al
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Post by al on Sept 4, 2013 7:22:17 GMT -6
Hello Coaches,
I apologize if this is long but I can't get it off of my mind and need some advice.
My son just started playing on an 8-9 yr old league, he played last year in the "D" league which was his 1st year of tackle. He loves anything football, always wants to toss the ball and always talks about it so he was very excited for this season to begin. However, after these past 3 weeks he says he does not want to play. There are 5 coaches on the team, one who is very hard on the kids - screaming, putting them down, talking down to them not to mention some hard core conditioning at the end of practice.
The team is split up into A and B, with A being the better players. Each practice after going through drills the coaches will have the A team run through offense (sometimes defense) while the B team will be on defense. This would not bother me except that they provide no instruction to the B team, the entire focus is on the A team except for an occasional scream from one of the coaches when a tackle is not made or incorrect. The B team pretty much just fills spots for the A team. With my son on the B team I realize that I have some bias but I found out that I'm not the only parent to have these concerns. In this league they have a "2nd Quarter" rule which means that the coaches are required to put the kids that are on the B team in the game so that they would get some playing time. This past weekend the B team was out on the field and had no clue what to do or where to line up, which of course had the coaches screaming at them. The score was 16 - 0 with our team winning and the coaches didn't even bother to give the B team any more time on the field.
I don't have much experience with youth football, I played a couple of seasons when I was 14-15 but not at this age level and I do not know much about the technical details of the game although I love watching football.
So am I just being a biased parent who needs to relax? My wife just wants to pull him off of the team but I know that's not the answer. It just breaks my heart to see my son start crying saying he does not want to go to practice when all that he eats, sleeps is football and I'm sure he's not the only one. My thinking is that there could be a few kids on this B team that could turn out to be exceptional players once they grasp some of the concepts of the game but when the coaches completely overlook them for the more experienced/faster players who understand the plays better these other kids have no chance and will be discouraged from playing again.
Any thoughts on this? I'm trying to figure out how to approach the coach to explain my concerns.
Thanks
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2013 7:35:38 GMT -6
Coach, make your son finish what he started. and stay out of it. Your son will be better for it, even though that might be hard to watch.
You are not going to change the ignorance that is involved with the coaching staff.
If the coaches didn't coach the b team like the A team, nothing you say will change the approach.
It is a fact of life that their are just terrible coaches. And unfortunately your son is playing for some of them.
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Post by bobgoodman on Sept 4, 2013 7:57:23 GMT -6
Al, are you getting your info about their practice by watching it, or just from your son's reporting?
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al
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Post by al on Sept 4, 2013 8:36:59 GMT -6
Coachbry - I agree, whatever the outcome I want him to finish what he started. It's just a matter of keeping his head up and enthusiasm for the game high.
Bob - I'm at the practices watching it. I've been trying to watch the other kids on the B team as well since I know I can be biased since it is my son out there so I try to watch it with an objectionable point of view (hard to do I know). Someone else expressed the same concerns to my wife the other day so at least it's not just me.
It would be one thing if this was high school but since these are 8 & 9 year olds I'm surprised at the mentality of these coaches. I start to wonder if it is more about them and their egos than it is about teaching the game. But I won't go there (for now anyway).
I understand the importance of winning - but at least in practice I wish they would give all of these kids a chance to learn. I believe you can spot talent fairly quickly but you cannot spot "lack of talent" until they mature some more and get a better grasp of the game.
One example was at yesterday's practice I heard a kid on the O line (A Team) tell the coach that the kid he was blocking (B Team) kept his head down so it was hard to block - the coach told him to just push him down (hands on top of the kids shoulders). This could have been an opportunity to teach the kid on defense how to rush but instead he just told the other kid to push him down.
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Post by coachphillip on Sept 4, 2013 8:58:32 GMT -6
Whenever I have parents who are concerned about this kind of thing, it typically boils down to one thing: not enough coaches with not enough time. If there are two coaches on staff then one coaches line and the other coaches skills. That's 5 kids each, minimum. If there are three coaches then one has line (the most of one position), one has backfield (QB and RB are very different and require specialized attention), and one has wide receivers (the furthest two guys apart).
It seems like you're at a lot of the practices with other concerned parents. Why don't you just go to the coach and say that you'd like to assist him by "organizing the scout team." You and another father could assist him by coaching the B team defense (using his terminology and his philosophy!) and this would allow him to focus on the A team offense.
Come to the guy with a solution, not a complaint.
The only thing I'd say, in warning, is that to remember you'd be an assistant.
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Post by bobgoodman on Sept 4, 2013 9:22:27 GMT -6
I start to wonder if it is more about them and their egos than it is about teaching the game. Consider the possibility they're coaching for stakes. Coaches enjoying being competitive, it's not unknown for them to get together a pot based on final standings. If it's more than a token amount, though, it's incentive for them to sacrifice the kids' interest for team competition. |
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Post by mahonz on Sept 4, 2013 9:22:58 GMT -6
AL
An A Team and a B Team on one Team?
How many players are we talking about here? Sometimes the real issue is the dynamics of the League that overwhelms the Staff with too many players.
Still...there is always a solution to get the kids one the field and every player should be getting coached up in practice regardless. Creating and A/B Group is dividing the Team and that usually ends poorly.
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al
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Post by al on Sept 6, 2013 7:11:58 GMT -6
CoachPhillip - I've thought about the possibility that there are not enough coaches but on most days there are 6 coaches. Yesterdays practice 3 were standing around while the A team ran the offense but who knows, I just might get together with another parent and see if there is a way we could help out, I just need to figure out how to diplomatically ask.
Mahonz - the A and B team is league wide. It's not so much game time as it is working with these guys at practice that bothers me. If they could get more instruction maybe then they could get more game time
Another thing has me concerned now. My son had asked last me week if he could be the punter, he has been practicing. I told him that he could ask the coach and maybe he would be but if he did not get chosen he just needs to keep practicing. So my son asked the coach and he said "we'll see". They had a few kids punt and on Wednesday the coach told my son he was the punter for the B team which I could tell made his day. They practiced a couple of punts after that. Then yesterday they had the B team line up for punting and my son punted 1 time. They then called another kid in and told my son to go back to the line and had this kid punt.
Not sure what that was about but I hope that on Saturday for the game they have my son punt (the other kid is a good punter but there was no discussion on any of this).
Anyway - maybe I'm just over-reacting but I'll give it some more time and see. I've been getting to practice early to work with my son.
I also know that it take a lot of time for you guys (coaches) to prepare and teach these kids and there are a lot of good coaches out there so please don't get me wrong. Not to mention having to listen to parents (I hope I'm not one of them) complain and critique. I just want these kids to have the chance to learn this great sport, even if they don't turn out to have the skills at least they'll have a good experience.
Thanks for taking the time
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Post by jrk5150 on Sept 6, 2013 7:44:51 GMT -6
CoachPhillip - I've thought about the possibility that there are not enough coaches but on most days there are 6 coaches. Yesterdays practice 3 were standing around while the A team ran the offense but who knows, I just might get together with another parent and see if there is a way we could help out, I just need to figure out how to diplomatically ask. Might be tough to be diplomatic. But you can be nice, and discrete. Here's a thought - if you don't mind forcing their hands - the two of you go up to the HC and speak to him alone. Volunteer to coach the B team defense. If he says he's all set, which he will, then add "I just figured you might need the help, since we've ALL noticed they get absolutely no coaching at all, despite 2 or 3 of your other assistants standing around". Of all the reactions your likely to get, only two will be helpful to you - one is that he agrees to your offer to help, and the second is that he gets on his AC's to actually coach the B team D. It's unlikely either will happen, but by approaching him alone where he isn't losing face in front of his AC's, you have the best chance of success. Good luck. And frankly, whenever I read these posts, I look at our practices and wonder how much of it is true for me and the staff I'm on... |
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Post by spos21ram on Sept 6, 2013 7:56:41 GMT -6
Although I'm a high school coach, I watch a lot of peewee football because my girlfriend's son plays and what the OP is describing is very common. Many of the lower kids are over looked and under coached, however, yelling at 8 year old kids should be reserved for bad behavior, not "poor" play.
If you are friendly with any coaches on the staff maybe mention your concerns to him but if Not, just sit back and keep encouraging your son and teach him that there will be times in his life where things don't go your way.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using proboards
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Post by 33coach on Sept 6, 2013 11:15:30 GMT -6
Hello Coaches, I apologize if this is long but I can't get it off of my mind and need some advice. My son just started playing on an 8-9 yr old league, he played last year in the "D" league which was his 1st year of tackle. He loves anything football, always wants to toss the ball and always talks about it so he was very excited for this season to begin. However, after these past 3 weeks he says he does not want to play. There are 5 coaches on the team, one who is very hard on the kids - screaming, putting them down, talking down to them not to mention some hard core conditioning at the end of practice. The team is split up into A and B, with A being the better players. Each practice after going through drills the coaches will have the A team run through offense (sometimes defense) while the B team will be on defense. This would not bother me except that they provide no instruction to the B team, the entire focus is on the A team except for an occasional scream from one of the coaches when a tackle is not made or incorrect. The B team pretty much just fills spots for the A team. With my son on the B team I realize that I have some bias but I found out that I'm not the only parent to have these concerns. In this league they have a "2nd Quarter" rule which means that the coaches are required to put the kids that are on the B team in the game so that they would get some playing time. This past weekend the B team was out on the field and had no clue what to do or where to line up, which of course had the coaches screaming at them. The score was 16 - 0 with our team winning and the coaches didn't even bother to give the B team any more time on the field. I don't have much experience with youth football, I played a couple of seasons when I was 14-15 but not at this age level and I do not know much about the technical details of the game although I love watching football. So am I just being a biased parent who needs to relax? My wife just wants to pull him off of the team but I know that's not the answer. It just breaks my heart to see my son start crying saying he does not want to go to practice when all that he eats, sleeps is football and I'm sure he's not the only one. My thinking is that there could be a few kids on this B team that could turn out to be exceptional players once they grasp some of the concepts of the game but when the coaches completely overlook them for the more experienced/faster players who understand the plays better these other kids have no chance and will be discouraged from playing again. Any thoughts on this? I'm trying to figure out how to approach the coach to explain my concerns. Thanks tough situation but a common occurance in youth football. two points that i want to make: 1) no matter what you say, the coaches will continue to run the program the way they see fit, the only way to change anything is to coach next year and become "the guy" 2) anytime a coach is "putting a kid down" s/he should be removed immediately, no exceptions (we just fired a coach for this very thing) your kid will have bad years in everything, bad bosses, bad coaches, bad teachers.... he better get used to making the best out of a bad situation |
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Post by coachcb on Sept 7, 2013 11:39:54 GMT -6
1. The boy needs to stick it out. Quitting will set a bad example.
2. No coaches should be screaming at or berating kids, especially at that level. I've been coaching for a long time and I would have no issue if a parent approached me and told me I was treating the kids poorly.
3. As far as the B-squad sh-r goes : get used to it. Youth league football is out of control and its ridiculous. I've only coached youth football three years out of fourteen but we won "championships" all three years with all the kids playing a lot. We even platooned one year and didnt lose a single game.
I teach in a very small school and we were supposed to co-op in football this year. It fell through and my only other choice was to coach youth again. Needless to say, I'm not coaching for the first time in 14 years because of what you described.
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