building bridges with the faculty

"Alcohol..............The cause of ... and answer to all of life's problems"
_Hall of Fame Football Coach, Homer Simpson

no, do weekly or bi-weekly grade checks, and put any student-athlete you are responsible for in a study hall/tutoring session until theri grades are up.

I tried this. the teachers complained that it was just more paper work for them and they already had too much as is.

i thought is was a huge excuse. some teachers had no problems with it others thought it was a huge waste of time and I had to get on them as well.

a lot of teachers do not care if a kid does or does not do well.

AM study hall for anyone on the D list (F list too... we have a no pass- no play rule)

"Guest coach of the week"- For all home regular season games- players pick a staff member (teacher, custodian, secretary, etc.) who gets a t-shirt, hat and opportunity to address the team at pre-game practice. Staff member has the option to be on the sidelines during the game. This has gone over pretty well.

We have donated money from playoff t-shirt sales to other school activities or clubs.

All those things seem to really help.

Since I was a Chemistry Major, with a Math/Physics minor, I tutor the kids in those 3 subjects if they need help. A study hall is a great way to make sure kids are actually doing their homework.

I am not a HC yet...but I have thought about requiring a 2.5 to play football, so that I don't have to chase the kids with F's around all the time. A 2.5 is 4-C's & 4-B's. I may just be young&optimistic, but I think it would be a great way to find out who is actually SERIOUS about their commitment to football, and who is just going through the motions.

^{but I have thought about requiring a 2.5 to play football, so that I don't have to chase the kids with F's around all the time. A 2.5 is 4-C's & 4-B's. I may just be young&optimistic, but I think it would be a great way to find out who is actually SERIOUS about their commitment to football, and who is just going through the motions.}

That is very high idealism, but I am not sure if it translates well realistically. There are some kids who are just not good students... they try and get D's- yet on the field they know everyone's responsibility and everyone's scouting report. A few years ago, I had an assistant who had been a 40 year coach (he was a HC for a long time)... he said "You need a few of those beer drinkin' D students to make a good football team"...

I've been arguing the no-pass no play rule here- not because I want to lower expectations, but some kids are going to barely graduate, go out and go to tech school or go to work and will be very productive members of society. I don't want to shut kids out from co-curricular activities just because they are not strong academically... just as I would not want to leave out those who can do calculus, but can not rebuild an engine. My proposal was as long as they are passing enough classes to ensure that they will graduate in 4 years, they should be able to play (at our place, it means that you could fail one class per semester while taking a full course load and still graduate).

That being said, I generally believe that if you pay attention, ask questions, sit in the front row and turn in assignments, you should get a C at least... so we will still have a mandatory study hall for those who have any D or F during weekly grade checks. At our place, it seems that any freshman through junior who has a certain math teacher is in study hall a lot.

Every two weeks we require a player to turn in a progress report. "Your ticket" to play. No progress report, no play that week.

As for faculty. Senator's idea is one we use. Teacher of the week. Have them come to the pregame meal. Have the teacher or Admin. give a little speech to fire up the troops. Feed them.

Get the maintenance staff and janitors in your corner!!! T-shirts, hats, etc. We make sure our locker room is as clean as can be after each practice, let alone games.

We find that anything that goes wrong with a locker room or something being stolen is a "football problem".....when it's usually not. If we try to stay ahead of these potential issues then we can look faculty and Admins. in the eye and know that we have gone over details and expectations with our players.

I think winning games helps and hurts with the faculty as well. We won a championship this past fall and I was congratulated by 3 faculty members (other than football coaches) on our accomplishment. I am not saying all of them should run over to me and congratulate me, but that is what I did when our other teams won titles. Jealousy runs rampant on our campus and football, as strong as it is, is sometimes looked down upon by the faculty.

I say, keep on winning and get them on our side. Naysayers are going to be naysayers. Let them wallow in mediocrity by themselves.

_{I think winning games helps and hurts with the faculty as well.}

So true... I tell our players that 80% of the people in school support us, 15% don;t really care, and 5% are looking for ways to being us down and just waiting for us to screw up. Of course, that is an oversimplification, but they need to know that 1) most support us and 2) we need to be careful RE: attitude and behavior at school. If Joe causes trouble in class, I never hear "Joe did this...."; I always hear "One of your football players did this...".

Another thing I thought of that we do (small school, remember) is our guys make and sign "good luck" signs for the other fall sports. I couldn't believe how big of a deal that was- primarily with the students, but even with the faculty. They think it is "nice" that we support volleyball or cross country.

That's why you include it in the paper that the parents & students must sign in order to play. Mine includes all penalties for tardies, absences, fighting, GPA, etc..........

Here is my out take on a higher requirement for football players. You look at Duke and Vanderbilt. They have higher academic standards for athletes and they have not won alot of football games either. Unless your at a school with alot of smart kids it would be unwise to hold kids to a higher GPA. Instead make sure they give their best effort. Sometimes its a pain to get those guys eligable but you stay on them they will get it done. This will result in more wins because you have some of your better athletes out on the field. Basically if your at a School that Loves football you better win games if you dont you will be gone. They will not care that everyone on your team has a 2.5 and above. You went 0-10 but your players had great grades is fine but at most places that equals getting fired.

Why does it fall on the football coach if a student is not performing in the classroom (grades, lates, behaivor)? What is the subject teacher, guidance couns., or parent(s) doing to help or discipline the student? I am a teacher first ($55,000) and football coach second ($7000). I teach six classes a day plus a duty so it leaves me with lunch and 1 period off. I have my own problems in class. We went down the road of athletic contracts specialized by coaches but our school board did not recognize the contract so we had no support and the school board would overrule us.

I basically treat football seperate from school. I will not hold a student accountable for what happens in other classes because 1.) I am not there 2.) All teachers have their own rules and procedures that they have set and that they follow. I encourage them to deal with the student in any way they feel necessary. I tell my athletes if your not at practice than someone is taking your spot and your losing out. If a student continues to miss practice they are basically losing the spot. 3.) I just follow the school policy for extra curricular activities (very lenient).

I have a good relationship with staff members and i back them in their decsions but I am not going to be held responsible for the football players actions in the classroom. We have had a lot of success since I've been here and my players have been great to myself and staff. I'm in the halls a lot so I am visible but I believe football coaches take to much blame for their players actions. I have seen parents themsleves disrespect teachers so if the kids see that, it is an uphill fight.

The athletic teams are expected to do well. I teach and coach in a blue collar district ( fans sit on roofs across the street from the field and drink beer as they watch the game). I would say atheltics in a lot of the parents eyes may be more important than academics. We may not get a 1/4 of the school population to school functions but we will have a packed house Friday night.

I think that 4 out ot 5 kids fail because they are lazy.

I think that the main thing to do to get faculty support is to show them you care.

Everyone in education knows this... Now if we can only get the parents to see this as well. Can't tell you how many times I've had parents come tell me, "Mr. Johnson failed my boy because he doesn't like him, and my son has been to class, ....blah, blah, blah." Then I go to the teacher and look at the attendance, and/or his homework that he has turned in, and it is EASY to see that the kid isn't even trying to get a good grade.

I'd agree that 4 out of 5 fail simply because they are lazy... my concern is with that 1 out of 5. Kids will generally work to uphold expectations- several years ago our seniors made a rule that anyone with 1+ F AND 2+ Ds would not play. This was not a strong academic bunch either. I was reluctant, but they talked me in to it- and no one had to miss a game due to grade issues (due to drinking... different story).

In our case now, I had 5 players who were on the warning (D) list a lot last year- 2 had no reason to be on there at all- 3 of the guys were trying, were getting extra help... they just didn't get it (math). Of those 3, 2 would probably drop out if not for football/sports.

los pointed out a truism in education- we have gone almost exclusively to college prep and have very little to offer in terms of tech arts classes. I am concerned that we don't just weed out the lazy (which is fine), but we weed out the non-academic, which is not fine.

I do not endorse low standards- we have expectations beyond the general student body for football players. However, I do not want to limit participation on my team to potential college students who will enter a white collar workforce- and I think with making grade requirements too high that happens. I've had many kids who were good players. who graduated with low GPA's (C/D students), who had no desire to go to college, and are doing well as mechanics, in military service, working for heating/air conditioning companies...

I want all of our players to be able to squat 300... but our skinny little QB who is working his butt off and can only squat 265 is not going to be demoted. I know his effort, his work ethic and though I might determine his level to be at a "D" (below average), he is still going to play- because right now- a "D" is all he can do.

While I still do not support the "no pass, no play" rule, I see enough merit in it that I won't fight that too hard. But to have a requirement for a C to C+ average as a mandate would shut out too many kids here and would be counterproductive to what our ultimate goal is- which is not to make everyone eligible for entrance at Harvard or Yale, but is to give them the skills to be successful in whatever academic or career choice they make after high school.