Pitfalls of recruiting the halls...

Well I havent talked to them much about it at all. Dont get a chance to see either much based on them playing basketball.

I know they didnt play last year because they were linemen the year before.

Both are VERY good on defense. The TE kid will be great there, was just using him as an example.. hes about 6'5 and will create some match up problems.

The other kid really could help us on the Oline, but as much as we will throw the ball, we can go with a smaller kid as a starter.. but he is just about going to have to be a back up.

I used these two as examples, and Im good with them playing only those positions... but there are some others who cant play anywhere else but on the oline... but yet they dont want to.. so they are the ones that you just have to say so long to I guess.

Absolutely. No point in keeping kids around that can't help you at all because don't want to sacrifice and do what's best for the team. Numbers are only good when it's the right kind of numbers. Warm bodies on the sidelines never won any games.

I think it usually works out when the kid is already a good athlete in another sport. I haven't seen alot of kids who weren't already somewhat successful in another sport, come out and contribute. Especially if we are talking about upperclassman.

I think it is worth the investment. I also think you don't owe new players anything outside of being a part of the team. On average we get one to two players that contribute on the varsity level per year by hitting the halls. We get about 5 to 10 that come out for spring but quit shortly after. We have gotten some impact players over the last couple of years which has made it worth our efforts.

if you recruit them out of the hall and into the weightroom you will have a better feel for if they will stick it out or not with less time commitment towards them. The more sweat equity they put in, the more likely they will not walk away from the game. As far as positions go, we explain that you can play wherever you want but also let them know where they can best help the team/their chances of starting. After that it is their choice...most kids who put the time and work in eventually decide they want to play

I am in a very small school with low numbers for football. So we stress recruiting the halls all the time. By the time football has started back up we have talked to every boy in the school a few times about playing.

If all of our time in the halls only lands us 1 or 2 actual players then it is well worth it for us.

Our big push, like someone mentioned above, is to recruit them for the weight room which is what we're doing at the moment. We've changed up our strength program and theres some buzz around the school about what we're doing. We already have some kids suprise us by showing up in the weight room.

Chances are if they dedicate time in the weight room, they will be too invested to quit coming August.

If you're at Glen Este come to the free Character Building Clinic at Moeller on Feb 5th. Details at the link below.

sportsleaderusa.blogspot.com/

Give the kids you are recruiting your vision and show them that you truly care about them. If you only care about them so they benefit you - so you can use them, they'll see right through that. If they know you care, then they'll want to play for you.

Where does recruiting the halls cross lowering the standards to play or become a waste of time?

I am like most that I have had very little success finding students in the hall that are willing to commit to the standards set forth by our program. I agree with you guys that say they are not playing for a gambit of reason.

With all of the time that it takes to run a successful program, I do not have time for slap dicks that are looking for someone to make promises or talk them into it, before they will play. In addition, those kids, if those promises are not met now become problems. They become issues at practices and drag down the program. I disagree with the idea that kid quitting does not make the team or program worse off. No matter how much or little the time you spent on that kid, you spent time on someone that did not want to be there in the first place. You took time away from a program kid that you could have made into a better player and maybe even a contributor.

If a player is going to show initiative to join the program, than he will be welcomed with open arms. We will integrate him into our program and the expectations for him will be same as any other player. However, If a kid thinks one our players, coaches, or program participants is going to beg him up and down and "sell" him on our program he has another thing coming.

In fact, and this goes against all traditional thought, we avoid the "athletes" or "studs" that are roaming around. They have proven to be more hassle than any other group. What I have found is three things regarding this group- 1) they are so soft that even at wr or cb they are not any better than the guy before them, 2) someone has got in their head and told them they are the next Lebron or Jeter and they have little desire to put football up there, even during football season, and 3) they have the talent and are tough enough but have no desire to put in the commitment that is needed to be a good team. Basketball, while a team sport, has components that allow it to be much more individual than football. Baseball, again a team sports, has many more individual characteristics than football. Some of you may have had better luck with this group but every athlete or stud not playing football I have encountered has fallen in one of the three categories.

hmmm, how can you not recruit the hallways? Sure some kids will disappoint but some kids won't. example - last year we "recruited" two kids hard - one stayed out the entire year but pretty much fizzled out - the other ended up starting at defensive line. We got one starting position that we wouldn't have gotten had we not recruited the hallways.

i know in the past if you were not seen as recruiting the hallways - you weren't doing your job.

I believe the best solution to 'recruiting the halls' is to not do it. Rather, just be the kind of coach and teacher that the kids look up to. Have a good relationship with the ones who want to play, and don't treat non-players any different than those you coach.

If the kids who are currently playing like and respect you, they know who the athletes are in the school and will do a better job getting them to play than you ever could. And you haven't had to compromise yourself in the process. Plus the kids are now accountable to their peers.

We had a regime change 2 years ago. The kids didn't care for the previous coach, and only the die-hards were playing. We had 28 kids on varsity. The next year, with a new head coach who the kids liked and respected we had 55. And he didn't have to beg anybody to come out. Several of those kids who hadn't played as freshmen and sophomores ended up starting the last 2 years and being great team leaders for us. They were 'recruited', just not by active recruiting by the coaches, but seeing the kind of people the new coaches were on a day to day basis and hearing what their friends who were playing thought of things...

I'm not saying that football should be a taboo subject, but I am of the opinion that there are a couple of things you should never do.

1. Beg
2. Make a kid feel like his worth to you is tied up in whether or not he plays football

'Passive' recruiting is the best recruiting. It's one thing to plant a seed, it's another to be a pain in the butt about it. By me saying 'don't do it', what I really mean is don't do it in the traditional sense that the OP has outlined.

when you recruit, it has to be about selling the TEAM.
"hey we're doing such-and-such this weekend (for off-season team building), why don'tcha come hang out with us?"

Kids are gonna play the same reasons WE played.....to join their peers in competition. Kids aren't as selfish as us adults can be. Give them an opportunity for peer-recognized affirmation and identity and they'll jump at it. If you get them out, they are going to hustle and compete not for coaches, but for their peers (respect).

Coaching and instruction is what we do FOR them, not TO them.
The minute you tip-toe around a teenager's whims ('will I upset them?'), then the talent is what is running the program, not the coach. Once you enable those kids to make YOUR decisions, they will always end up screwing you no matter how talented they are

If you don't have (or are building) a positve peer culture of a program, then regardless if you get a stud, it will all be disolved at the first signs of pressure. Build and nuture off-season comradery and competition (not cut-throat, but rewarding effort) so that you have a foundation of committed players to sustain new blood in the Fall.

Recruit the halls doesn't mean stalking or asking constantly. It can be as simple as: Coach "Hey jimmy, have you ever thought about playing football?" Jimmy-"I don't know." Coach-"Give it some thought, its alot of fun. Talk to Joe (good kid in jimmy's grade who's on the team) about it."

Getting your player involved in the process goes a long way.

Let the kids do it for you.