jamesmthomson
Sophomore Member
www.lakewoodfootball.com
Posts: 176
|
Post by jamesmthomson on Mar 16, 2008 23:01:18 GMT -6
Hey guys,
We are going into our third year at a school with mixed demographics both racially and economically (some middle class, some much lower class). One of the issues we have been dealing with since day one is improving academic performance not just to keep them eligible but to put them in position to earn scholarships and better their lives. We have hired math tutors for the team, done required study halls, etc. However, the head coach and I both feel we aren't getting nearly as much out of it as we should be for the time, effort and headaches it is costing us, not to mention the continued poor performance in the classroom that we are seeing.
My question is this: what have you done or heard of someone else doing or even just thought of doing to help your players in this regard? Incentive program ideas? Negative incentives? We are open to anything, because our efforts thus far aren't making enough impact on their academics.
It is frustrating because we feel that we have made so many positive changes in this program in terms of work-ethic, discipline, developing leadership and positive character traits, etc, but thus far the academic thing just hasn't happened.
We are open to any and all suggestions. Thanks.
|
|
|
|
Post by groundchuck on Mar 17, 2008 6:19:24 GMT -6
My first year I took over at a small rural school with lots of problems I instituted mandatory study hall on Monday and Thursday (shorter practice days) for 30 minutes. And you have to run this with an iron fist or it turns into a social hour. Teachers loved the fact the I did this and it got them on our side right away after years of being standoffish.
I also started an incentive program rewarding players who made the honor roll with a pizza party during lunch each quarter. Anyone from the team who made the honor roll got to have pizza on the football fund for lunch. Be sure to plan it for a day when there is something nasty for lunch...then more kids notice and ask why.
These seem like little things but up until the final season I was down there things turned around 180 degrees in the academic eligibility department.
I was also able to get my first administraion to sign on to making teachers do weekly grade checks on anyone who might be failing or in danger or failing. New admin backed off it this and that is part of the reason things fell through in the end. Some teachers resisted this b/c it meant more work.
|
|
|
|
Post by coachgeiser on Mar 17, 2008 12:25:01 GMT -6
Coach,
I hear you. I am the head coach at an inner city Philadelphia high school, and I feel like I'm beating my head against the wall sometimes. We are a comprehensive high school, which means, we are getting the average to below average student to begin with. We have been teamed up with the Play it Smart program for the past seven years. This program is sponsored by the College Football Hall of Fame, and provides academic coaches, as well as academic resources to member schools. We have mandatory tutoring after practice on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings after practice. Our school does not have a study hall period. My wife is a reading specialist, and volunteers on Thursdays during the day. She is able to see 8-10 kids each Thursday.
I don't know how it is in other schools but my assistant coach summed it up pretty well. These kids seem to have a disconnect. They don't seem to be motivated at all academically. I know I will have a few seniors who do not graduate this June, and I feel really bad for them, but I don't know what else I can do for them.
Coach, after reading your post I had to get that off of my chest. I'm curious....Are other coaches seeing this or is it an exception?
Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.
|
|
|
|
Post by coachwoodall on Mar 17, 2008 13:12:49 GMT -6
Letting starters sit in the stands with their equipment on, while they do their homework at spring practice is a great incentive.
|
|
|
|
Post by coachwoodall on Mar 17, 2008 13:21:20 GMT -6
We check grades all year. We try to make a big deal about academics all the time. We ask and get a lot of help from teachers. Ask the teachers to send you an email when they are not going the work, but also ask them to send encouraging emails too. We read these out to the team at the end of workout/practices.
After school workouts are M/W/F and T/Th is for study hall.
We tell them if they have to be able to handle being an athlete and taking care of the books. If you can't handle both, the books come first. Come back when your grades are up to snuff.
We give out scholarships (small but an incentive) at our year end banquet and make a big deal of it. If you don't have any schollies, try creating a Hall of Fame and you will be surprised at how many former athletes will pitch in some money when they get honored with such.
|
|
|
|
Post by brownspit on Mar 17, 2008 14:18:47 GMT -6
players have a few things that will force them to do what theyre supposed to. theyre not uniform from player to player, but they all have some weakness that will put them in line.
obviously, the success of the team is tied into the ability to get the players into achieving their assigned role. first of all, good academics keep players eligible, which gives winning a better chance. but more importantly, without education, the possibility for anyone to achieve is greatly limited.
society has a huge pull over the mindset of the young players we deal with. however, society's primary goal is often much different from that of a successful football program. education is seen as something that is not important. often, players are actually intimidated from doing well, as if being successful in the classroom is only for a certain group of people, and it equates one with being soft. as coaches, it is not our fault that society, at times, is detrimental to the development of young football players. but it is our job to fix that problem, since it is put right in our laps.
certain values and ideals for a successful program will always run contrary to society. we cant do much about that, except for what we can control. i hear many coaches say that certain ideals are just not applicable anymore, and i cannot disagree more. is discipline, education, accountability, etc. isnt popular in society, that has no bearing on what we do as coaches. it might be an obstacle in achieving maximum success, but it should never define the coaching agenda.
the other problem is that players, more often than not, wont always listen to the reasoning behind the coaching philosophy, and may disagree with the objective of the program in general. it is not until later that they recognize the whole point of the effort.
players have something that will buy you time to get the point across. it might be different for each, so youd have to be creative on top of your normal structure for education. study hall, classroom checks, sitting in the front row, etc. may solve for some, and i think having a good foundation takes care of many problems. however, for a few, you have to have that, plus much more.
i have seen players run and run, and do so many up-downs that they throw up, and then do some more. the problem is, some players will buy not going to class through the physical punishment, and not mind throwing up daily, as long as thats the cost advantage for missing class and doing what they want. i have seen players just sit in study hall and look at books, but who knows if theyre buying into being an educated young man.
for these kids, youre going to have to find out what makes him operate. for some, study hall on friday/saturday night from 9pm-3am makes them pay much more attention to academics. for some, throwing up at 430 am once sends the message. getting mom involved keeps some in place.
but maybe the easiest, and most uniform threat is playing time. its the most obvious, but the one where most coaches talk about, but fail miserably. it is difficult to see the forest through the trees.
the other thing i would say is that championship teams have a single mindedness that is shared throughout the team. the love of winning, the pride in being successful, and the importance of football in their life can be a huge factor in individual motivation. the more of these you have, the easier it is to reach maximum potential. playing time does a great job with these players, and can be a dominate factor in persuading them to put other interests aside (or forcing them to have other interests in this case).
with that being said, you can only get so much out of the other methods for improving academics. you can get mom involved, or force study hall and extra conditioning, but if the players dont have an individual hunger for suceeding, it will only get you so far. you will eventually get to a point where the tools you have at your disposal will not get the player to do what it is he is supposed to do.
one more thing - if having a player who is only around because dad is making him, or if he is only there because he doesnt want to run (sort of unlikely, since it is, after all, a sport), the coach needs to decide if that is overriding the ability for the program to be successful for the majority. some players are out of our scope of control, and will not respond to any of our tools. there is a limit on what coaches can accomplish - and the danger is that if you go out to rescue everybody, you will be disappointed, and may lose the ability to reach the large portion of the rest of the team at the same time. a small cancer can take down the whole team, and now instead of reaching 109 players instead of 110, youre losing everybody.
|
|
|
|
Post by coachd5085 on Mar 18, 2008 13:28:04 GMT -6
dcohio--with that kind of response/support/drive...I am wondering if you guys have a "supersize it" period in practices, where your kids can practice asking "Would you like to super size that order" so that they can really achieve everything their parents hope for.
|
|
kr7263
Sophomore Member
Posts: 228
|
Post by kr7263 on Mar 18, 2008 13:42:37 GMT -6
We are also struggling mightily with grades etc. We are a Title I school - 2nd year Academic Probation - There are many many athletes walking our hallways that are failing basic basic 7th grade type courses. Our basketball team finished 2nd in the state and at least 3 major contributors are below 2.0 (our stud is 3.75 national honor society soph who will play major college ball) I have at least 3 kids per class who are so apathetic it scares me. They refuse to do anything remotely engaging. Out of 30 kids in my advisory at least 10 have 2 F's & 3 kids are failing every class. However, these kids go to school every day, go to every class, sit in every class - they simply refuse to do anything. Football wise we pound them and push them, however, we follow district and state guidelines (must pass 5/6 or 6/7) too many kids skate by.
|
|
|
|
Post by warrior53 on Mar 19, 2008 2:59:49 GMT -6
It could be worse guys, my friend just interviewed at a place where out of 100 some odd players 70 failed a class this last grading period. Wow!!! Needless to say he did not take the job and this was a large factor.
|
|
|
|
Post by CoachMikeJudy on Mar 19, 2008 5:59:09 GMT -6
At my last school we took over in the spring and our team GPA started at a 1.7 w/13 kids failing off...mind you this was a school in the DC area...
In our second year we had a team GPA of 2.3 and only 1 kid failed off
3rd season- 2.4 and no kids failed off
Here are some things the HC instated:
- Weekly grade checks during season- 3F's=Sit the game
- No grade sheet=sit the game
- If you have below a 2.5= mandatory study hall on Tuesday/Thursday
- End of the year awards for Top 3 GPA in each class
- Keep track of grades out of season- most of the other sports didn't do weekly grade sheets, but after our success, the AD adopted it as mandatory for all sports...
Basically, the success was all because the HC was consistent and held them accountable..."if they want to play they will walk the line" philosophy- many people thought he was a tyrant/dictator, but the proofs in the pudding.
[glow=red,2,300]IT TAKES A TON OF WORK BY THE COACHING STAFF TO STAY ON TOP OF GRADES[/glow]- that's why many coaches fail to do so (IMO)- most are lazy when it comes to academics
|
|
kr7263
Sophomore Member
Posts: 228
|
Post by kr7263 on Mar 19, 2008 6:48:33 GMT -6
1/4 of our kids are 3.0 +, 1/4 of our kids are 1.5 or below. Our end of the year academic awards go to great & deserving kids, but those kids will get the great grades regardless. It's the 1.5 kids (just doing enough to stay eligible and in school) that I spend 99.9% of the time on. However, most of these kids are desperately starved for attention and could care less about academics - they just want to be recognized in some way even if its negative. We could give out cash $ for good grades and I know most of these kids would not put in the time or effort to get B's. We've had pro football players, community leaders, former players in DI, parents, respected teacher come in & talk. We do study hall, tutoring, awards, incentives, etc. Our school has a school wide grade check policy most teacher have bought in - but we still have apathy about grades. It drives me nuts.
|
|
|
|
Post by CoachMikeJudy on Mar 19, 2008 10:00:08 GMT -6
Sweet, let me know how that works out  |
|
|
|
Post by gunrun on Mar 19, 2008 10:04:56 GMT -6
I would like to include grades as a part of an off-season competition for our team (along with weight maxes and other things). This will hopefully create positive peer pressure and teammates will help each other to keep their grades up.
I also think it is important as whitemike52 said about no grades=no playing time. This is especially important early on with the ninth graders in their first semester of high school. The JV coach has to be tough and sit kids out a game or a half if they aren't getting the job done in the classroom.
Like many have already said, grade sheets are important. We do them every three weeks at my H.S., which I don't think is enough. We did them every two weeks at another school, and I thought that was good--not too much work on the teachers and on me keeping track of the grades, but enough to stay on top of them. Also, having teachers put a conduct grade from A to F next to their class grade is something we found helpful.
|
|
|
|
Post by Coach Klemme on Mar 19, 2008 11:00:08 GMT -6
 after the events of the past few days I would like to retract my previous posts, that is a total failure. We are going to try to get better results by beating the kids in the head with the books.  The beatings will continue until morale improves. Nice |
|
|
|
Post by CoachMikeJudy on Mar 19, 2008 12:29:37 GMT -6
Sweet, let me know how that works out yea well the most commonly failed class is 30 minute meals. Now how in the f*ck do you fail 30 minute meals? dcohio... Are you serious? WOW. You guys need Rachel Ray out there...hot piece of a$$ yo |
|
|
|
Post by Coach Vint on Mar 19, 2008 12:31:04 GMT -6
I spent eight years coaching the Bronx, New York, at a high school the New York Daily News and New York post called the worst in New York City. We also had the Play It Smart Program and it made a huge difference. We had year-round study hall from 2:15 until 3:45 everyday. If you did not attend study hall you did not play. Our school instituted a 75 averge rule, meaning all players had to have a 75 average to play. Our academic coach was part time, so the coaches had to put in many hours to help the program survive. We benched kids for any act that did not meet our expectations. If they were late to class, missed class, were late to school, late to study hall, or caused a problem in the building, they did not play. While we had to play some games without our most talented kids, the example was set. We ended up being very successful and all of our kids improved greatly. Our numbers increased, and we became very competitive football wise. In fact, my last year there we had 24 seniors and over 30 juniors. Every kid graduated and all of the seniors went to college. We had our fourth playoff team in seven years, and we enjoyed great success.
The biggest lesson I learned was that if you raise your expectations and hold kids accountable, they will raise their own expectations. We instituted a leadership development program and player council, and that helped as well. Our kids put a lot of pressure on each other in the classroom, in the weightroom, and on the field. The best advice I can give is to raise the standards and provide support to reach those new standards.
|
|
|
|
Post by poweriguy on Mar 19, 2008 12:47:41 GMT -6
I feel what you guys are saying. My first year coaching football, the JV squad started the year with 32 kids. After the first 6 wk period, the squad was down to 23. Then after the second 6 wk period, the squad was down to 14. Then after the 3wk period, the squad went back up to 16. o 2 kids got there grades back up to play.
Then my last year there, the JVs went from 47, 27, 20 players after the grading periods.
We did the weekly grade checks. But honestly, the teachers hated it. the first 3 or 4 weeks were fine, then we started having kids come to us saying that their teacher wouldn't sign the grade check slip. So our HC talked to the teachers, and sure enough, they couldn't be bothered to "look up grades" just for a few students. It took to much time away from everybody else.
Then we started getting grade slips with "no grade" written in the spot where the letter grade is supposed to. So we had no clue what was going on with are kids situations. Then when grades came out, or worst fears were realized.
What was the real upsetting thing is when you ask the kids what they're grades are, the will say B or C . then you find out they flunked 3 classes.
And like you guys said, it seems the kids joke and laugh about it. Like it's no big deal.
|
|
kr7263
Sophomore Member
Posts: 228
|
Post by kr7263 on Mar 19, 2008 13:10:43 GMT -6
Our attendance & grading system is completely computerized - I have access to every kids grade & homework / test results daily or weekly - the computer automatically prints a academic warning report which goes through our AD. So knowing our kids grades and holding them accountable is not our problem. Forcing them to study-take notes-read anything is. Like I said we have plenty of checks and balances, my biggest regret is the 15-20 kids walking around our building who could make us better. Yesterday was walking behind a kid he must have been 6'6 260 solid - I talked to him - look up his grades : .85GPA. We have about 3300 kids in our school so I bump into kids like that all the time. I know we cant save/reach them all but I'd sure like to pick the ones I can.
|
|
jamesmthomson
Sophomore Member
www.lakewoodfootball.com
Posts: 176
|
Post by jamesmthomson on Mar 20, 2008 11:59:02 GMT -6
It's been great to read all of these responses and good to know that we are not alone in this frustration. What kinds of positive re-enforcers could be offered up? Helmet stickers? Getting out of conditioning? Name on the back of jersey? End-of-year rewards?
For some reason the idea of grouping kids in a group of, say seven or eight and creating some kind off off-season citizenship competition appeals to me--combining attendance, average gpa, staying out of trouble and weightroom improvement or some such--and creating a point system with a really good legitimate award attached to it. I am just kind of thinking (typing) allowed here, but it is an idea. Maybe getting local businesses to donate gift certificates or merchandise to high-performing players? Sporting goods stores, perhaps, who would want to connect with the players? Just a thought.
|
|
|
|
Post by coachdawhip on Mar 20, 2008 12:17:19 GMT -6
My Master's Thesis was based on Athletic Peformance and Grades with attention focused on Football Players and Wins by Coaches.
Most of what has already been said is true.
STUDY HALL! Start off by finidng at least One hour a week of it, find 2 if need be.
CHECK GRADES! Year-round, during the season every 3-4 weeks and offseason at least 4 times.
TUTOR! Which can be done by the coaches if need be, esp. if you are a teacher and the other coaches are as well.
REWARDS! Reward Academic performance.
I could go into more detial, but the stats I pulled show that these basic things have to be in place in order to be successful
|
|
ramsoc
Junior Member
Posts: 431
|
Post by ramsoc on Mar 20, 2008 12:57:50 GMT -6
You guys need Rachel Ray out there...hot piece of a$$ yo Can't disagree with whitemike on this one.... |
|
kr7263
Sophomore Member
Posts: 228
|
Post by kr7263 on Mar 20, 2008 13:20:26 GMT -6
Warrior Elite Northern Ill Husky Off-Season Team Challenge - HC Jerry Kill
1. At the beginning of the spring semester each team member votes for 8 leaders.
2. The HC meets with this group to explain the challenge - teach/ go over leadership etc.
3. After 2 weeks of training the leaders "draft" players from the team.
4. Each team begins with 5000 pts
5. The team that finishes last each week has extra conditioning
5 The team who finishes 1st at the end of the semester wins a team plaque in the locker room and a steak dinner (he said he follows NCAA guidelines on this) served by the last team
Teams Beginning Bank = 5000
A's or B's on final grades = 200
Community service hours (pre approved by HC) = 100 per hour
Meet Wt Room goals (set by SC Coach) = 100 pts per lift
Competition Points = 100 pts
Host a recruit = 100 pts
Failure to Act appropriately = Yellow Outfit
Failure to be on time = Yellow Outfit
Failure to go to class = Yellow Outfit
D's or F's = -200pts
Yellow Outfit (a yellow practice jersey with pink lettering -NIU)
1st offense = -500 team pts & 1 week in yellow outfit
2nd offense = -1000 team pts & 2 weeks in yellow outfit
3rd offense = -1500 team pts & 3 weeks in yellow outfit & See Coach Kill
There will be a meal at the end of each 1/2. Players who did not wear a yellow outfit during that half will be served a champions meal by those who wore the yellow shirt.
Another funny thing he said: 3 things will always get you in trouble: 1. alcohol 2. drugs 3. girls and girls are undefeated!
|
|
|
|
Post by CoachMikeJudy on Mar 22, 2008 20:54:08 GMT -6
We did the weekly grade checks. But honestly, the teachers hated it. the first 3 or 4 weeks were fine, then we started having kids come to us saying that their teacher wouldn't sign the grade check slip. So our HC talked to the teachers, and sure enough, they couldn't be bothered to "look up grades" just for a few students. It took to much time away from everybody else. Poweriguy, That is a $hitty show by those teachers- We had an extremely supportive principal who, when he was made aware of what we were trying to accomplish with the sheets, put out an e-mail saying in short for teachers to sign those sheets or that's their a$$. A teacher saying they're too busy to sign grade slips? Are you f-ing kidding me? That's part of our job! If a parent wanted a conference and asked for updated grades, those teachers would be damned sure to provide an updated grade sheet or they'd catch a reprimand letter in their file! What the hell is the difference here... That sucks bro. We started out with similar issues, but come to find out the kids were running to their teachers last minute to get things checked in- so we told the kids that gradesheets come out on Tuesday, and they have all day T/W/Th to get every teacher to sign it. They had no excuses to not get it done. I guess I was very lucky with the admin we had... |
|
|
|
Post by touchdowng on Mar 22, 2008 21:19:48 GMT -6
When I first became a HC at a JH I saw that we were going with our state standards. As long as "Johnnie" was passing 4 of 6 classes, he could play.
I worked with our AD and we came up with a 2.0 and NO Fs as our criteria. The weekly grade check became our players "Ticket to play"
You have to work with the teaching staff because all of these grade checks can be very bothersome when they are trying to teach. If a bunch of science students came to you during your FB practice to sign off on a field trip form to the local zoo, you'd be a little bothered too. So, we had to campaign on this a bit.
Most teachers are great about it.
Once I moved to the H.S. level we used the same criteria and also began setting team goals with an overall GPA. Last year our Varsity football team was a 3.09 GPA on the average. We still use our ticket to play and it's worked out nice.
Your entire coaching staff has to buyin to this philosophy so that the boys are hearing the grades are important all YEAR long, not just during the season. We check grades all year and we will drop on our guys like a lead baloon when we see them slipping.
Our kids know that football is a great adventure but getting prepared for life after H.S. is the real journey!
|
|
|
|
Post by saintrad on Mar 23, 2008 10:55:01 GMT -6
The NFL sponsors a grant program for low income/impoverished areas to help raise academic scores. I can't remember the name of it, but it pays $15k for an academic coordinator to work with the students and coaches to help raise acaemics.
|
|
clloyd
Sophomore Member
Posts: 210
|
Post by clloyd on Mar 24, 2008 19:24:12 GMT -6
We are doing a point system this year for offseason work. One way the students earn points is there actual marking period GPA. We go off a 100 point scale so it they have a gpa of 93 after the 2nd mp then they get 93 points if they have a 70 then they get 70 points.
|
|
|
|
Post by pcarroll2169 on Mar 28, 2008 19:16:12 GMT -6
I installed an off-season program that uses grades, weight room and speed workouts, max increases, participation in other sports, behavior, most improved (grades), and school leadership. I started with how many work out days that were in off-season and gave the player 2 points for each time they attended. I wanted them to attend at least 85% of the work outs. Once I had that number, I moved on to the grades. I gave 3 points for every A, 2 points for every B, 1 point for every C, and a -5 for each F. Since the majority of our kids have 7 classes, and we had only 3 grading cycles left, I made this part of the program the majority of where they got their points. If they received a detention, I took away 2 points. I gave points at the end of off-season to those kids who increased their max's by 10%. I gave points for those athletes that played other sports (10 for basketball, 10 for baseball, 20 for track, since I am the track coach too). I gave points for the most improved, and school leadership. For my program, the kids must have 110 points in order to participate in live scrimmages or games. If they do not have their points by the beginning of 2-a-days, they will have to earn their points by extra running or conditioning, after practice. The administration is thrilled that we are holding them more accountable, and the kids have responded well.
|
|
