Post by coachdoug on Aug 14, 2011 13:36:32 GMT -6
I have been asked to attend an emergency board meeting tonight to discuss an issue about how practice fields are being assigned to the various teams (age divisions) within our program. I want unbiased answers, so I won't say which level I'm coaching at, and if you already know, please don't mention it in this thread. First of all, this program has an embarrassment of riches, so it's somewhat silly that there is even a dispute about to divvy up all the spoils. We use the facilities of a local (private) high school and have access to two (three, actually) Field Turf practice areas - one of the varsity game field and the other the outfield of their baseball field. We also have access to 4 (that's right FOUR) 7-man blocking sleds, one of which is a Lev-Sled, a 2-man sled and a couple one-man sleds, probably 20 stand-up blocking dummies, 20-30 step-over bags (i.e. half-rounds and/or kit-kats), and dozens of blocking shields, etc, etc.
Anyway, regarding the fields, the Mitey Mites and cheerleaders practice on another adjacent field (also Field Turf - I think it's their softball facility), but get on the Varsity Field as part of the rotation (more on that in a minute). Whenever the High School is practices, which is generally the first half of our practice time, we stay off the Varsity field and all the other teams are on the second field (i.e. the baseball outfield). That means that Midget, Jr. Midget, Pee Wee and Jr. Pee Wee are sharing that space. Actually, Flag is there as well, but they stay to the side and don't really use much room. When the High School finishes its practice, then two of the youth teams move over to the Varsity Field. This is where the conflict comes in. The older teams (Midget and Jr. Midget) feel they should get the lions share (or all) of the time on the field as their kids are bigger, use more room and have a greater need to practice with the landmarks (i.e. hashes, numbers, goalposts, etc). The younger teams feel that it should be done on an even rotation so that all the teams get equal time on the game field - they feel that everyone plays on the same field so they all need to practice on it, plus it's the best place to practice special teams, which everyone has to do. Besides, everyone pays the same fees so it's only fair that they share the facilities as equally as possible.
So, what do you all think? Should all the teams share the varsity field equally, or should the older teams get all or most of the varsity field time? Thanks in advance for your input.
Anyway, regarding the fields, the Mitey Mites and cheerleaders practice on another adjacent field (also Field Turf - I think it's their softball facility), but get on the Varsity Field as part of the rotation (more on that in a minute). Whenever the High School is practices, which is generally the first half of our practice time, we stay off the Varsity field and all the other teams are on the second field (i.e. the baseball outfield). That means that Midget, Jr. Midget, Pee Wee and Jr. Pee Wee are sharing that space. Actually, Flag is there as well, but they stay to the side and don't really use much room. When the High School finishes its practice, then two of the youth teams move over to the Varsity Field. This is where the conflict comes in. The older teams (Midget and Jr. Midget) feel they should get the lions share (or all) of the time on the field as their kids are bigger, use more room and have a greater need to practice with the landmarks (i.e. hashes, numbers, goalposts, etc). The younger teams feel that it should be done on an even rotation so that all the teams get equal time on the game field - they feel that everyone plays on the same field so they all need to practice on it, plus it's the best place to practice special teams, which everyone has to do. Besides, everyone pays the same fees so it's only fair that they share the facilities as equally as possible.
So, what do you all think? Should all the teams share the varsity field equally, or should the older teams get all or most of the varsity field time? Thanks in advance for your input.
