Vets, I need advice!!!!!!!!

man, if you decide to quit, let me know ...ill take your job seriously, good luck.

some thoughts, because i have coached at two places like that...

you must get that wt room and program going, not just going but make it effective...those kids need to bulk up, get stronger, faster etc...just has to happen. take a look at the dietary end of things if the wt program doesnt seem to be working much.

second, take a look at your system and play calling. what are you doing to put defenders in conflict and keep them there? what are you doing to "equalize" on the field? option? double teams? traps? superior angles and leverage advantages? numbers advantages?...series football?...chess on grass man, got to win with material and tactics.

I would die for an opportunity to be a HC so IM probably not the guy to ask...never quit. just keep chopping wood.

Parents are such a pain in the butt.

I have been at a place that is similar to what you are talking about. I guess my question is do the people want to win? Do they just accept losing? The school I was at was just used to losing and it didn't bother them. If that is the case, then I would leave.

If the kids and the community reallly want to win, then let them know what you need to win. Spell it out for them and let them know what you are expecting. If they are unresponsive, then I would leave.

Are there any jobs in your area that you might have a chance at? If so i would at least look into those.

Ill be honest.,...I just cant believe I am reading this from you guys. Seriously, men,...maybe I am totally alone in my thinking here but CANT YOU TEACH THESE FOLKS TO BE WINNERS??? I would think anyone can go where folks already know how to win, work hard and commit...but wow, real coaching to me is going somewhere where losing is a habit AND FREAKING CHANGING THOSE PEOPLE, ONE PLAYER, ONE PLAY, ONE YARD AT A TIME. ...man, I hope someone asks me someday "do you really want a job HERE? no one wants this job because losing is accepted here!"...Id just say "not anymore, its unacceptable"....and id take the job. am i nuts?...I do know exactly the type of places you folks are talking about though. exactly. whats really bad though, i think i know of at least two coaching staffs who have decided THAT ITS OK TO LOSE. they dont do clinics, they dont meet in the off season...they just dont get better.

Coach, I used to think that I could teach people how to win, not just the players but their parents and the community as well. However, I learned that in some places, losing is so much a part of the culture that it won't change any time soon (if at all). I just knew that I could fix even the worst situation. The problem was that I was only looking at things from an outside perspective. I took a job at a school that is a perennial loser, and I did things that everyone talks about: increased weightroom attendance, increased participation numbers, create an identity, instill discipline, etc. We won 3 of our first 4 games my first year there, and then the kids got tired of doing things the right way and reverted to the way things had been done. In the next year and a half we didn't win another game. I left at the end of my second year, and they replaced me with a guy coming from a college staff who was supposed to fix everything. They went 1-8. The average tenure of a football coach in that school is 2.5 years since 1913. Nearly every football coach who has left there has gone on to be successful somewhere else. I went 5-4 this year at my new school, and I am the same coach I was previously. I hope you get the opportunity you are looking for as I am sure you have paid your dues and are deserving; and I wish you great success. But I would also encougage you to be very careful in taking just any job. There are some places where even Vince Lombardi wouldn't be able to turn it around.

NEVER SETTLE for someone telling you, "Such and Such program can't win". I have been at a school for 2 years that had ZERO tradition and ZERO talent. Their had been 7 winning seasons in the ENTIRE HISTORY of the program (close to 100 years). The head coach has now taken the team to the po's for two straight years and our in conference record is the best in the league.

1. You have a good start, GET THE PROGRAM BIG. Help establish pee wee leagues in your town, or at least a pee wee team. Teach your terminology to the pee wee coaches, and give them some bare bones plays. LET THE YOUNGER KIDS SEE YOU OFTEN. At your high school, go from class to class saying hello. Talk to these classes and encourage EVERYONE AND ANYONE to join (male or female), tell them you don't cut anyone and that every person will contribute to making your program a powerhouse.

2. Get the community involved. Go to the local grocery store the night before a game and have your players sack groceries and take them out. There is a large detatchment between the youth and the elderly these days, most older people view kids as delinquents (except their wonderful grandchildren). These older people also fuel your towns rumor mill, start by giving them something positive to talk about and a reason to support your boys win or loss.

3. Weights, Weights, Weights, Weights. You may not have the biggest guys, the most talented guys--- but they need to be stout for their size. We are in the same boat as you. No lineman over 180 in a league that averages over 250 a pop (second largest classification in the state). If the weight program hasn't improved since you have been there, don't be afraid to try something new. We threw out BFS and called a college professor and the next thing you know, he had helped us design our own entire program FOR FREE. Special teams, require special workout programs.

4. Run an offense conducive of the personality you want to instill in these kids. We started wishbone. We did this because we wanted to milk as much clock as possible, give our team a hardnosed mentality, and slow the bleeding in the beginning so our kids could see progress. Double wing would work well, basically anything to change the type of attitude people have towards your program being soft.

5. NEVER GIVE UP. Tell your wife and kids to stay home on game day and take the brunt of responsibility for every loss. Your kids will gain devotion to you-- regardless if it is their fault or not. No Glory for a win, no blame for a loss.

6. Play the young guys and plan on sticking around for at least two more years. Take your best sophomores and give them as much playing time as possible. Develop them into experienced players. Devote yourself to starting over this year, and building towards a goal of when these sophomores are seniors. POST THE GOAL ON THE WALL, where EVERYONE CAN SEE IT--- and let them know you will settle for nothing less than achieving that goal (keep it realistic however). Our head coaches four year cycle has went like this... Goal 1 (beat primary rival), Goal 2 (have winning season), Goal 3 (make playoffs), Goal 4 (win post season game).


STICK WITH IT. Parents will be parents and unless you are undefeated you will always hear their grumblings (just sometimes worse than others). These kids can do it, you need to have faith in them, and you need to change the way they view the program. I feel like the tone of your post is conducive to the way your team has been performing. You have to honestly believe you can turn this program around (and not that happy feeling you got when you first got the job) but GENUINELY believe you can do this.

Our slogan. Building our tradition, by destroying yours.

this is my early nomination for POST OF THE YEAR.

Just the opposite, believe it or not. We were a 4A school in a league dominated by 2A schools. There were two 4A schools and five 2A schools, and the 4A schools usually finished at the bottom of the league standings.

Yes, I was running the DW. In fact, that was one of the things that impressed them when I interviewed there. But then when we lost, the administration listened to the community experts who were saying that we couldn't win with the DW. Offense wasn't our problem. We didn't have enough kids willing to tackle anyone, so our defense was weak.

They spread it out and went with the balanced attack that the community wanted this year - big difference - from 0-9 to 1-8!

When it gets to the point that you family has to leave the stadium, get out.

mike13-

read this thread, especially the first post...if the school isnt willing to do these then leave, if they do then your job will get easier.

coachhuey.proboards42.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=1162935598&page=1

who are kids, though?

Young, self-conscious, immature.........CLAY... what determines who and what they are, all boils down to the influences in their life.

If you and your staff become the major contributor in their life, you can pressure, manipulate, persuade, motivate, encourage them to do whatever you want them to do....

But if their parents (or in some cases the community ) are giving them something that is CONTRARY to what your influence is, it will work against you.

For me, I look at it like this.....
.............If you're selling a car - you can sell a kid on the latest and greatest technology in flashy cars and how cool it would be to pick up girls, etc.....but until you effect the DECISION-MAKER / BUYER (parent) you're just wasting your breath. If you cannot affect the primary influence in a student's life, you're wasting your breath.

PARENTS are what make up a community. Serve the Program by serving the parents (providing them a structured, visionary plan for a rite of passage = football)

1) HAVE A PLAN
2) SELL THE PLAN TO ADMINISTRATION
3) SELL THE PLAN TO YOUR STAFF
4) YOU AND YOUR STAFF SELL THE PARENTS
5) SELL THE KIDS ON THE PROGRAM
6) HOLD THE KIDS ACCOUNTABLE

then just roll the dice, because there is not a whole heckuva a lot you can do after that. The weight room, feeder programs, off-season activities, summer camps, all takes care of itself after that.

#2 & #3 are probably the biggest reasons I'm not a HC right now...because I wouldn't even think about jumping into a program without bringing in 'my guys' that I can trust and who've got my back (to plant the seeds).