I'm a soon to be Dad...things will change, but how much???

Kind of in the same boat. Wife is due in June with our first. My problem is (Im the HC) but I dont have any asst full time on staff. I am the guy on the grind, and laundry boy, trainer etc etc... I would love to hear from experienced guys on how they balance this. Also, I understand having a bad season putting things in perspective, I have been there, but I am coming off my best as a HC (12-1 and SC)and I am fairly young especially for a HC (30) but as long as my wife has a healthy baby the great season takes second to the awesome year that I am having/bout to have (I found out the week of our only loss and seriously have never been in a better mood after a loss lol!!). I always feel like I try and put family first (even though I know FB takes priority a lot of times with my time commitment and wife is great about it) but I am at a loss on how I am going to balance this. I have asked admin to get on the ball with making hires for open positions with full time coaches but we will see. But I also know that this is how I provide and as much as my wife likes me around she also likes our bills being paid ....serious though I am curious on any suggestions yall have, sorry to hijack dubyah

I think hudl has really helped in that respect. I can sit on my couch with my laptop and do work that otherwise would have to be done at school

Congrats, its the best thing in the world.

Had my first kid after 4 years of middle school and 1 of HS (JV) so by the time I started coaching varsity I already was one kid in. As has already been mentioned HUDL is huge, having a loving wife who is good with the kids also helps.

I think the makeup of your staff could help too; I was at a school for a while where the HC, the OL coach, and myself were the same age and had kids that were the same age. The HC always had his kids around, as did I, so it wasn't so bad in that aspect. This differs from the school Im at now, where all the coaches kids are a lot older than mine (a lot of them actually are on the team). That being written I still try involve my son all the time (hes only 6 but I bring him to afterschool workouts once a week).

Everybody else has already said it all.

Very doable, and for me it really hasn't changed much of all. We have a 2 year old little girl and another little girl on the way. She was born two days before our first game in '11 when I was an assistant…and, the last two years since I've been the HC, nothing has really changed.

-Make Saturday or Sunday, or half of each a day for the fan in season
-Home Frosh/JV/8th grade games a family time. It might not sound ideal, but it's fun. I know the last two years, those nights were family nights for us and/or times when my wife will bring my little girl up…we get a little daddy/daughter time on the Gator. My wife does her cross fit or whatever in our weight room…watch the games, hang out.
- Get home and go walk….if close to a golf course, do that. The 10th hole tee box is 200 yards from my front door…we load up on the golf cart and go make evenings out of it, especially in August and September.
- HUDL from home. I'm a night owl, so I do most of mine at night after the girls are sound asleep..so, when I'm home…I'm with them.
- Sitting around the office shooting the bull is good…it's needed….we all enjoy it, but get in and get out. Matter of fact…trade out nights on who sticks around to make sure everybody has been picked up. We do that….two a night…flip flop.

I out kicked my coverage in more ways than one marrying her, but we were together for 5 years before we got engaged, then married. As I tell people…I had to test drive her for a bit, and I'm sure the feeling was mutual. I had to see if she was made for this, and not all women are. If anything, she is ready for the football season to begin, especially this time of year and throughout the winter. We've been done a little over a month and I'm already driving her crazy.

They know what causes that (babies) now a days.

Congratulations, Coach!

A couple of thoughts...First, it might not be as tiresome as some make it out. It's just about time management. You just have to find the best way to manage your time based on you and your family's lifestyle.

Lastly, if you have to choose football or choose family...choose family, every time.

I think a lot of coaches, whether they admit it or not, have regrets about investing more time in other people's kids than they do their own. I confess that I'm partially in that category. Fortunately, I was able to coach my two oldest boys and make up for a lot of time as they were around me so much in high school.

I'm just saying, I think you'll feel better about yourself as a dad if you can look back at the time with as few regrets as possible. It's the hardest job you'll ever love.

A quote I actually got off of here when my kid was a baby. "quality not quantity" Your time demands are your time demands when it comes to coaching. My wife understands it, hopefully yours did too when she agreed to become a "football wife" The key is to make the time you spend with them quality time. I never bring football home anymore. Before a child I would work on stuff after I got home while my wife watched soap operas. Now the only thing I do at home is watch film and I get up before everyone else to do that. Also, my wife saves my little girls reading homework for me to do with her every night. This gives us some special time together. I look forward to it and so does my little girl. Also, make them apart of your program. My wife and little girl both love Friday nights so much that my daughter cried herself to sleep after we got put out of the playoffs. They also love my players like their own child/brothers.  As someone else said you have to give somethings up.  For me during season their is no golf or hanging out with the boys.  Its football and family.  Those other things have to be saved for the off season.  Also, IDK about your faith but church on Sunday morning and lunch with them afterwards really helps me feel closer to them and recharges my batteries.  

I too keep my film work for after bedtime, and I get up really early Monday morning and go to work and get a lot done there....kills the sleep time a bit, but you get used to living like a zombie anyway.

Football wouldn't exist without wives.

You can do it coach. Early on the babies babble and burp. That is the time to figure out how to manage football and babies for when they start rolling, climbing, standing and searching. Then it gets funky.

But again...lean on grandparents and your wife/girlfriend. Make time for yourself in between game plan, mowing the lawn, making food, watching film, doing laundry, lesson planning, etc. It's all doable.

Good luck and congrats.

Congrats man! I was fortunate enough to walk in to a great coaching situation this year and the best part of my week was Friday night, after the game, when my wife handed me my son that will be 3 in March and he would play on the field with me or the team managers. Funny how something that little becomes a great "de-gaming" mechanism.

As far as how to manage, it isn't one size fits all. My last HC gave me some great advice, set aside a time that is the same every day. It doesn't matter when it is but have a consistent time in which the phone goes off or you don't pick it up regardless of how many calls you get. Mine was always an hour before bed time. Sometimes it was a bath, sometimes it was playing, it always ended with books and putting him to bed (same now with my daughter that will be 1 in March...wife is awesome and "planned" kids around football season).

Try and eat dinner at the table every night. It's a small thing but how much will hudl while eating really accomplish that you can't make up for during your meal.

Leave the job at the job. I do work when my kids are up and around unlike some others have suggested but I'm not anal about stopping for an impromptu wrestling match, sword fight, human jungle gym session, or other ridiculous game he has come up with. What I mean is compartmentalizing has to become second nature. I am a terrible loser, but when I get home and my kids are up it is time to be dad. You can't take the 4 turnovers out on them, you have to find a way to fake it until you make it. It can be an acting job at times but it is well worth it, you don't want your kids associating football with crapshoot dad.

For warning...I can't speak for the other guys but I know for sure I have become more emotional, not like taking estrogen emotional and not quite Dick Vermeil emotional but I tend to see and care about certain things more that I never once batted an eye at. Players are looked at more like somebodies kids, the care and interest in them has taken somewhat of a different aspect. Not necessarily a bad thing but definitely a change for me.

Good luck, congrats, you'll figure it out.

Congrats boys! Have 3 of my own -21-19-13. Greatest accomplishments of my life by far.

As far as "balance"...forget it, you can't. During different times of the year, some aspects of your life will outweigh others. If you're trying to balance, you will stress yourself out. Understand that football will take away from time other things during the season. Those other things may be family, sleep, job, leisure, etc. To combat that, steal every moment you can to do non-family stuff (football, work) away from home. Eat lunch at your desk as you lesson plan or at the copy machine while making copies. Work smarter and less (time-wise)--re-use lesson plans year to year, not every play needs to be drawn up, watching film of another team when they're up by 25 is wasting time. And--this will be popular--lower the priority of media like this website (no offense intended!).

My boys have never known me to not be a coach--that's "dad" to them. They became part of the process more and more as they got older--ball boys to players to observers on the sidelines or press box with me. The most interesting thing is you won't know the impact your coaching or other life decisions will have on your kids for about 15-20+ years. As my oldest have grown from boys to men their only self-admitted regret is that we didn't teach them to cook. I can live with that.

Sell the kid to gypsies, high school football is more important. Figured I'd give a different perspective. I have three kids but I can't even give them away.

Happy Holidays.

Im the same. up at 3 am in season.

out of season more like 4ish.

off for winter break now, everyone sees more of me than they are used to. No big deal. playing madden all day with the kids.

First7-9 months after baby is born, it's pretty easy.

Once they're mobile until age 4 it's insanity.

I'll give you husband/fatherly advice.

FIND A BABYSITTER NOW! You and your wife have to go out on dates.

Figure out daycare NOW

Just like coaching football...threats and following through on them are critical. If you say "STOP THAT OR YOU ARE DONE!" they will ignore you...if you say "STOP THAT OR YOU GET A TIMEOUT" and you give them a timeout; you win.

GEt the kid a sleeping routine ASAP. It will take 1, maybe 2 nights of absolute HELL. (Screaming till 1 or 2 am) but all of a sudden, bed time is easy.

Speaking of bed time, get a perfect routine. Just like pre-game...it starts at dinner.
1. Dinner (6:00 to 6:22)
2. Bath (6:22 to 6:36)
3. Playtime with Dad (6:36 to 7:04)
4. Book/Story time (7:04 to 7:11)
5. Sing three songs. Not two, not four (7:11 to 7:15)
6. 7:15 lights out.

STICK TO A SCHEDULE AS TOUGH AS THIS. Trust me, it works.

Timeouts are your friend, give your wife lots of foot rubs, and maybe even find help during the season