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Post by nltdiego on Jul 28, 2015 2:10:09 GMT -6
Official calendar has been out since January and still 4-5 kids whose parents plan a vacation. We suffer from the first two weeks of football being last two weeks of summer. Do you guys deal with this? If so, what is your protocol?
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Post by rsmith627 on Jul 28, 2015 3:28:15 GMT -6
At the JV and freshman level it happens. At the varsity level it doesn't, or they have no chance of starting week 1, and likely won't all year. Those good key players generally don't miss.
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Post by CS on Jul 28, 2015 4:01:57 GMT -6
At the JV and freshman level it happens. At the varsity level it doesn't, or they have no chance of starting week 1, and likely won't all year. Those good key players generally don't miss. It's pretty much the same here. We do make-ups for any misses though and like rsmith said its never the real players that miss. Our biggest problem is losing kids over the summer because of divorce |
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Post by blb on Jul 28, 2015 5:51:59 GMT -6
I can only remember a couple Varsity players in 31 years who missed part of Pre-Season for vacations, couple Sub-Varsity. I didn't like it but in most cases kids had no choice.
We too published our Calendar in January and asked parents at our June meeting to schedule vacations around it. I did make it clear that if a Varsity kid wasn't at first day of practice they would not play that year.
Our state has a rule team must have 13 days of practice before first contest. We applied that to kids who missed because of vacation so they did not play first game and started at bottom of depth chart.
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Post by spreadpowero on Jul 28, 2015 6:15:22 GMT -6
Yes, but it happens more at the JV level than at the varsity level. When it does happen at the varsity level, there chances of playing are pretty remote.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2015 6:45:45 GMT -6
It's always amazing that no matter how early the summer schedule is put out, and that our first day of practice is always the same, we will have someone who wonders in and let's us know they have vacation during pre-season practice. This is especially frustrating when we have a state mandated dead period previous to actual practice.
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orion320
Sophomore Member
"Don't tell me about the labor just show me the baby!"
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Post by orion320 on Jul 28, 2015 8:30:00 GMT -6
We have kids here and there miss during our "July Camp" but since it is camp we do not punish those kids for missing. Don't get me wrong its frustrating they miss but it gives another kid some reps.
Our current problem is the number of kids missing for work, helping parents, and my favorite...grandmas 90th birthday party which was on a Tuesday...and we had 4 other kids miss for the same reason on different days. It doesn't help we didn't have a HC until last week.
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Post by wingtol on Jul 28, 2015 9:08:06 GMT -6
Never underestimate the stupidity of parents. I think this is a different issue that a kid just missing or skipping. You need to explain to the kid and parent look he's missing the most important part of the season really this is your choice and he's going to be way behind when you get back. I just think it's hard to punish a kid if his parents are making him doing something like that. Now kids just skipping for dumb stuff or showing up when ever they want is a different story.
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Post by coachcb on Jul 28, 2015 9:43:49 GMT -6
Our three practice rule applies. They won't be finishing the season with us if the vacation is more than a few days long as those absences are unexcused.
It's unfortunate that parents can be that stupid. We've had this come up a three times during my years coaching and only once when I was the HC and made the rules. We had a kid when I was HC that planned a family reunion the first week of camp and the kid was planning on leaving on Wednesday morning. As such, he'd miss three practices and not be playing for us. So, he did the smart thing, came to the Wednesday practices and then drove himself to the family reunion that night. His folks were mad until I pointed out the contract they had signed stating they understood the policy. I have it written into the contract that a family vacation is not considered an excused absence. It would have been very unfortunate if he hadn't been able to drive himself or mom and dad drug their heals in. I made a point of bringing this up in my two parent meetings and always likened it to trying to use vacation time during the first week of a new job. It's not the most accurate analogy but any parent that plans a vacation after I mail out schedules repeatedly and hold parent meetings obviously doesn't care either way.
My take on it is simple. We all have teams packed full of kids who's folks don't plan vacations during football season and they deserve our attention and coaching. Maybe I've just grown callous as a teacher and a coach but I have a difficult time working with kids and parents that can't commit to what they've started.
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Post by dubber on Jul 28, 2015 10:59:53 GMT -6
Am I the only one who doesn't see this as a big issue?
We have thousands of hours with these guys basically year round.
If they decide to miss some practice time during the summer, I am sure as hell not gonna lose my chit over it.
The kid is behind, and that figures into the competition, but it's not a level 9 line in the sand.
What I have found is your core will be there. I have never worried about our starting quarterback doing this.
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Post by coachd5085 on Jul 28, 2015 11:13:18 GMT -6
Am I the only one who doesn't see this as a big issue? We have thousands of hours with these guys basically year round. If they decide to miss some practice time during the summer, I am sure as hell not gonna lose my chit over it. The kid is behind, and that figures into the competition, but it's not a level 9 line in the sand. What I have found is your core will be there. I have never worried about our starting quarterback doing this. haha..In another thread, a coach is saying his starting QB will be missing game 2. I have bigger issue with someone missing practice than with missing the game, but..it happens. |
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Post by coachcb on Jul 28, 2015 12:02:35 GMT -6
Am I the only one who doesn't see this as a big issue? We have thousands of hours with these guys basically year round. If they decide to miss some practice time during the summer, I am sure as hell not gonna lose my chit over it. The kid is behind, and that figures into the competition, but it's not a level 9 line in the sand. What I have found is your core will be there. I have never worried about our starting quarterback doing this. I'm slightly jaded as I've tried turn two programs around and almost destroyed my love of coaching because of this kind of crap. I've grown weary of kids and parents that can't commit to avoid picking their noses, much less a sport season. |
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Post by hback41 on Jul 28, 2015 12:05:52 GMT -6
The guy who was #1 at QB on the depth chart missed half of spring ball in Hawaii. The #2 passed him up.
Yes. That means our QB spot isn't that strong.
Sent from my SM-G900V using proboards
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Post by coachd5085 on Jul 28, 2015 12:13:00 GMT -6
Am I the only one who doesn't see this as a big issue? We have thousands of hours with these guys basically year round. If they decide to miss some practice time during the summer, I am sure as hell not gonna lose my chit over it. The kid is behind, and that figures into the competition, but it's not a level 9 line in the sand. What I have found is your core will be there. I have never worried about our starting quarterback doing this. I'm slightly jaded as I've tried turn two programs around and almost destroyed my love of coaching because of this kind of crap. I've grown weary of kids and parents that can't commit to avoid picking their noses, much less a sport season. That is a great point. It is easily dismissed when its one guy every couple of years... it is a different thing all together when the mindset of the community makes it commonplace. |
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Post by coachtua on Jul 28, 2015 12:21:27 GMT -6
We have had this happen a couple times. But like most it wasn't kids who we were counting on. We have had a couple Coaches decide that a family vacation was more important than State playoffs...
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Post by fantom on Jul 28, 2015 12:30:11 GMT -6
Am I the only one who doesn't see this as a big issue? We have thousands of hours with these guys basically year round. If they decide to miss some practice time during the summer, I am sure as hell not gonna lose my chit over it. The kid is behind, and that figures into the competition, but it's not a level 9 line in the sand. What I have found is your core will be there. I have never worried about our starting quarterback doing this. I do have a problem with kids going on vacation once OFFICIAL practice begins. I am aware, though, that it's not the kid's decision. When they take a family vacation may not even be the parents' decision. Because of that it, in and of itself, won't be fatal. To get a job he'd better be clearly better than the other guy. That said I can remember two situations where a player missed a game for a vacation. One kid's mom scheduled a family reunion cruise the weekend of our first game and told us about it months beforehand. She was adamant that he WAS going on the cruise. The kid didn't want to go (If you're a 17 year old guy a family reunion cruise sounds like a ring of hell), he was a great kid who worked very hard in the off-season, and a very good player (Played 1AA). So, what are going to do? We repped up another kid for the first game and when the kid came back he earned his job back. Since we developed depth it ended up helping us. Another kid was kind of the opposite end of the spectrum. His parents, totally clueless, booked a ski trip the week after our last regular season game. Playoffs? What are they? When he told us, after we did our face palm, we told him to go ahead. Why didn't he bother us? He was useless, a backup scout teamer. He was missed so much that when I mentioned on Thursday that he was gone, the other linemen said, "Ralph's not here?". All of that is a roundabout way of saying that, as aggravating as stuff like this is, you can't control it so just come up with an alternate plan and move on. |
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Post by fantom on Jul 28, 2015 12:31:09 GMT -6
We have had this happen a couple times. But like most it wasn't kids who we were counting on. We have had a couple Coaches decide that a family vacation was more important than State playoffs... Tell them to stay there. |
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Post by coachbdud on Jul 28, 2015 12:40:19 GMT -6
Official calendar has been out since January and still 4-5 kids whose parents plan a vacation. We suffer from the first two weeks of football being last two weeks of summer. Do you guys deal with this? If so, what is your protocol? our official start date this season is august 10th our first day of school is august 12... so we do not have kids missing from that official week on the week prior to the 10th we meet with all players, they (and parent) sign football contract has team rules in, consequences that vary depending on infraction or misses (also if the misses are excused or unexcused) they go in order from not starting missing 1st half missing entire game removal from team if a kid missed that first official week, we are cutting them unless their is some special circumstance (one of my OL has court appointed dates he gets to see his father who lives in another state) Prior to august 10th, there isnt anything we can legally do, except take away playing time... we can't make anything "mandatory" until august 10th my LT is missing this current week on vacation... yes he is missing some stuff and i wish he was there, but I am not super mad about it he was our most dedicated kid in the weight room every single day (and extra on his own at the gym) from Thanksgiving on. we let our kids go on vacation, do whatever, but explain to them and parents from august 10th on there is no more vacation time we tell them during our spring ball parent meeting |
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Post by dubber on Jul 28, 2015 12:42:35 GMT -6
The guy who was #1 at QB on the depth chart missed half of spring ball in Hawaii. The #2 passed him up. Yes. That means our QB spot isn't that strong. Sent from my SM-G900V using proboards Did the number 2 pass him because he is better, or because this kid missed? If the former, I'd argue you are stronger. If the latter, I'd argue you are cutting off your nose to spite your face. I really am not trying to be a jerk here, but if the kid is academically eligible and is better, I think they play. For the coach who is trying to turn the program around................ There exists a paradigm of power on a team of coaches and players. In the worst case, the inmates run the asylum. Players have no discipline, and the coaches are reactionary and not respected. In the middle, the coach rules with an iron fist. While the rules and accountability creates a better product on the field, there is a cap on how good things can get, because players are more passive in their roles on the team. At the top, the coaches and players work together toward a common vision. The coach creates that vision, and the players are given authority and responsibility to help get it done in a meaningful way. THAT is how programs get turned around. Players lead and set the tone. That can only be accomplished by giving them power, which is hard to do. But as soon as it is THEIR program, weight attendance goes up, vacations get scheduled around summer stuff (if they want to, most players have final say on that), school behavior is handled, etc. We spend so much time as coaches working on this kind of stuff when if we can simply empower kids to take ownership, that crap disappears. |
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Post by jg78 on Jul 28, 2015 12:42:53 GMT -6
We have had this happen a couple times. But like most it wasn't kids who we were counting on. We have had a couple Coaches decide that a family vacation was more important than State playoffs... And those coaches would be gone if it were up to me. There's plenty of time throughout the year for vacations.
We had a teacher (not a coach, just a teacher) miss the first 2-3 weeks of the second semester last year after having had some kind of surgery. Nevermind that she was well enough that I saw her at the grocery store and at our football banquet during that span, so she couldn't have been too bad off. Anyway, a couple of months later (right after Spring Break) she called in the Monday we returned to school and said she couldn't be there because she had decided to stay an extra day in NYC. I don't miss school as it is - I have been teaching and coaching 13 years and have missed one day (over ten years ago) and never been late - but if I had missed a few weeks of school for any reason I would be on my toes the rest of the year, not calling in to extend my vacation.
The audacity and selfishness of some people never ceases to amaze me, but it's the job of a head coach or administrator to put a stop to it. When there are no consequences, people are going to push it.
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Post by 19coach78 on Jul 28, 2015 12:43:09 GMT -6
For us we have a few miss the begging of the season practices. Labor Day weekend, we have some well to do families that have a vacation home at the beach and the young kids usually are the ones who miss. Our first game is not till Sept 11 so its no too big of a deal. Did have a kid 1 year miss from the day after thanksgiving until the next fri before the State Championship because the Dad had a Family Vacation to Florida. What do you say to that? Shoot the kid was missing 4 days of school too, think the parent cared about FB? So he didn't start, when he did go in he was terrible such is life
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Post by coachg13 on Jul 28, 2015 12:50:42 GMT -6
The problem is the kid has nothing to do with it most of the time. I'm in first year as HC, gave the fall schedule out two days after I was hired in February. Kid who showed up every day to workouts, 7 on 7, didn't miss a single thing this summer - waits to tell me until this morning he won't be at first 3 days of practice because his dad planned and paid for a trip. Am I pissed at the kid for not telling me until now? Yes. But he also would probably rather be at practice. I told his dad he won't be able to participate in first two scrimmages because he has to go through the same 2 days in helmets 2 days in shells, etc before he can participate in a scrimmage. Dad is livid that I'm punishing the kid...99% of the time it's the parents, not the kids.
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Post by fantom on Jul 28, 2015 13:05:22 GMT -6
We have had this happen a couple times. But like most it wasn't kids who we were counting on. We have had a couple Coaches decide that a family vacation was more important than State playoffs... And those coaches would be gone if it were up to me. There's plenty of time throughout the year for vacations.
We had a teacher (not a coach, just a teacher) miss the first 2-3 weeks of the second semester last year after having had some kind of surgery. Nevermind that she was well enough that I saw her at the grocery store and at our football banquet during that span, so she couldn't have been too bad off. Anyway, a couple of months later (right after Spring Break) she called in the Monday we returned to school and said she couldn't be there because she had decided to stay an extra day in NYC. I don't miss school as it is - I have been teaching and coaching 13 years and have missed one day (over ten years ago) and never been late - but if I had missed a few weeks of school for any reason I would be on my toes the rest of the year, not calling in to extend my vacation.
The audacity and selfishness of some people never ceases to amaze me, but it's the job of a head coach or administrator to put a stop to it. When there are no consequences, people are going to push it.
I agree about the coaches but not necessarily the teachers. You don't take days off. More power you. Teachers get a certain number of sick and personal days, though. I don't see any reason not to take them. |
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Post by jg78 on Jul 28, 2015 14:02:51 GMT -6
And those coaches would be gone if it were up to me. There's plenty of time throughout the year for vacations.
We had a teacher (not a coach, just a teacher) miss the first 2-3 weeks of the second semester last year after having had some kind of surgery. Nevermind that she was well enough that I saw her at the grocery store and at our football banquet during that span, so she couldn't have been too bad off. Anyway, a couple of months later (right after Spring Break) she called in the Monday we returned to school and said she couldn't be there because she had decided to stay an extra day in NYC. I don't miss school as it is - I have been teaching and coaching 13 years and have missed one day (over ten years ago) and never been late - but if I had missed a few weeks of school for any reason I would be on my toes the rest of the year, not calling in to extend my vacation.
The audacity and selfishness of some people never ceases to amaze me, but it's the job of a head coach or administrator to put a stop to it. When there are no consequences, people are going to push it.
I agree about the coaches but not necessarily the teachers. You don't take days off. More power you. Teachers get a certain number of sick and personal days, though. I don't see any reason not to take them.
Believe me, this woman has taken more than she's supposed to. Not going to dive too deep into it here because it doesn't really matter, but it's one of those situations you'd have to be around. She's one of those who doesn't think the rules apply to her and no one in authority calls her on it. But then again, our disciplinarian shows up late for school about half the time and his two sons had as many tardies last year as anyone. We don't have much accountability.
But at least we're winning football games.
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Post by fantom on Jul 28, 2015 14:11:13 GMT -6
I agree about the coaches but not necessarily the teachers. You don't take days off. More power you. Teachers get a certain number of sick and personal days, though. I don't see any reason not to take them.
Believe me, this woman has taken more than she's supposed to. Not going to dive too deep into it here because it doesn't really matter, but it's one of those situations you'd have to be around. She's one of those who doesn't think the rules apply to her and no one in authority calls her on it. But then again, our disciplinarian shows up late for school about half the time and his two sons had as many tardies last year as anyone. We don't have much accountability.
But at least we're winning football games.
Yeah, there are always some like that. At least neither your coaches or ours go on vacation during the playoffs. |
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Post by coach2013 on Jul 28, 2015 14:24:10 GMT -6
Official calendar has been out since January and still 4-5 kids whose parents plan a vacation. We suffer from the first two weeks of football being last two weeks of summer. Do you guys deal with this? If so, what is your protocol? It happens , small school, hold them accountable best you can:
make up conditioning is the best answer and a test to see if they can pass it, cant play until they pass the tests
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Post by coachcb on Jul 28, 2015 14:25:46 GMT -6
The guy who was #1 at QB on the depth chart missed half of spring ball in Hawaii. The #2 passed him up. Yes. That means our QB spot isn't that strong. Sent from my SM-G900V using proboards Did the number 2 pass him because he is better, or because this kid missed? If the former, I'd argue you are stronger. If the latter, I'd argue you are cutting off your nose to spite your face. I really am not trying to be a jerk here, but if the kid is academically eligible and is better, I think they play. For the coach who is trying to turn the program around................ There exists a paradigm of power on a team of coaches and players. In the worst case, the inmates run the asylum. Players have no discipline, and the coaches are reactionary and not respected. In the middle, the coach rules with an iron fist. While the rules and accountability creates a better product on the field, there is a cap on how good things can get, because players are more passive in their roles on the team. At the top, the coaches and players work together toward a common vision. The coach creates that vision, and the players are given authority and responsibility to help get it done in a meaningful way. THAT is how programs get turned around. Players lead and set the tone. That can only be accomplished by giving them power, which is hard to do. But as soon as it is THEIR program, weight attendance goes up, vacations get scheduled around summer stuff (if they want to, most players have final say on that), school behavior is handled, etc. We spend so much time as coaches working on this kind of stuff when if we can simply empower kids to take ownership, that crap disappears. Dubber, this is all much easier said than done. The reality in my two situations wasn't complicated; people didn't show up for practice or games if there weren't strict policies in place. It's pretty difficult to empower a group of kids when you have to fight with them (and their parents) just to get them to show up. The kids weren't willing to take over a larger role in the program, much less ready to do so. I coached under three guys who are HOF coaches in this state and they established their programs by doing exactly what you describe, Dubber. They establish a culture that encourages intrinsic motivation and let the player leadership take root. I spent hours talking to those guys and coming up with ways to promote athlete empowerment. I surrounded myself by a staff that treated the kids well, coached them to the best of their ability and had good reputations with the community. I sacrificed experience in coaching to make sure that the kids weren't getting screamed at and to ensure that the staff had the respect of the community. It's a lot easier to coach up a younger guy than it is to break the habits of the old-school screamers. But, at the end of the day, it's all out of the coaching staff's control as the players and the community have to buy-in if anything is going to get done. And, you have to establish a base of accountability before anything can happen because you every leadership role or situation you impart on a student athlete must be based on taking responsibility for their actions and understanding accountability. This is also something that needs to be reinforced at home as well. |
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Post by coachcb on Jul 28, 2015 14:41:31 GMT -6
We have had this happen a couple times. But like most it wasn't kids who we were counting on. We have had a couple Coaches decide that a family vacation was more important than State playoffs... And those coaches would be gone if it were up to me. There's plenty of time throughout the year for vacations.
We had a teacher (not a coach, just a teacher) miss the first 2-3 weeks of the second semester last year after having had some kind of surgery. Nevermind that she was well enough that I saw her at the grocery store and at our football banquet during that span, so she couldn't have been too bad off. Anyway, a couple of months later (right after Spring Break) she called in the Monday we returned to school and said she couldn't be there because she had decided to stay an extra day in NYC. I don't miss school as it is - I have been teaching and coaching 13 years and have missed one day (over ten years ago) and never been late - but if I had missed a few weeks of school for any reason I would be on my toes the rest of the year, not calling in to extend my vacation.
The audacity and selfishness of some people never ceases to amaze me, but it's the job of a head coach or administrator to put a stop to it. When there are no consequences, people are going to push it.
These type of people are why I was despised as a union president at my last school. We had a teacher use all of their sick/personal days for various reasons and then take short term disability when she slipped on some ice and twisted her knee. She milked the short term disability for all it was worth; she missed two weeks of school and showed back up and wasn't even wearing a brace.. She was reffing junior-high basketball games within two weeks of coming back to work as well. I have no friggin clue how she got that much out of disability... She missed 23 days of school in two and a half quarters. She was tenured and the administration was trying to get rid of her so I had the glorious job of sitting in the office with her and the principal while they went through her professional plan of improvement. One of the points in the plan of improvement was her crap attendance and she was furious that I didn't "back her up" when it was discussed. I told her that I agreed completely with the administration's assessment and that he had every reason to question her work ethic. |
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Post by coachd5085 on Jul 28, 2015 14:44:59 GMT -6
And those coaches would be gone if it were up to me. There's plenty of time throughout the year for vacations.
We had a teacher (not a coach, just a teacher) miss the first 2-3 weeks of the second semester last year after having had some kind of surgery. Nevermind that she was well enough that I saw her at the grocery store and at our football banquet during that span, so she couldn't have been too bad off. Anyway, a couple of months later (right after Spring Break) she called in the Monday we returned to school and said she couldn't be there because she had decided to stay an extra day in NYC. I don't miss school as it is - I have been teaching and coaching 13 years and have missed one day (over ten years ago) and never been late - but if I had missed a few weeks of school for any reason I would be on my toes the rest of the year, not calling in to extend my vacation.
The audacity and selfishness of some people never ceases to amaze me, but it's the job of a head coach or administrator to put a stop to it. When there are no consequences, people are going to push it.
These type of people are why I was despised as a union president at my last school. We had a teacher use all of their sick/personal days for various reasons and then take short term disability when she slipped on some ice and twisted her knee. She milked the short term disability for all it was worth; she missed two weeks of school and showed back up and wasn't even wearing a brace.. She was reffing junior-high basketball games within two weeks of coming back to work as well. I have no friggin clue how she got that much out of disability... She missed 23 days of school in two and a half quarters. She was tenured and the administration was trying to get rid of her so I had the glorious job of sitting in the office with her and the principal while they went through her professional plan of improvement. One of the points in the plan of improvement was her crap attendance and she was furious that I didn't "back her up" when it was discussed. I told her that I agreed completely with the administration's assessment and that he had every reason to question her work ethic. Yes and sadly these types are part of the reason that the profession's respect in the eyes of the public is quickly declining. |
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Post by dubber on Jul 28, 2015 14:48:11 GMT -6
Did the number 2 pass him because he is better, or because this kid missed? If the former, I'd argue you are stronger. If the latter, I'd argue you are cutting off your nose to spite your face. I really am not trying to be a jerk here, but if the kid is academically eligible and is better, I think they play. For the coach who is trying to turn the program around................ There exists a paradigm of power on a team of coaches and players. In the worst case, the inmates run the asylum. Players have no discipline, and the coaches are reactionary and not respected. In the middle, the coach rules with an iron fist. While the rules and accountability creates a better product on the field, there is a cap on how good things can get, because players are more passive in their roles on the team. At the top, the coaches and players work together toward a common vision. The coach creates that vision, and the players are given authority and responsibility to help get it done in a meaningful way. THAT is how programs get turned around. Players lead and set the tone. That can only be accomplished by giving them power, which is hard to do. But as soon as it is THEIR program, weight attendance goes up, vacations get scheduled around summer stuff (if they want to, most players have final say on that), school behavior is handled, etc. We spend so much time as coaches working on this kind of stuff when if we can simply empower kids to take ownership, that crap disappears. Dubber, this is all much easier said than done. The reality in my two situations wasn't complicated; people didn't show up for practice or games if there weren't strict policies in place. It's pretty difficult to empower a group of kids when you have to fight with them (and their parents) just to get them to show up. The kids weren't willing to take over a larger role in the program, much less ready to do so. I coached under three guys who are HOF coaches in this state and they established their programs by doing exactly what you describe, Dubber. They establish a culture that encourages intrinsic motivation and let the player leadership take root. I spent hours talking to those guys and coming up with ways to promote athlete empowerment. I surrounded myself by a staff that treated the kids well, coached them to the best of their ability and had good reputations with the community. I sacrificed experience in coaching to make sure that the kids weren't getting screamed at and to ensure that the staff had the respect of the community. It's a lot easier to coach up a younger guy than it is to break the habits of the old-school screamers. But, at the end of the day, it's all out of the coaching staff's control as the players and the community have to buy-in if anything is going to get done. And, you have to establish a base of accountability before anything can happen because you every leadership role or situation you impart on a student athlete must be based on taking responsibility for their actions and understanding accountability. This is also something that needs to be reinforced at home as well. I cannot disagree with anything in this last post. I also realize that I have only been involved with 2 programs in my coaching life, and as such, my opinion may count for less. The first was a college program that turned it around from doormat to national power. They did it by recruiting (something that as a high school I still remember), and by this type of player empowerment. The second is a high school where we have been building this since 2007. In year's past we had to be the one's pushing the kids in the weight room. This year, we can sit in the coaches office and listen to the plates slamming in the other room. The atmosphere is set in the weight room (which is where I recommend focusing early on in this process), and I know it will carry on to the field. Our next goal is to develop that ability to re-focus after bad plays. We get that, we are going to be great. |
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