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Post by 23coachm on Nov 18, 2012 17:15:15 GMT -6
How about some advice on going 0-10 for the first time as a coach? What do you say at your banquet? What do you do in the off season? This is what has been keeping me up the last couple of nights since we lost our last game over this weekend. How many guys have issues with your athletes not committing to the program in the off season and what do you do about the lack of commitment? I know to many questions , but can use some advice by all of you experts.
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Post by pirates2012 on Nov 18, 2012 17:25:26 GMT -6
hardly an "expert" but we went 2-7 this season and had a similar problem trying to think of what to say.
I made sure to thank the seniors for everything they did and talked about what they each meant to the program as individuals and talked about how I thought that they were all going to be great after school.
Awards, etc... told a couple stories, etc. I tried not to dwell on the results but found some positives through out the season and tried to talk most about them.
Yes, we are having some issues with kids committing. School hired a weight room coach and apparently we had 5 kids show up the other day.
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Post by davishfc on Nov 18, 2012 17:35:55 GMT -6
I went 0-9 my first year as a head coach 6 years ago. Focus on the positive no matter how hard it will be. Also, it's important to show a correlation between the lack of commitment and the result of the season without throwing the senior class under the bus in front of everyone. You want to preserve your credibility with that group whether they were all in or not. They could quickly become naysayers if your motivation of next year's team is not handled properly in front of them. Something along the lines of, we have a responsibility to improve upon this season moving forward for our program, school, and community. Getting into the weight room is absolutely vital to our program's success in the future.
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Post by carookie on Nov 18, 2012 18:48:38 GMT -6
My first year coaching HS ball I was a frosh asst. for a guy, the only reason he was the frosh HC was because he did it the year before. Our practice sked was basically Stretch, form tackle in lines, some weird fumble recovery scrum, and an hour of team. I could go on and on about this guy but thats not the point of the post.
I worked hard and made some connections with the kids, it was a very rough school and lots of kids had problems, but needless to say we went 0-10. Well the varsity banquet and frosh banquet were held together and sure enough, the frosh HC no showed.
So here I was, the lone frosh coach having to come up with stuff on the spot to say about the 30 some odd kids who showed. And as each one came up I talked for about a minute about something they did and put it in a positive manner. Heck, even for the kid who was a pain all season for him to be at the banquet meant he stuck it out, and that gave me something positive to say. Kept it positive, kept is about the kids not about the record. At least for the banquet aspect hope that helps.
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Post by bluedevil4 on Nov 18, 2012 19:21:30 GMT -6
To go off what carookie said, keep it positive.
I would actually suggest doing a little one minute spiel on each kids that comes up, and make it positive. The kids really love hearing good things about them, especially when someone else is telling a hundred people. I know I loved it as a player. Whether you go 0-10 or 10-0, that will always be a great positive for the program for next year and the outgoing class.
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Post by coachkb14 on Nov 18, 2012 20:18:48 GMT -6
I feel your pain! The last 2 years, my first as a head coach, we have gone 1-19. I am taking over a program that only won 10 games the in the 4 year stretch before I got there. I asked at practice one day who had won more than 10 games in their football career, since age 8, and only 1 kid stood up. He was a move in from another state. It is very frustrating not to win, but one thing I always tell my kids is they are laying the foundation for great things to come. I have had almost double the numbers of the previous coach and our younger levels are finally having some success (both had winning records this year). I have been pushing the weight room like crazy and kids are finally starting to buy in. The last thing I told my team at the banquet was don't quit when you are so close to finding success!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2012 21:51:51 GMT -6
What else was successful besides winning? Did the players grow off the field, do you think they became better men? What I'm getting at, is if all your about in what you are doing is wins, then that is a pretty hollow assessment of the success of a team. Now I know that sounds like some Dr. Phil BS, BUT, I think you have to have a higher purpose than just "we went 0-10". I went 0-10 on a staff a few years back, however our kids GPA's rose from 2.2 avg. to 3.1, practice and weight room attendance was excellent. Our kids connected with our local youth programs by helping to run speed camps and fundraisers, and we had only 2 kids get suspended during the season for disciplinary issues (after having 14 incidents the year before). I guess what I'm saying is, find the good in anything you do, and that comes from coaching for more than wins. Do you feel your team is better than it was when you got there, not just on the field, but off of it. If so, focus on some of that stuff, and then go build from there.
As far as kids not buying in, that's the really tough part. We went 0-10 and many kids came up to our HC and asked if he was going to come back, to which he answered "yes". This affirmed to the players that our HC and his staff wasn't going to give up on them, and that helped. The other thing that helped was the players knew the coaches were in it for more than just wins and losses, they knew they were going to become better people for having stayed with the football program. Now not all of the, but a majority of them have stated in the years since all this passed that b/c we stuck with them and helped them not only in football, but school and life is why they stayed. Look back at what you've done, and make sure you've made the kind of investment in your players that you want your players to make in you and the program. Then as they say..."keep chopping wood".
Duece
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Post by outlawjoseywales on Nov 19, 2012 11:43:47 GMT -6
Coach, you tell them what you told them all year. It's just an extention of how you survived the year. We've all had tough years, if you coach long enough, you will have every bad thing happen to you that you've heard happen to other coaches. Just magnify your weekly strategy that helped you get through the year. Here's a few ideas. I'll put these things in clumps: "These are the greatest kids in the world" strategy. Families love to hear how wonderful their kids are (especially if they are not) Did you like these kids? Did they improve? Did you have any positive impact on their lives? Did they become better citizens? Did they learn any lessons about life and will be important for their adulthood? Did you have an impact on their grades and citizenship? Do you have any examples for other teachers are admin that YOU improved the lives of these kids? -The "blame the other guy" strategy: Did you take over a bad program? Was the previous coach an idiot and leave you nothing? Was he such an "idiot" that HE is the one who made this this bad. (BUT I'm not an idiot and I will do things better-of course) -The "building for the future strategy" Did you see improvment? Did you start underclassmen? Did you institute a new weight lifting program? -The "WE'VE got great new ideas" strategy: Do you have ideas for the future? Are you changing to a "new and exciting" system next year? Are you bringing in any new coaches to institute your "new and exciting" system? Are you going to any clinics and learning this "new and exciting" system? Just three "political" strategies that might help (you'll recognize these from the election we just had)  |
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Post by tim914790 on Nov 19, 2012 16:06:42 GMT -6
0-10 4 years ago. Definitely focus on the positive at the banquet. In my situation we had a lot of really nice kids just no a$$ kickers that will help you win games so I wanted to at least make them feel like their effort was not forgotten.
As far as moving forward goes you have to really try to look at why you were not successful and how to change that. This starts with looking in the mirror to see what I did that contributed to the 0-10.
I then tried to identify a few things that absolutely had to change in order for us to start to improve (discipline, rules, commitment, etc..) I looked at it and agreed that certain things needed to be done but did not think it was possible with the administration at the time so I decided to resign. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do but it was either do something I didn't believe and change nothing or do what I knew was right but receive ZERO support from above. I chose to wish everyone well and move on. Since moving on I have learned so much more then I knew 4 years ago and while I do not regret my decision I now have the itch to be a HC again and of course you never are totally prepared but I feel I have a better understanding of all the "other" stuff that goes into being a HC.
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Post by champ93 on Nov 19, 2012 19:16:09 GMT -6
Focus on the experience, not the result. Make it quick and positive but don't lie. Kids see through that. Went to my son's college (D3) banquet this weekend--they laughed about what the HC said about some of the kids as they were well aware the HC couldn't stand.
Bottom line for me, preserve the dignity of the team despite the record, remain credible with all and hold a separate meeting for next year's strategy. Then go home and have a beer.
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Post by Coach_O on Nov 20, 2012 11:47:11 GMT -6
We had a less than successful year two years ago and we made some dramatic changes during the off-season. We announced the changes during the award night two years ago. Currently, we are coming off of one of the best player/player, player/coach, and parent/player seasons I have ever been a part of.
1. Player interviews - we started right after the season and asked players what they liked and disliked about the program. Practice, Structure, Offense, Defense, Discipline. Everything. We restructured a few things to their suggestions and it really made them feel like they had a say in the program.
2. We simplified everything. We made the offense and defense so easy that almost anyone could step in and contribute. This allowed us to see results during summer 11 on 11. Once they saw schemes working, they all bought in.
3. Threw away the bad apples. When we started our winter conditioning, we told players that either they are contributors in other sports or they are in the weightroom with football. Players that did not commit/show up got passed by alot of sophmores that were bigger and stronger than them come the summer time. One thing we discussed but did not do was allow the off-season attendance count towards things like jersey/locker selection. We also talked about handing out shirts for players that attended 90% of the off-season work each cycle.
4. Reworked our policies. We were in a similar boat as a staff. Two years ago the season could not end fast enough for multiple reasons. We made it clear last year that we expected ____________ to be a player on this team. If kids skipped practice or had an attitude, we cut into their playing time. One thing is a fact, every kid wants to play in games. We made that clear for parents as well. We asked them to not put their kids in the middle. We told them that they could disagree with every decision that we made but don't vocalize it in from of their kids. We told them that we have their kids best interest at heart and they should trust us.
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