20:05 GMT -6
You know whose job it is to lead? Ours. I'm serious - we sometimes expect too much out of 16 and 17 year old kids in terms of leadership. Sure, once in a while a great kid comes along who is a natural leader, but you don't have those kids every year. I have done this for a long time, and the reality is that some years, you have better character and leadership on your roster than in other years. On those down years, you have to roll up your sleeves and model the way for them. I have had kids from those "off" year teams, BTW, come back to me years later and express their gratitude for what we taught them. Often, it is the kid you least expected to hear from...
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Post by blb on Sept 22, 2010 8:30:55 GMT -6
It is often difficult to find leaders "these days." Kids have been told what to do, had things organized for them since they were six years old, many of them can't do anything for themselves except breathe, and that's an involuntary exercise. Some of them will find a way to eat without help.
Kids struggle with commitment, self-discipline, accountability-responsibility. Tough to talk about being leaders under these circumstances
As dennis posted, in HS sports the onus of leadership falls largely on the head coach.
But, to answer the question - half way through the season is a difficult if not impossible time to remedy the situation - sorry.
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Post by wingtol on Sept 22, 2010 9:16:47 GMT -6
We had a situation just like that a few years ago, that sr class won a district championship as jr's but were held in check by a great sr class that year. When it was their turn to step up and lead they were all I, me, we (their class not the team) and we were not very successful that season. Needless to say our jr class from that year sat back and took it all in and as soon as the last game was over they stood up and said we are not gonna have a year like that again this is our team now and things are changing. We had a great year last year with them during their sr year.
We talked a lot about character that year and really made sure we got through to the jr's and made positive examples of them when we had the chance. Also we worked in more jr's and even some soph. a head of the turd sr's that year to send a message. Some times you have to bite the bullet and get the next class ready and move on. You can also flush some turds to send a message for the rest of this season.
And remember no matter how hard you try sometimes you can't save them all, you just have to ride it out.
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Post by thegreaser on Sept 22, 2010 10:19:52 GMT -6
I think leadership skills can be taught during the off season. Drill it in like any other drill.
Of course, the coach is a leader, but there is something about a team that is special and does special things and it is usually because they had great leaders.
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Post by jpdaley25 on Sept 22, 2010 10:51:22 GMT -6
We had that very same problem, so I did away with seniority....completely. It is dead here. Rewards, standing, and pecking order are based solely on level of commitment, and we measure that by attendance, attitude, and behavior. We have 9 leaders on our team, and one is a freshman and three are sophomores.
That'll be tough to do in-season though. You're gonna have to step in and be a drill seargent until you can change things in the off-season. I would be right there on top of them at all times telling them what to do, think, say, and how to act. Don't leave them alone for a second or the poor attitudes, selfishness, and jealousy will spread like a disease and infect the others who will be coming back next year.
Your seniors are leading, they're just leading in the wrong direction, and if you aren't careful, next year's seniors could act the same way because that's what they saw their predecessors do.
Just my opinion and good luck!
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lrader
Sophomore Member
Posts: 143
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Post by lrader on Sept 22, 2010 11:01:40 GMT -6
Agree with Jp. Captains are chosen by coaches after two a days. Regardless of age, PT, etc. We may have one captian who shows the traits we want, we may have more that rotate in(this year we have 5). We also have a lot of freshman/sophomores playing b/c they work harder. We got beat 53-6 last week, if that's the case, result is the same with either group playing. Migh as well put the ones who are playing hard out there.
This group may be lost. May just have to hold the ship together best you can. I don't know, I'm not there so i can't say. But, if they are then i really like the character ed classes in the off season. We cut our night practice during two a days short by 20 minutes and had meetings in my class room. Each night we covered one of the themes for this season (Trust, Love, Commitment). Then tied them all together on fourth night, and had a short practice followed by a pizza party/movie night on friday.
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Post by shields on Sept 24, 2010 9:29:36 GMT -6
We are in a silimar situation and I am nearing my wit's end. Keep these ideas rolling because it's nice to know others in similar situations are thinking along the same lines. We have focused this early part of the season on our JV group but at the end of Week 4, the Varsity group appears to be rubbing off on them. The challenge I am facing is a group of kids who fold when down by two touchdowns! That must be cureable...RIGHT?
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Post by CoachMikeJudy on Sept 24, 2010 9:36:21 GMT -6
You don't have to be a senior to be a leader
Being a senior doesn't make you a leader either
As others have stated- player leadership is a mirage- we (coaches) are the leaders of the team and you can establish the "player leadership" by setting them up for success and putting them in situations to become leaders. My coaches did it for me through praise ("Mike's on time today," or "I know Mike knows his rules.") We create these situations and develop leadership qualities in these young men.
My advice is to LEAD YOUR TEAM and worry about creating leadership roles in the younger guys.
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Post by phantom on Sept 24, 2010 9:39:28 GMT -6
We are in a silimar situation and I am nearing my wit's end. Keep these ideas rolling because it's nice to know others in similar situations are thinking along the same lines. We have focused this early part of the season on our JV group but at the end of Week 4, the Varsity group appears to be rubbing off on them. The challenge I am facing is a group of kids who fold when down by two touchdowns! That must be cureable...RIGHT? How does that effect you? Are you emotional? Do you coach differently when things go wrong? Do you panic? Do you flinch? I agree with those who say that we, the coaches, are the leaders. They'll follow your lead. That's what the big bucks are for. |
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dania
Junior Member
Posts: 365
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Post by dania on Sept 24, 2010 9:40:00 GMT -6
shields, you ever heard the phrase "...Its either being taught or being allowed..."
If your teams folds in games, they are folding in practice.
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Post by play4him56 on Sept 26, 2010 6:54:56 GMT -6
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Post by kboerman on Sept 27, 2010 5:16:06 GMT -6
I have a problem with leadership too, because we are an amateurteam there is always a problem with practice attendance and getting players on your team in general.
Last season we had an exodus of players with experience but with combined efforts we added some new guys fresh of the streets, the couple of players that remain are players with less than 3 yrs experience + upcoming players graduating from our youth squad.
Its just waiting to see who steps up
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Post by jml on Sept 28, 2010 20:53:22 GMT -6
I have used this book and I think it makes an already good leader better, but it won't make a non leader into a leader. |
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