do you laugh and joke with your players?

double post...computer issues this morning.

you have to be who you are, if not kids no your faking it.

I also think a coaching staff needs balanced. If everyone on the staff is a hard-ass that never shows a human side, I think that's too much. If everyone on the staff is easy-going joking around type, then that is too much the other way. I think a good coaching staff has a balance. They have the hardass coaches, some they are more chill, and some in between. But that's just my opinion.

i just try to be myself. I like to laugh and cut up. I work when its time to work and when we get in the locker room I try to build relationships.

I like to joke with the kids, but there is a time and a place for it. We were 5-5 this week, but we've had pretty much the same staff for the past 4 years and we like to have fun. If we can't have fun, why are we doing this. We have finished 5-5, 6-4, and 9-4 in the years this staff has been in place. Not great, but not terrible. Better than the 3-7 the last guy did who was more serious in his last year.

If you can't laugh and joke in this profession, you won't make it very long.

and i dont think laughing is the reason someone isnt successful.

I really do not think a coach's using too much humor is the reason they would not have a winning record. All I know as an Oline coach in High School you have to have some humor mixed in or it gets pretty monotonous. The OLine's job is hard physically and mental and I feel those kids appreciate keeping it a little loose .

Yes. I'm not a clown, but if things are going well and we're practicing well, I get a little more jokey. The kids notice that and try to practice well because happy coach is way more fun to be around than Bear coach. I don't consciously do it, it's just my personality. When things go well I'm happy and joke. When they don't I don't.

Went 3-6 last year. Went 21-2 the two years prior.

For the longest time...I did "DB dinners" at my house. What those consisted of was my position players (DBs) would come to my house after practice and eat dinner. My wife would make a simple dinner (spaghetti, salad, bread, etc). Simple rule we had...we didn't talk football. We'd just BS and watch MNF. Players would stay for dinner and leave. Some would stay and do their homework. Some would stay for a long time. It didn't matter.

I found this be extremely important to our relationships. They would see me interact with my wife. They would see me interact with my own kids...as a dad. It made them understand that I would chew their ass, but, in reality, cared for them a lot. A trust was built.

I had to stop doing the DB dinners because my kids got older and I started coaching them...and they had Monday night practice etc. I need to find a way to get back to doing them because I have felt a disconnect from my players since I stopped.

The disconnect is somewhat due to the fact that while I joke a lot with the players they don't see it enough. They don't see that side of me as much as the serious side of getting {censored} done.

I don't think it necessarily produces wins, but I definitely believe players went to bat for us/me more because of their, what I call, "care level". And some of those kids that came to my house are now family friends. In fact, I named my own kids after them.

Build relationships any way you can.

Our staff jokes around with each other all the time, and we joke with the kids some too. Even the HC jokes on kids in film sometimes. Like a couple of people have said you have to be yourself. Our seniors just finished their career 56-2, so I don't think it hurts to have some fun.

I coach OLine and I joke around ALL the time. Constantly. Had a kid get busted and go to alternative school for getting it on with his girl at school, so of course anytime we were doing drills working on using our hips I had an absolute gold mine.

I think you have to have a close relationship with your position players to get them to play hard for you, especially with the OL. My way of building that relationship is humor and being real with the guys. Once you have that relationship, you can get those kids to do anything for you.

That being said, you have to be almost bi polar at times to make sure your kids don't try to joke around in practice. Once you have set the tone that joking around is ok and your kids try to make practice time joke time, you HAVE to be able to shut that crap down ASAP and get them to work.

I joke... not all the time but yes. During water breaks, after practice, etc... if I'm in a classroom and its between classes, etc. During drills? Not that often. Occasionally, but it comes down to the kids too and the situation there. but if I'm working with a guy after practice or something or just walking to the locker room, waiting for a game to start, etc...

then yeah. I'll joke around and talk. you have to be approachable. it can be a fine line but I think you have to be approachable and be human too.