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Post by tigerpride on May 7, 2012 9:57:36 GMT -6
How do you guys handle attendance?
Our first official mandatory day is in July - but we get a ton of things done in June. So how do you handle things like "I have a select baseball game and cant make it!" type of excuse?
Vacations??? We still have a group of silly parents who think its ok for Johnny to miss a week of practice in July.
Drives me nuts.
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Post by redandwhite on May 7, 2012 10:06:51 GMT -6
1) Don't make a player make a choice. He may choose baseball over football, and he may have been a contributor to your team. Not every player has football as their number one priority.
2)By mandatory, do you mean official State Association start date, or what you have deemed mandatory? If it is official practice, that's one thing; if not, when are they supposed to have a family vacation? How can you tell a family not to go on vacation during the "off-season"?
We have high expectations in our program, but it is counter-productive to put kids in no-win situations, IMHO.
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Post by TMGPG on May 7, 2012 10:16:47 GMT -6
How do you guys handle attendance? Our first official mandatory day is in July - but we get a ton of things done in June. So how do you handle things like "I have a select baseball game and cant make it!" type of excuse? Vacations??? We still have a group of silly parents who think its ok for Johnny to miss a week of practice in July. Drives me nuts. We have player platoons and there is a leader in each platoon. If a player from their platoon misses we condition the leader. The platoon leaders usually do a great job of making sure that their whole platoon is present at weights and other football function. We have them condition even if someone miss for a good reason. And I think that family vacations for a week is a very good reason. Remember these are kids and family is always before football.
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Post by jgordon1 on May 7, 2012 10:20:02 GMT -6
I am pretty lenient when it comes to Frosh ..If the season officially starts, attendance is mandatory..had one of my best players miss 5 days of doubles last year due to a vacation..I sat him 2 games and didn't start the third
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Post by gschwender on May 7, 2012 10:21:15 GMT -6
In Missouri there is a mandatory dead period. I tell them to schedule vacations then. I don't have much understanding for kids who miss, but the again my father was a football coach (as are my brothers) so we never went on vacations in the summer. Now that my brothers and I coach, we all scheduled our weddings in the winter
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Post by jlenwood on May 7, 2012 10:21:17 GMT -6
June is baseball season. I don't see how you can "mandate" a kid show up then.
Also, as far as missing family vacations, what makes any football coach think that the football program is so important that a family can't go on vacation?! I agree that you should never put a kid in a no-win decision type of situation.
One of the things that many coaches on here have said that strikes me as true: "Football is not as important to the kids as it is to the coaches" Let the kid miss practice, just so he knows he has some catching up to do when he gets back.
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Post by groundchuck on May 7, 2012 10:26:49 GMT -6
1) Don't make a player make a choice. He may choose baseball over football, and he may have been a contributor to your team. Not every player has football as their number one priority. 2)By mandatory, do you mean official State Association start date, or what you have deemed mandatory? If it is official practice, that's one thing; if not, when are they supposed to have a family vacation? How can you tell a family not to go on vacation during the "off-season"? We have high expectations in our program, but it is counter-productive to put kids in no-win situations, IMHO. Well stated.
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Post by blb on May 7, 2012 10:27:52 GMT -6
Starting Football practice in July would drive me nuts. I don't coach in NFL and don't want to.
But our first game is not until last week of August. So we don't begin until first Monday in August.
To echo redandwhite - is this first day of official practice for the season as allowed by your state, or some kind of Off-Season thing?
Once we start practice attendance is mandatory. Excused absences are for illness, family emergencies, and church obligations.
There are consequences for unexcused absences.
But that doesn't extend to Off-Season activities.
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Post by blb on May 7, 2012 10:40:04 GMT -6
In Missouri there is a mandatory dead period. I tell them to schedule vacations then. We have a "Dead Period" too but not all families can schedule their vacations then. At our Parents' Meeting in June we ask (not "tell" - assume you meant adults because not too many kids are responsible for planning the family stuff) parents to schedule vacations around practice, including Labor Day weekend when they have three days off but have to be back for practice on Monday.
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Post by jgordon1 on May 7, 2012 10:47:41 GMT -6
I think kids and parents need to make choices..the schedule is published well ahead of time..If a family CHOOSES to go on vacation during double sessions that is their choice, there is no animosity but on the same token this individual will not be playing over someone who (and his family) sacraficed to be where they chose to be..it's just not fair..You know I was reading this thing from Jack welch (Former GE CEO) he said you know what..if truly want to be successful, you can't have it all..first I have ever read that anyplace..You want to be the ceo of a major corporation, a great musician or a great athlete sacrafices have to be made
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Post by fantom on May 7, 2012 11:26:48 GMT -6
In Missouri there is a mandatory dead period. I tell them to schedule vacations then. We have a "Dead Period" too but not all families can schedule their vacations then. At our Parents' Meeting in June we ask (not "tell" - assume you meant adults because not too many kids are responsible for planning the family stuff) parents to schedule vacations around practice, including Labor Day weekend when they have three days off but have to be back for practice on Monday. I think that we do need to remember that these are kids and don't necessarily have a say in things like family vacations. Parents also may not have a say in when they get their vacation time. We tell them ahead of time what our schedule is and what's expected. Still, things happen. I think that you have to make decisions on a case-by-case basis. A few years ago one of our player's mom decided to book a vacation over Labor Day weekend. We had a game and he'd miss it. She told us about it way ahead of time, March I think. We didn't like it and he didn't either. He was a great player now playing at a 1AA college) and a great kid who never missed a workout but she was adamant. So, what do you do? We spent the offseason working on a replacement. He missed the game. His punishment? He had to go on a family reunion cruise with his parents. Hadn't he suffered enough? In the end it helped us by forcing us to build depth. What were we supposed to do, cut the kid? Would we have been as understanding if he hadn't been as good of a player and hadn't worked as hard? Hell, no. Now, this isn't the norm. The vast majority of parents know better but I think that you do have to understand that kids don't make the decisions.
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Post by Chris Clement on May 7, 2012 11:32:14 GMT -6
Starting practice in June is lunacy, as far as I'm concerned, as is having practice in July. I find myself moving more towards the camp of banning any offseason anything, because every coach in every sport gets greedy.
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Post by coachbuck on May 7, 2012 11:34:13 GMT -6
Blb, that's amazing you can get your team ready in less than a month. Our practice starts as soon as school ends. Its considered a dead period but the kids are expected to show up and lift. That's not even the bad part. Its two a days all summer and the var coach expects the kids to be at them all. I think its to much. I wish we started in july. If they miss official practice make them make it up.
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Post by fantom on May 7, 2012 11:36:58 GMT -6
Blb, that's amazing you can get your team ready in less than a month. Our practice starts as soon as school ends. Its considered a dead period but the kids are expected to show up and lift. That's not even the bad part. Its two a days all summer and the var coach expects the kids to be at them all. I think its to much. I wish we started in july. If they miss official practice make them make it up. What state is this?
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Post by jlenwood on May 7, 2012 11:52:59 GMT -6
I think kids and parents need to make choices..the schedule is published well ahead of time..If a family CHOOSES to go on vacation during double sessions that is their choice, there is no animosity but on the same token this individual will not be playing over someone who (and his family) sacraficed to be where they chose to be..it's just not fair..You know I was reading this thing from Jack welch (Former GE CEO) he said you know what..if truly want to be successful, you can't have it all..first I have ever read that anyplace..You want to be the ceo of a major corporation, a great musician or a great athlete sacrafices have to be made jgordon...I agree we have to make choices. And that choice would be important during August when it is a mandatory, or state sanctioned (allowed) practice. However, the op stated he was upset about the month of June. I personally think if a kid has to miss some in June OR July, it is not the end of the world. As far as August, now you can start saying get ready to miss game time until you can catch up.
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Post by pvogel on May 7, 2012 12:05:41 GMT -6
buck- thats brutal.
We have the kids lift in the summer. A lot of them do summer school so that makes lifting easier but anything else would be a unnecessarily long day.
We do passing tourneys just about every weekend since we are a spread pass first team. And then we have a full contact camp that is about 4 days of scrimmages. But thats all we really do in pads and thats the "hardest" week. Only hard physically really. The kids wanna get after it all day and all week long. So motivation isnt a factor there.
And then they get a 2 week dead period following our weekend trip to the coast.
But these are 15-17 yr old kids were working with. No need to enslave them. Let them be kids a little bit. Expect them to work but dont make them work their lives away.
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Post by coachbuck on May 7, 2012 12:25:14 GMT -6
California
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Post by lucassean2 on May 7, 2012 12:31:32 GMT -6
We offer rewards to kids for off-season attendace. Beginnin with January lifting and carrying through to the start of the season.
100% Play one play in every game 90% Eligible to be a captain 80% Jersey number decal on back of helmet 70% School logo on side of helmet
We have had good attendance thus far. The only "excused" absences we allow are for participation in another sport, or a family funeral.
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Post by jgordon1 on May 7, 2012 12:31:40 GMT -6
I think kids and parents need to make choices..the schedule is published well ahead of time..If a family CHOOSES to go on vacation during double sessions that is their choice, there is no animosity but on the same token this individual will not be playing over someone who (and his family) sacraficed to be where they chose to be..it's just not fair..You know I was reading this thing from Jack welch (Former GE CEO) he said you know what..if truly want to be successful, you can't have it all..first I have ever read that anyplace..You want to be the ceo of a major corporation, a great musician or a great athlete sacrafices have to be made jgordon...I agree we have to make choices. And that choice would be important during August when it is a mandatory, or state sanctioned (allowed) practice. However, the op stated he was upset about the month of June. I personally think if a kid has to miss some in June OR July, it is not the end of the world. As far as August, now you can start saying get ready to miss game time until you can catch up. I am taking it like the kid is missing mandatory state practice...do you know in VA a kid can't play unless he has XX (15 I think) days (not practices) under his belt..so the boy who i told was suspended for 2 games really only was punished (we didn't tell him) for only one game because he would not have had enough practices to play in the first game anyway..Now getting to what fanton said, we do handle cases individually..much more lenenent w/ a Frosh than a senior leader
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Post by fantom on May 7, 2012 12:47:59 GMT -6
Blb, that's amazing you can get your team ready in less than a month. Our practice starts as soon as school ends. Its considered a dead period but the kids are expected to show up and lift. That's not even the bad part. Its two a days all summer and the var coach expects the kids to be at them all. I think its to much. I wish we started in july. If they miss official practice make them make it up. That's just nuts. Never mind the kids, I want to go on vacation myself.
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Post by tigerpride on May 7, 2012 12:48:42 GMT -6
I am in KY and other than a 17 day dead period in June/July, we can have our kids in cleats and helmets every day if we want. For four days a week, we run/lift and do a bit of football stuff.
Im close to a couple local coaches whose teams traditionally compete for state championships year in and year out. Their kids and families plan vacations during those dead periods. Their kids do not miss practice for select baseball or basketball. They make football important and their results speak for themselves.
In KY, high school baseball season ends by the end of the school year. I have about 15 kids that play and I support them 100%. But when their season ends, I expect them to be with me, not with their select teams. Varsity athletics should be a priority over select sports in my opinion.
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Post by pvogel on May 7, 2012 12:49:20 GMT -6
lucas- ive seen several setups like that to incentivize attendance. I like that model a lot.
and in California since it is broken into 9 different governing bodies (i think its 9) the offseason rules are different in each section. San Diego section is more strict on summer stuff and you cant do nearly as much. In our section, you can do full contact as much as you want as long as its labeled as a "camp" and there is a fee for each player. But several local schools get around that by calling their practices "camps" and having each player's fee "paid for" by the school. Sounds like the rules are real laxed in your section though buck
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Post by tigerpride on May 7, 2012 12:51:08 GMT -6
Starting practice in June is lunacy, as far as I'm concerned, as is having practice in July. I find myself moving more towards the camp of banning any offseason anything, because every coach in every sport gets greedy. I agree with you. But if you are allowed and your compeititon is preparing and you are NOT, then how does that look? Trust me, I wish we would go back to the old days and start football on the first day of August and just lift/run the rest of the off-season. I would love that.
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Post by tigerpride on May 7, 2012 12:56:57 GMT -6
Blb, that's amazing you can get your team ready in less than a month. Our practice starts as soon as school ends. Its considered a dead period but the kids are expected to show up and lift. That's not even the bad part. Its two a days all summer and the var coach expects the kids to be at them all. I think its to much. I wish we started in july. If they miss official practice make them make it up. I know a program that does something similar. Maybe you are apart of it LOL. Anway, the kids are there for about 8 hrs a day all summer long. The parents buy in and bring them food every day. Research Highlands High School in KY. Four or Five straight championships, i think.
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Post by fantom on May 7, 2012 13:00:07 GMT -6
I am in KY and other than a 17 day dead period in June/July, we can have our kids in cleats and helmets every day if we want. For four days a week, we run/lift and do a bit of football stuff. Im close to a couple local coaches whose teams traditionally compete for state championships year in and year out. Their kids and families plan vacations during those dead periods. Their kids do not miss practice for select baseball or basketball. They make football important and their results speak for themselves. In KY, high school baseball season ends by the end of the school year. I have about 15 kids that play and I support them 100%. But when their season ends, I expect them to be with me, not with their select teams. Varsity athletics should be a priority over select sports in my opinion. So, make them choose. Just don't complain later that you're losing kids to baseball.
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Post by cqmiller on May 7, 2012 13:08:25 GMT -6
We take attendance at EVERY team activity. Weightlifting, conditioning, 7on7 practices, etc...
We can't make it "mandatory", but we set the number at 75% of offseason attendance earns first choice in jersey numbers and pads. Everyone above 75% goes in order of grade (Sr, Jr, So, Fr). Then we go through the same order for people below 75%. The seniors that want their jersey numbers but don't want to come lose it to the freshman and sophomores must attend.
Find a way to reward the ones that are there... which is the same as punishing the ones that aren't.
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Post by coachbuck on May 7, 2012 14:22:29 GMT -6
Fantom, I agree with you. Last year I took my family on a two week vacation in june. The varsity dc told me if your son wants to be the starting qb next year he has to show more dedication. Wow, at least that coach has moved on. Pat don't know what the rules are I follow what the var coach says. The only good thing is my son has bought in and is ready for it.
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Post by blb on May 7, 2012 14:25:10 GMT -6
Blb, that's amazing you can get your team ready in less than a month. Why? Colleges do. We have 18 Summer Conditioning workouts, three 7-on-7s, and a three-day camp (helmets only, state rule) in the Summer after school's out. Practice doesn't start until August, however. Our first game is the third week (outside scrimmage the second). Your Summer schedule would have ME headed for the Soccer field.
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Post by TMGPG on May 8, 2012 5:57:38 GMT -6
Sometime less is more! There are advantages and disadvantages to practicing all summer and to practicing like blb. I agree with blb, colleges do it and it keeps them hungry. You something for too long it becomes work. Work takes the spark out of people.
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Post by blb on May 8, 2012 6:10:06 GMT -6
Too much of anything, even Football, is still too much.
Colleges don't practice twice every day any more.
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