Posting Individual Off-season Attendance on Social Media

why not just distribute it to parents via email?

no need for passive aggressive snarky public shaming

Too far.

We have an accountability system that gives kids a flat rate points earned for playing other sports. They can't earn as many points as if they were lifting but they aren't penalized and it gives them room to make up points after their other season. Imagine if the b ball coach was calling out your kids for not making it to open gyms? I bet it wouldn't go over well. Instead we offer rewards for everything. Most points get gear pick helmets pick numbers and on and on.

Instead of posting attendance we post celebrations for big lifts etc. it gets retweeted and the same thing happens as you hope without the negativity.

You don't have to post that so and so wasn't here. It's implied and you are technically celebrating positive behavior that you want not shaming the negatives.

Then we also retweet all of two sport athletes accomplishments as well. You don't want to be the coach that forces kids o choose it may work in short term but it could have bigger long term negative impact.

Don't really care that my all area WR is working his tail off playing b ball with a very good and competitive coach in a great b ball area. If I'm honest I can't and most of us can't replicate that sort of competition in the weight room. He jumps 1000 times a day and is sitting in a great athletic position on D for 2 hours a day. It isn't going to leave him behind on the football team.

In fact of late whenever we are good or any other sport is good at our school they are led by a core of multi sport athletes.

Don't underestimate competition.

In

Is there anyway you can send me the outline of your point system?

I'm at a basketball school too. Like one of the best all time in the state. We are out performing the b ball team now. It won't happen overnight. You need to consider that a big basketball senior class is seven kids. We usually have about 5. So that 15 man sophs roster and 30 man frosh roster is going to work itself out. Do you want to alienate all those kids? That's a lot of athletes and you are going to want to fill about 13 of your starters with fair athletes. Hell I tell them we fast break all the time we just don't have to dribble. Imagine how easy that would be for you if you didn't have to dribble.

Do you want to alienate the 6'1 frosh power forward who stops growing and quits after he is no longer a starter for hoops after sophomore season? He is going to be a good tight end or pass rusher. Our 300 lb nose was on the basketball team as an underclass man. He played. Pretty soon he can't get back on D and he is back with us full time. As much as I want him lifting it didn't hurt his first step.

All you need is one or two of those kids to have success in basketball and playing football. That isn't going to happen right away. There are going to be kids that get passed up by basketball. Only 5 kids play at a time. We have had all kinds of lineman who are monster basketball players in 8th grade or freshmen. Pretty soon they can't keep up with the basketball pace and they aren't useful.

If your QB is giving you everyday but game day you are winning with him give him game day off. That's fair.

Keep up the incentives and find some ways to make the end of weights a lot of effing fun. Basketball practice is a lot of effing fun for those of you who haven't played. Everyone touches the ball and everyone scores.

Another thing we do in the winter is have football open gym. We play 5 on 5 flag football on Sunday's in the gym. Get the balls in their hands. They will all come to that. Don't give the kids any {censored} who don't come to weights. The kids lifting will start winning. The message is sent on its own.

Are your linemen there?

Three of my linemen are there everyday, the other two play basketball, don't start though.

And I'm not fighting basketball, I've met with the coach, agreed with him game days are off and worked around his schedule, he agrees that they should be lifting on non-game days.

My problem is the kids are using basketball as an excuse not to lift. Their coach supports it but their parents may not or they're saying "they're too tired" or "it will effect my shot". In reality, 80-90% of these kids just don't want to lift.

Does the coach really support it or is he just telling you that? In my opinion if he truly supported it they would be there.

I'm not trying to toot my own horn here but we have good attendance because we try and create an atmosphere that the kids WANT to be a part of. Loud music, loud people, lots of energy, and praise whoever and whenever we can and we work our a$$es off.

Create a positive environment and they will come around and if they don't they probably won't be your better football players in the long run.

You are fighting basketball though when you consider game day as a missed lift on their attendance.

Are they doing something athletic/productive for the school?  Then it should be ok...saying it's excused but marking them absent is a mixed message.  Your attendance counting then becomes meaningless because one persons 80% is not the same as another persons 80%.

My attendance isn't anywhere near where I want it but I am going the celebration route...throwing that up on social media, encouraging, and getting gear for those that are in there now.  I will be having a team meeting after break where we talk again about expectations but until then its all about those that are committed.

I think the much bigger issue is that that the OP,  seem to be written from the point of view that the athletes involved are "his" athletes, and just doing other sports as a side gig until the football season comes back around.   I mean when you break it down, who the flip are the football coaches to take and POST attendance of kids in the offseason--ESPECIALLY kids participating in another sport.  As lions23 pointed out, what would a football coach think  if the bball coach was trying to shame the kids for not going to the open gyms in September/October?

Anytime these threads pop up it becomes clear that the most successful high school athletic programs have a culture of player development across the board.  It also becomes clear that it is VERY difficult to start this culture from football.  It needs to start above that.

If you are having difficulty with attendance and those you are trying to reach aren't responding to the positive, you can be real (but negative) with them by making some cut ups of plays where they are being physically dominated from the previous seasons.

Ive always thought about posting something like this but it just seems lame and whiny

deadspin.com/5971949/heres-the-bitchy-sign-an-lsu-strength-and-conditioning-coach-used-to-embarrass-motivate-his-players

Probably doesn't work on HS athletes. Probably does work on D1 college athletes hoping to have an NFL future.

Rather then finding a way to pressure kids to come to the weight room, the key is developing a culture in which kids chose and want to come to the weight room.

1. Create incentives (ours are getting name on jersey and opportunity to be a captain).
2. Have quick intense workouts waste little time and get everyone moving and music pumping.
3. Be thankful to those who are attending don't worry about those who aren't there, all kids want is positive adult attention if you praise and provide this more will come.
4. Have a consistent measuring stick, have a few specific days (we have 4) in which all kids are "expected" to be there to see where they are at, have a fast well organized max out that is highly competitive and fun (a day the kids look forward too) this creates landmarks or dates for kids to set goals to achieve.
5. Give out reward shirts for lb clubs gets kids wearing weight lifting gear throughout school.

Yesterday I had a former player say to me Coach "so in so" used to spend a lot of time making us come to the weight room we hated it and despised him, you don't force anyone and seem you don't even care if we are here but there is 30 more guys here everyday..... The reality is what our program and staff have done is empowered our seniors to lead a culture in which lifting weights is something that is fun and makes you better that is a far better place then the alternative of lifting weights is what I have to do because coach makes me.