Kids who need you more than you need them

I've been welcoming of these types of kids for the 7 years I've been a HC now. Some times it ends up causing me more headaches than I would like, but I've also had some phenomenal experiences myself and for the other kids on the team by enlisting their help in mentoring some of these types of kids. We all talk about the good that football can do for kids, are we putting our money where our mouth is? I'm not sure it's a popular sentiment, but I absolutely have different expectations for different kids on my program, and there are some kids that get a lot more rope, it's just something I believe in. The better, more mature players understand that there are different expectations, and I'll even tell them as much. I haven't had much in the way of blowback from this, though I could see a scenario where a kid who does everything right but is still pushed to improve on small details is wondering why other kids aren't held to the same standards. I don't know, it's an interesting topic, and I'm in no way 100% set in how I'm doing things, but I'd like to continue to be able to coach all types of kids, and I'm not sure it's realistic to have 1 set of rules/standards and hold all kids to it these days.

Grouch

Sometimes we forget it's high school football, EVERY team has kids that are just down right horrible and will never do anything to contribute. I don't know how you could get mad at a kid like that or not want them around as long as they aren't distractions/discipline problems. We embrace these kids and make it a point to keep them at all costs. As boneyard said it's amazing how those kids benefit from being part of a team and having strong male role models to be around. Again it's high school football not college not pro's (sure some places the pressure is high) but helping kids and being a positive influence no matter their ability should be a top priority for all coaches.

As long as their involvement doesn't interfere with the guys killing themselves to make the program better, then keep them all.

Well, I was one of those kids...and now I'm a coach, so I kind of tend to be more patient with the tougher ones.

I'll mirror what others said. Provided they aren't destroying the team environment, I think they are better off with us than somewhere else.

I'm here to win football games not be a babysitter. No kid like that needs football. We can't cut but we always find ways to send the message and dump the dead weight.

Troll on troll.

Our game is under constant attack and stories about schools dropping football are popping up all the time now but let's chase kids away from the game then complain about how our game is dying. We'll take any swinging dick we can get that isn't a major problem.

We do everything we can to keep them in the program, as often football is an opportunity for them to be around positive role models. Sometimes we have to cut them loose, but we only do so if it going to be best for them in the long run. Sometimes we cut a kid loose and he realizes he needs to change, and comes back a better teammate. We have a kid now who was a huge troublemaker in class last year. He didn't play football and wanted to play this fall. We told him he had to pass all his classes and reduce his discipline referrals. He did what we asked and is now playing this fall. He is not very good, but he shows up everyday and tries. He makes a lot of mistakes and sometimes gets absolutely whipped. But his teachers say he is gleaming about being on the team and has some pride in himself.

Over the last 20 years I have been a part of several good and bad experiences with giving kids an opportunity. We have had more than a few that didn't make it through, but every one of them can say their coaches cared about them and helped them to grow. About 15 years ago we had a kid that was an awesome running back. He came from a rough home life and missed a lot of practice. He eventually had to be cut loose, but we told him just because he wasn't playing that we weren't here for him. About 5 years ago he got in touch with me that he was married, successful, had 3 kids, and was coaching. He is now a defensive coordinator at a school. While we clashed a lot he took a lot of life lessons to heart. At the time I didn't think he was getting anything we were trying to build. I was wrong. While he didn't make through our program, he gained a lot for being a part of it. He prides himself on being a good father and husband, and uses his experience to mentor his players.