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Post by coachcb on Sept 8, 2006 13:15:55 GMT -6
This season I'm the HC of a youth (5th and 6th grade) squad- we start practice next week. I'm in charge of building a staff and have lined up a few guys. Its an inexperienced staff (none of them have coached), but I think they'll be alright. Most of the guys have been perceptive to my way of doing things, but one or two of them have already started piping up about their "better way"
Here's my question- how much leeway would you give these guys if you were in my shoes? I'd like to be able to give them some freedom and say in practice, but some of them just don't have a clue. I'm afraid that I am going to have to micromanage more than I want to.
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zman
Probationary Member
Posts: 5
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Post by zman on Sept 8, 2006 14:25:27 GMT -6
Hello CoachCB,
What has worked for me is I give them a certain area to work on. Special Teams, Defense, etc. Let them know you have trust in them to handle that and you will be there in they have any question. Every now and them just check on them to see how they are doing.
Hope that helps.
Zman
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Post by davecisar on Sept 8, 2006 15:07:03 GMT -6
I give in zero as to my practice methodology, offense and defense schemes. Once you do , you are done. I set up the depth charts with playing time allocations, then let them do the subbing on their own./ Maybe 2./3 of the way through season does my practice plan say" 20 minutes DB drills per Jim" etc
Set expectations it will be run your way and thats it, if you dont it can become a nightmare.
Give them all your materials and schemes and let them be in charge of small areas of it per your instructions and methods IE Rush ends or boxing ends etc.
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Post by brophy on Sept 8, 2006 16:08:27 GMT -6
I think you can have the best of both worlds, so long as you clearly define what you want.
I know a lot of the fans with whistles that get into coaching, look to show the players the stuff that they think is the "coolest" without regard to what you hope to accomplish.
If you can....give each one of them an area of responsibility that they can be accountable for.
If you have a guy that you give the defense to, tell him you want 80% of the defense in by such-and-such a date and have him outline the practices of implementation. I LOT of guys think they can slap stuff together (just line up and we'll see if we're good) and think they are coaching.....make them draw up the whys and hows of what they are teaching.
When you have a young staff, a good thing to do is do a mini-clinic of the key points you want to stress in teaching.....you are a quick passing team, show how you want the linemen to kick slide in protection (or whatever). You are going to be a wing-t team, these are the key points you want them to stress in your quarterback's footwork, etc.
Keep EVERYTHING within the scope of the system you are running. For a lot of young guys, they want to start flying on their own right away, without taking in consideration the 'big picture'.
For instance, if you are facing a spread team in the first two games, your defense had better be able to DEFEND a spread team in the first game. Make everything tie together, and again, WORK BACKWARDS from your goal. Piece by piece, have them put together the big picture (of scheme or position coaching).
I really believe the devil is in the details of coaching. If the head coach defines that you are going to be a zone or man-to-man defense.....the coordinator should be focussing his energies on how to teach his players HOW to be a good zone / man-to-man team.....because PLAY CALLING is overrated (but something young coaches want to do so badly).
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Post by coachcb on Sept 8, 2006 17:53:10 GMT -6
The schemes won't be an issue because the entire league is running the same offense (1st 3 weeks) and the same defense (all season).I'm going to take over initially as OC and then we'll go from there- if they're competent, I'll let them call plays. We run one defensive front and one coverage, so there really is no need for a DC. One of the assistants want to "revamp" the offense (ie- completely change it) after those 3 weeks but I shut that down in a hurry. When I explained why I wouldn't do it (wasting five weeks worth of practice) he understood.
I am planning on sitting down with the entire staff, giving them each a position, and then giving each of them a list of skills that have to be taught to that position. During that session, I will explain and demonstrate how I want the skills taught. This is where I'm wondering if I'll run into serious problems because I've already had minor one. I was explaining to my pseudo-OL coach how to teach a reach block (technique I get from a former D1 OL coach) and he started arguing with me. He really didn't have a clue.. This was even after I explained where I got the technique from..... I would like to be able to assign positions and then float, but I'm afraid I won't be able to stray away from the OL/DL because of an ego trip. I don't want to drop the guy, because he's good with the kids, but I also don't want any issues.
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Post by coachcalande on Sept 8, 2006 20:45:04 GMT -6
with trust comes ownership and responsibility...you have to COACH YOUR COACHES. if they are uncoachable, they cannot coach.
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Post by coachcb on Sept 9, 2006 11:32:57 GMT -6
I think I'm already going to have to dump one guy...... We had out evaluations today; run the kids through some drills so we can take a look at them and split them up. I set up a ball handling station, just focusing a proper 2 point stance and taking the hand off properly. This coach (17 years old, no experience) tries to change the drill while I'm running it. In between drills he argued with me on EVERYTHING.... I explained to him that we will be doing things my way and that seemed to shut him up. He's the cousin of the best coach I have on the staff and he's going to have a talk with him, so that might smooth things over. I'm going to lay down the law at our staff meeting next week, if he argues with me at all I'm sending him packing....
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Post by coachcalande on Sept 9, 2006 16:28:23 GMT -6
...hed already be gone...then again, he is a kid. if you can TEACH HIM how to coach (be loyal for one) then perhaps his passion and energy will be of some use.
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Post by coachcb on Sept 9, 2006 18:00:53 GMT -6
He spent all morning trying to establish himself as the "alpha male", so to speak. He argued with my philosophies(ie he wants to install a 5 wide spread after running the league-mandatory Power T for five weeks...) and the techniques I was teaching, several times in front of the kids. He also played the "one-up-manship" game, underminding me at every turn-("middle school and HS coaching experience doesn't work with youth league"). Hes a couple months out of HS, has no coaching experience what-so-ever, and has already shown he's willing to start a power struggle.
He has enthusiasm, but I don't care. He walked into this mornings session assuming that he was going to take over the team and impose some sort of will over the staff. I'm going to tell him I don't want him on the staff, I don't need the headache. If he still wants to coach, he can be the pain in someone elses butt this year. I may lose his cousin, which sucks, but I won't deal with his sh*t.
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Post by poweriguy on Sept 9, 2006 18:52:32 GMT -6
From experience..........
Get rid of him.
Seriously.
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Post by PowerDown on Sept 9, 2006 19:56:46 GMT -6
I agree, get him out, its one thing if he went in with your philosophy and understood where you were coming from and wanted to tweak it to personel, its completely wrong to undermine it.
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Post by coachcb on Sept 9, 2006 20:10:08 GMT -6
I can handle egos- I've been doing that for years. But this kid hasn't shown me a single positive quality and a whole lot of negative ones. If I gave him a second chance, I'd end up booting him within the next week or two.
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Post by coachcalande on Sept 9, 2006 20:30:20 GMT -6
sounds like he needs to go.
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Post by fort on Sept 10, 2006 8:44:42 GMT -6
Have you talked to him at all about his attitude? I mean, sit him down and talk, not just continuing his arguements. Maybe if you explain to him your thoughts/feelings about his actions, he'll start to understand what he's there to do (and what he's not there to do). Maybe... Sounds like he'll probably not get it, though. It might be better to cut him loose while it's early.
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Post by coachcb on Sept 10, 2006 8:53:39 GMT -6
I'm going to drop him today, its going to be tough, in fact it'll probably get nasty. Hopefully his cousin will understand and continue to work with me. He's a good guy and when I talked to him yesterday he was just as upset at his cousin as I was. If he doesn't stay on, it'll hurt the team, but not as much as having his cousin around.
Thanks for the advice guys.
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Post by coachcalande on Sept 10, 2006 9:12:45 GMT -6
Id say next year have a meeting and provide a list of expectations and a coaching contract for all your guys. I can honestly say that often its just assumed that guys understand how assistants are to act/fit in. Its a good idea to give your guys a list of what they can expect from you and a list that details your expectations from them. nips all the issues in the bud.
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Post by coachcb on Sept 10, 2006 9:42:47 GMT -6
I had met with everybody except for this kid... He showed up with his cousin yesterday and started being an a--. I've got a staff meeting planned next week, just to reitrate duties and expectations. I got this position real late in the game(2 weeks ago) and its been a scramble to get a staff together. I tried several times to get a staff meeting together last week, but everyone had work or classes- so I met with them individually.
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