Tell me what you think......honestly!

I enjoy watching it. I don't know that I'd ever want to coach it. I think some of the rules are BS.

Around here it is what it is: pay to play, nothing "pro" about it. Adult Club Football.

If the guys love playing, and want to continue playing, more power to them. They dont draw around here with the exception of family members and friends. Maybe it's different where you are.

After college my playing days were over.
If I played it would be selfishly stealing "family" time, it would be for me and me alone, not something I would do or feel I need to do personally.

My brother and brother in law who neither did anything in High School though continue their life and death struggles playing adult baseball, fights and all

Man you guys have higher opinions of it then I thought. Anyone have anything like " A bunch of has beens", " A bunch of clowns trying to play", " Bar league". I am looking for something that makes them say I will prove those idiots wrong.

I am looking for the bad.

I will be using a couple of yours so far.

Now thats more like it!!!!!!

Thanks for being honest.

I would echo the sentiments of touchdowng. To me, semi-pro is for people who can't or don't know when to give it up. This is a game that is meant to be played, for the most part, by young men who are competing for their school and representing their community. I realize that representing one's community is possible by playing semi-pro, but is the community behind them?
Also,IMO, semi pro is played by those who were not talented enough to cut it at a higher level, weren't smart enough to stay eligible, or can't figure out that they shouldn't be playing. I could not imagine, after playing in college, convincing my wife that I need to come up with $250 to play football. I would be killed!

Two words come to mind when I think of semi-pro: UNCLE RICO!!

With that said, I only wish you the best coach! Good luck!

I played a year of semi pro ball. Was a good time but knew deep down I needed to be in coaching. The organization I played for was first class, provided transportation for games, hotels for long road trips etc. Basically if you look first class, do things first class, then your semi pro team will be first class. To hell with what anyone else thinks

If you have to pay to play isn't that "anti-pro" ball, not so much "semi-pro"? That's like saying the former Gov. of NY was a "semi-escort". I can understand why guys do it, the need to be in a competition. I looked at playing at our local team and was asked to "observe" a practice to see if I would be interested and what I saw from this one team was a coach who wasn't listened to, players who were out of shape (for the most part) and what sealed the deal for me was when two starting DBs finished a drill took off their helmets and sat on the bench smoking while the rest of the DBs continued drills and nobody said anything. (this team was nationally ranked and went deep into the playoffs) Like most things in life you get out of something what you are willing to put into it. For me, it would have been hard putting everything I have into coaching HS football and be able to give what I would want to give to playing semi-pro while spending time with my family so I just had to realize that anything I was going to do as a football player had already been done. I wish you the best of luck coach and I believe that if you put everything into it you will feel rewarded.

Myopinion:

- I have alot of repect for these guys. They are out doing something for the love of the game. They are not doing it for a scholarship. They are not doing it for money. Thi is as about as pure as sport gets. I don' t understand those who say "those guys should know when to let it go" My thoughts are each individual should let it go when it is right for them. If you feel you're rteady hang them up after high school or college, great. But if you still love to play at 30 yrs old, and you're doing it because you love it...God bless you.

Ted,

Mikes team is in a whole different realm.

BUT the local club team ( One of my former coaches played on the team) which is Adult Club Pay to Play Football in the truest sense of the word plays Mikes team. There are a number of guys on this team that never played HS football and others that were bench warmers on their HS team and the coach was a 36 year old very overweight and out of shape starting O-lineman on this team. Obviously these leagues vary quite a bit.

If I remember right it cost Sylvester $500 to play on this team.

If they want to play, have at it , never interested me personally.

I have to agree with this. A speach will not change these guys attitude. The ones that take it seriously will still take it seriously. The ones that don't will still won't.

I coached semi-pro ball in 2006. The guys were easy to deal with but the team owner is what made the situation unbearable. He had no business running a team. The players asked me if I would run a team the next year but I was making plans to move out of state. I gave my roster and phone numbers to another semi-pro team owner/coach and told them to go and play for him if they wanted to still play because he does things the right way.
If I had the chance I think I would coach semi-pro again but this time I would be the owner and make sure we had everything that we needed. I used that season of semi-pro to practice my offensive system because I was a HS Defensive Coordinator. I think semi-pro is a good thing when it is run properly. You can create a family atmosphere and still be about business.

1) There is nothing "semi-Pro" about it. You are either paid or you are not. If you are not paid / profit, you are not a 'professional'. I'm betting most of the players are SPENDING money, rather than MAKING it.

2) Good luck.

3) Some folks may have success (if you have a deep-pocket owner with no regard to profit margin), but to a large degree it has to be about the sport / game. Setting it up as a 'football club', where you promote the sport (ala community soccer clubs / rugby clubs). By doing that, you set yourself up to provide a detailed, organized practice without regard to political / personal interests (favorites of the owner, etc)

4) I am popping TUMS just thinking about what you have to deal with.

5) What motivates the team when things go bad? Everyone wants to play football when you are healthy, have the money, get along with everyone, have a free (working) schedule, are starting....but what motivates an ADULT to pay into a team when the former ISN'T true? This is a completely different dynamic than HS/College or PRO ball. See #3

6) If you can get the (coaching) ideas across and get everyone on the same page, you will make yourself a better coach. What is the policy when you have very talented players that either don't do the job or feel they have more experience than you ('lets run THIS scheme')?

7) I agree with the others about "knowing when to give it up". Either you played after HS, or you didn't. If you still want to play, can you justify spending $300+, possibile injury and time away from "work"? Many cannot. Although I would probably give anything to play that one more game, there is no way in hell I would pay you (or reschedule my life) to go through the 5-6 weeks it took to get ready for that game (summer camp, practices, scrimmages, etc).....and if you don't do that, what kind of "game" would you have, anyway?

I disagree.

The personality of the coach has a direct reflection on the team. If you are a fire and brimstone guy then your players will respond....if you are the deep thinker cerebral type the players will respond. If they trust you they will want to play for you regardless of age. Just treat them like men and earn that trust.

If a hoo-rah speech suits your style then by all means have at it all season long. Seems you took this job to make a difference.

Coach Mike

I currently still play for a semi pro team and what all you guys say is spot on. Tons of rif raf, thugs, fighting and very very very poor coaching. Although I play for one of the top teams in the area there is some real head aches about semi pro football. Players have familys and full-time jobs so most dont even go to practice. I would say on the team I play for we are sort of lucky to have a good staff that at least knows how to tie there football cleats. We have had many players on our team go on to Arena, Indoor, and on to college. We get a few Community College players that play in there off season to stay in shape. And a lot of the players on my team have actually played at least 1 year of college ball. But some of the teams we play they give a bad name for semi-pro football and football in genreal. We play some inner city Detroit teams and its disgusting what goes on we have been ran off the field becuase of players threating to shoot us after the game, coaches drinking on the sideline, "fans" throwing beer bottles at us, girls in the stands flashing, but this is sort of rare i have been playing for 4 years so I have seen a lot. We even had a player on our team punch a ref becuase the ref punched him. But thats my take on the deal. I play becuase im not ready to stop playing, i like playing with some of my teamates, and its something fun to do in the summer.