Assistant Coaches Not Getting It Done

Ive never been a HC, but have coordinated with some success. 1st thing is to teach them EXACTLY what drills they will be teaching, how to teach them, and why (this why part will eventually build up the understanding of the system we are running). Then, make sure they are doing what theyve been told; have a practice schedule that dictates what specifically will be done at every time (I mean exactly what drill they are doing every minute). Remind them, in whatever way that best fits you, that YOU are in charge, and they will do what you say.

Honestly, if your coaches arent doing what you tell them, then adios. Consider if your QB was consistently changing plays in the huddle and running what he wanted instead of what you called; even if he were by far the best you have you wouldnt let this stand. It should be no different with coaches.

I had a buddy who took over at a struggling program, and virtually all of his lower level coaches were the "older coaches" you mentioned. They never ran his system, despite this he held on to them and it really hurt his progress. I dont know how readily available coaches are in your area (or even just people willing to be there); but a warm body whose gonna do nothing but stand around, clap, and explain to the kids the drill exactly as you have explained it to him is better than someone whose gonna cut your legs out from under you.

And if there arent any warm bodies in your town, and you dont have enough coaches on your staff who are willing to do what it is you ask of them.....you're SOL.

Let me know if you find out... got a bunch of guys that want to "call plays" but not a lot want to do all the work, planning, prep, learning, and TIME required to earn that right. Gets very frustrating. I'm dealing with some of it right now. Guy I wouldn't even trust to be my WR coach last season is now the OC at a school we play in our league... Unless he multiplies his time and effort by about 100, they should be awful this season. Lost 3 coaches from last year... not losing sleep over any of them specifically, but it is 6 less eyeballs at every practice. Trying to find more eyeballs right now.

does this thread preclude the saying 'there are more good coaches than good programs'?

I'll come call your plays CQ. I don't need to be at practice though do I? Also, don't bother getting me into Hudl...I won't be needing that.

For your volunteers, are they expected to be there everyday?

I have a buddy who runs our special teams but his schedule simply does not allow him to be a M-F guy. In the offseason we figure out two days he can commit to and I adjust our practice plan accordingly. We basically rep the heck out of specials on "his" days. We're a small school, though, so perhaps it's simpler here...

How many good coaches you got? Are you willing to spread them out? Casey Stengel once said one of his keys to success was, "keeping the guys who didnt like him away from those who were undecided".

Maybe if you spread those coaches who are insubordinate throughout the program and have some of your better coaches working closely with them you can diffuse their negative influence. 

You know, now that you mention it, I suck. 

You can try being nice... followed by being more stern about it

if both the good cop and bad cop acts fail then I guess all you can really do is get rid of them

sometimes addition through subtraction is best

as an OC and OL coach I have brought someone in I trust to help me with the OL... so now I can rotate back and forth between them and the QBs because we are lacking there but I think it will be overall much better than last year when we had a dedicated QB coach but who wasnt always on the same page with everyone else

Why would you take a job where you knew that you had absolutely no say regarding who was on your coaching staff?

Bills?

i would say assistant coaches and their success depends on the same things that make the team successful
my best teams were not always the ones with the best players..they were the teams that got along well and bought into "be a great teammate"
same with assistant coaches..don't have to be the most knowledgable but really need to get along with the each other (and the kids) and the HC like a "family" AND buy into HC's system and everything will be OK..(better for post game drinking too).Give direction and oversee...gotta teach what you want them to

Also as an aside, our best year was when we had coaches from all ages like one big happy family
1) young just in or out of college (relate well to the kids today and their concerns and attitudes) = big brother
2) early middle age with experience to provide ingenuity = father
3) cagey retired veterans to provide stability= grandpa

Trust me jgordon1 I am starting to wonder if the common denominator (me) is the reason. I feel like asking my assistant coaches to all put in only 1/2 as much time as me to not be unreasonable... Still waiting for one of my assistants to show me that they can be trusted with O, D, or ST. So tired of having to coordinate all 3 and do all the stats. It can get very tiring. My wife does WAY more than most of the assistant coaches Love that woman.

You are correct Coach, I probably would not work around there. 

I agree 100% with your statement.  Dead on!

Duece