What do you do before a game and after school????

We keep the kids there. They get out of school at 2:30 and we play at 7:30. We have a team meal first. Then there will be offensive and defensive meetings (most play both), special teams roll call, etc. Usually a speaker from the FCA in there (optional). All of that takes us up to 5:30, time to get dressed, get taped, and then specialists are out.

I'd love to think our kids were responsible and would go home, get off their feet and take a nap, eat something good, etc. Some will, most won't. I've never been in a program (player or coach) that let them go home, so I have a definite bias.

If we are playing on the road we usually take off before school is out. However, if we play at home, our schedule is as follows (7:00 pm game):

3:35 dismissal from school (Most of them go home or downtown to eat. Some stay at school. I have 2 assistants there right after school in case anyone is in the LR and needs something. Our LR is nice, so they like to hang out in there.

4:35 Meeting/ Film. If they are late, they are demoted (if they call me @ home/school they are OK... even though they may wake me from my 15 min. nap).

5:00 Dress / Tape
5:30-6:20 Unit, Individual meetings, starters, general meeting
6:27 Specials Depart for stadium
6:34 Team Depart for stadium

With that long of time between, I wouldn't care if they were gone (we do have a lot of early out days on game day it seems), as long as there is a set time for team stuff (like we have at 4:35).
I'm at a small school now, but this is the same format we had at the big school too.

What they do after school concerns me much less than what they do on a game day when we do not have school. When that happens, I call everyone (via calling tree) by 9:00 am to make sure they get up and eat breakfast.

As a player if you care (I did) I wanted to be at the school with my team.

As a coach I'd want it the same way.

Not sure yet how I'll work this as a varsity HC- just another thing I need to consider and work out a plan for. The past 5 seasons I was the freshman HC and they stayed at school on game days. I did this because in the past I've had players ride the bus home thinking they had rides back to school then they do not- obviously creates problems at lower levels where kids do not drive and their buddies likely do not either.

Our games were a 6pm start with school out t 2:10. After school they headed to the locker room changed into shorts/t's and turned in grade checks. 2:30 was walk through in wrestling room. That generally lasted 35-40 minutes. 3:10 we issued uniforms and did equipment checks (straps on shoulder pads, tighten screws on the helmets, added air, changed out cleats etc) At 3:30 parents could deliver food for the kids or they ate what they brought from home. 4:15 was final meetings/film review time, 4:45 was pad up and 5pm specialties went out (actually all as we kept them all busy with something) and at 6pm we kicked off.

We keep them at school-3:15 devotion, 3:30 pregame meal, 4:00 Offensive Position meetings 4:30 Defensive position meetings 5:00 quiet time-equipment hand out 5:30 dress 5:57-specialties go out.

Well, I just KNOW if I let someone go..and something happened (Not talking tragic, just something like car breakdown..no ride back..etc. ) I would be kicking myself for the rest of the year.

If you have a nice place...keep em there.

We are a co-op program, so if you guys are having headaches filling your time, try to do it when more than one school is involved!! Unity has all the football facilities and school ends at 3:15 both places. Unity kids report to library until Payson kids show up then we eat in the cafeteria. We go from team meal to walk through to taping to specialists reporting. Don't remember the specific time schedule of all that.

We did spaghetti when I was in school and everywhere I have coached, but I think the research is showing that some sandwiches are better for the kids. Lighter, and more easily digested. Some trainers have advised me to do this rather than spaghetti. They say if you want lots of carbs like that, do it the night before or the morning of, not that close to game time.

I know with the spaghetti we always had to tell the kids who played a lot to not overeat because we'd see it again later if they did or they would play incredibly sluggish.

Just my two cents from what people have told me.

We're very similar to the Senator..

we want the kids to go home, put their feet up, relax.

At 5:00 pm they arrive in the locker room for tape
5:30: they're half pads and we all go into the wrestling room and watch one last bit of film on our opponent. (10-15 mins).
6:00 Special teams, QBs, WRs, TE's go on the field.
6:30 Lineman go out
Game at 7:00. We usually keep our kids on the field since our locker room is 50,000 miles away from the field...long walk.

We keep our kids with us.
Our school lets out at 2:15. Fourth block is our football class- we give out cloth at that time. We give the kids 15 minutes to move their vehicles and such, then we have walk through at 2:30 to 3:00- situations, first plays on offense, etc.
3:00-4:00- team meal in our caf
4:00-4:50- nap time, relaxation, film. All starters and key backups are in a classroom by themselves.
5:00-5:30- position meetings/offensive/defensive meetings
5:30-6:00- tape, extended meetings if needed
6:10- bus ride to our HOME stadium (this sucks)
Once we get to the field, we do the normal pre-game routine.

When I played, we could go home- now, we rather keep the kids with us to make sure they stay out of fast food places and trouble.