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Post by rip60smash on May 5, 2006 20:48:50 GMT -6
I'm a new head coach at a school that has been terrible the past few years. I was wondering any ideas on how I can get the school's students, faculty, and community excited by our first game, because it is home and it's going to be a tough one. Any ideas would be appreciated. I've already had a pretty good increase in number of athletes wanting to play now I just need to know how to get everyone else on board. Thanks.
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Post by senatorblutarsky on May 5, 2006 23:05:13 GMT -6
About 10 years ago, I was in a similar situation. My plan went like this: first, take care of the team. Get them to buy in, believe and trust each other, the coaches and themselves. People didn't jump on board right away- we took over a spread/west coast offense team and turned them in to a kind of 2TE wishbone/double wing hybrid. Game 1- a lot of doubters. game 2 same, game 3... people started to respond (we began 3-0...first time in school history)
Word of mouth helped. Later we had an "assistant coach for a week" for any adult of the players choosing (usually a teacher). We gave the honored person a t-shirt and hat, let them come to pre-game practice, and then let them talk to the team at pre-game if they wanted to do so. That worked pretty well... but we did not try it until we were established (semi-finalist the previous year... another first)
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zulu
Freshmen Member
Posts: 38
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Post by zulu on May 6, 2006 11:01:59 GMT -6
WIN!!
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Post by coachjblair on May 6, 2006 14:26:40 GMT -6
2 ideas
1. If the school has any kind of football success (80’s or 90’s) talk about how you want to bring the team back to those years. Also invite players from that time back to talk to your team.
2. Have some type of halftime event, like a school night where you honor school members somehow. This way people will at least come for the halftime show, and will see your team play at the same time.
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Post by coachcalande on May 7, 2006 6:10:42 GMT -6
thats the best thing you can do. eliminate the nay sayers and cancers and show the boys that theres a new sherrif in town. |
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Post by airman on May 7, 2006 22:59:28 GMT -6
2 ideas 1. If the school has any kind of football success (80’s or 90’s) talk about how you want to bring the team back to those years. Also invite players from that time back to talk to your team. 2. Have some type of halftime event, like a school night where you honor school members somehow. This way people will at least come for the halftime show, and will see your team play at the same time. i agree with you on number 1. I know a guy who took over a school which was down. however back in the early and later 1980s they had state champion teams. he brought those guys back, had them talk with the team. it made a big impression on the kids. he infact went in with the guys so each year has a shirt now. the alumni love it. they show up in their school shirts. it is the football shirt, with the guys name on the back and the class he graduated. so it says warriors on the front on the back it says ie billy bob 1987 it has been a big t hing for them. these guys still feel like they are part of the program. |
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Post by jake831 on May 10, 2006 22:11:56 GMT -6
this isnt something you could do for the first game, but my school did this for homecoming. at half time of the game a bunch of people had made floats on their cars and they drove them on the track in front of the home bleachers and that was also where they announced homecoming king and queen.
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Post by shortyardage on May 11, 2006 23:52:18 GMT -6
Recruit the parents and the teachers and everyone else. I told the parents that they were as much a part of the team as the players and the coaches. After all, they gave rides, cooked food, paid the fees, etc.
We created the "Knight Nation" (our mascot was a Knight). Everyone was a part of it. We gave out T-shirts, sold sweat shirts, baseball caps, knit watch caps, everything.
We made everything an event or a social gathering. We had a spring game and barbecue, we made each home game a special event: Alumni night, Mom night, Dad night, Senior night, etc. We had a special pre-game presentation or celebration. We also had a running "lottery", it was a punt, pass and kick competition where-by a fan with a winning raffle ticket could come out and punt from the goal line, pass from where the punt fell and then attempt a field goal from where the pass fell. The winner got half of the raffle ticket receipts. In the event that no one won, the pot was carried over into the next game. It got pretty big by the time someone won it.
We created human tunnels for the players to run through at half time. We invited everyone down from the stands and they stood in two lines to create the tunnel. It was great for the players and the fans enjoyed coming down onto the field for that, especially the younger brothers of the players and their little friends...it was a great way to instill the desire to grow up and be a part of our program.
We recruited a coach of the week from among the teaching faculty. They were paid one tenth of a coaching stipend for that one week and they did everything that the regular coacheds did; they scouted, attend film break down sessions, came out to the field (although they didn't actually coach much of anything for obvious reasons), they were a part of the half time and pre and post game sessions and they attended team meals...everything. That was great for the player morale and the teachers loved it. The community thought that the idea was great because it got the stodgy teachers involved and the alumni enjoyed seeing their old teachers out there on the field. The teachers probably first got into it just for the money, but they ended up really enjoying their time with the team. They were even honored at the post season banquet.
The bottom line is to be something of a salesman. You've got the marquee sport at your school, make it an event and create as much atmosphere as you possibly can.
In the final analysis, you've got to play good football and get some wins, somewhere. Be they in the form of creating better human beings through football or in putting up the "W's".
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