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Post by cc on Jun 4, 2006 22:19:39 GMT -6
Coaches,
I need some help with this.
How do you get your kids to balance school and sports?
I am sick of guys saying they can't practice as they have big test or project due the next day.
Or tired of guys quitting as they don't think they can balance it.
Just wondering what policy you give players and parents and what tips you give players to help them succeed at school and sports.
Thanks!
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Post by senatorblutarsky on Jun 4, 2006 22:35:22 GMT -6
Striving for excellence is not exclusive to one discipline. If guys are going to play, they need to understand that the level of commitment needs to be present as it is in other aspects of life; they need to prioritize. I tell players they should have God/religion first, family second, school third and football forth- but even 4th needs attention to detail, resolve and commitment.
Guys who quit... I don't know, other than they are really selling themselves short. If they can't handle school and football you might suggest to them that they should not try to have a job AND a family, because all that is needed to study and play is a little organization and time management. (My fall GPA was across the board higher than my spring GPA- all through HS and college).
Fortunately, we don't really have that problem...most of our guys are 3 sport athletes who are in student council, FFA officers, in drama, speech and/or band. Most of them farm or work manual labor too- and all make it to conditioning over the summer, no one misses practice... I am worried about our younger guys though. They get this speech a lot.
As far as policies go- an unexcused practice (determined by me) means demotion from whatever team(s) they were on. 2nd miss= miss a game, 3rd miss = dismissed from team. Also, players must practice during pre-game practice to play the following evening.
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Post by coachd5085 on Jun 5, 2006 9:16:10 GMT -6
Teach them time management skills. Have each position coach meet with your kids once a week after practice for an academic review, including progress reports from teachers.
Explain to them some real world situations that they are grooming themselves for. Not budgeting your time wisely and then trying to choose between school and football (and therefore skip practice) is analagous to blowing all your money on beer and trinkets, and leaving yourself having to choose between rent or car payment.
The kid put themselves in a bad position, but I believe if you monitor and report on such situations, AS WELL AS LET THEM KNOW IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE to put themselves in a position to have to make that choice.
It kills me when parents get in on the act too.."Oh, johnny can't play football, he needs to work on his schoolwork." I point blank ask those parents "Are you going to be at home and ensure that he is spending from 3-5 (standard practice time) doing homework? Or is that going to be his goofing off time. Usually, what happens is that the kids can't balance football, goofing off, and school. School is usually the one that suffers. I would argue that without football, the goofing off time just increases, and the results in the class are not any better.
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Post by cqmiller on Jun 5, 2006 9:48:41 GMT -6
If they "can't practice" then they CAN'T PLAY!!!!
Any time a player says, "I have a big ________ tomorrow" (fill in the blank with anything you want), I always ask, "When was it assigned? How much have you done each day for the last week?"
I agree with coachd5085, if a kid isn't at practice, then he isn't going to be doing homework...he will be watching cartoons, and playing PS2. I have been accused of being "cold", "mean", "tough", and many others because as far as I'm concerned, If a player isn't dedicated enough to football to be academically eligible/ready to play, then he doesn't care enough about football to play it.
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Post by tothehouse on Jun 5, 2006 10:46:13 GMT -6
Football is not "extra" curricular. It is CO-CURRICULAR. How busy are you guys? I know I am constantly busy. This is a lesson for the players to learn time management.
It takes a lot to play football. We have 2800 students at our school and 55 varsity football players. Why don't more play? Because it is hard. I mean it is very hard to lift, train, play, commit. Football is one of the best, if not the best, classrooms on our campus.
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