Getting Buy-In For Your Program...How?

I think that it is a HUGE mistake to encourage kids to drop other sports to focus on your sport. It is a slippery slope. You start stepping on the toes of the other coaches in the building by depriving them of athletes, the same will eventually be done to you. Rather than fighting over athletes, learn how to network and cooperate with the other coaches in the building.

As far as encouraging offseason attendence goes, results work wonders. Show that the weightroom will make kids bigger, faster, and stronger and that is most of the recruitment you will need.


No reputable AD is going to do that...an AD who shows such obvious favoritism towards one sport is either an AD who won't be around too long or an AD without a lot of integrity. Either way, not the kind of guy you want to be close with...

Be careful what you wish for...

Again, be careful what you wish for...booster clubs can be double-edged swords. Certainly they can help with fundraising, but sometimes, boosters believe that their fundraising efforts should allow them access to the coaches.

Offseason: We open the wt room 3x a week before school for kids who participate in other sports to lift. Of course anyone else can come in during that time as well. Our 9th grade BBB does not practice until 4:30 so several of those kids lift after school before practice. This off season our wrestling coach asked me to help implement a strength training program for his wrestlers so now they are in the wt room 2-3x/week depending on thier schedule. We encourage our football players to play another sport. A good strength program benifits ALL sports.

AD Support: Our AD supports this but he would not support us if we told kids not to play another sport. I'm sure this is reciprocted to the other sports as well.

Parents and Boosters: Again be careful what you wish for. It is better to keep the "enemy" disorganized. Not that parents are the enemy, thay can be a great asset, or the dagger that stabs you in the back "et tu Brute?" A loose organization to help plan and prepare for carbo feed and the banquet is a good thing.

I have gone through this before with success and I am now an assistant in a program that is in a turnaround situation. On issues 1 & 2, Don't even make it look like you are trying to get the kids or the AD to favor your program over the rest of the sports. It is much better to show support to the other sports during their seasons. If you are visible during the basketball games and baseball games, ect. the parents will notice! You will be seen as a coach that cares about the kids all year around. It takes alot of time and commitment, but it will be rewarded as the football program evolves.

Parents are a tricky issue. I have found that many problems can be managed by having a very clear message of what the football program is going to accomplish. This is usually done with a Parent Document that each players parent must sign. The Document outlines the do's and dont's of the parents role in the program. Make sure you get the AD and Adminstrations buy in on this document. Without their backing you are in big trouble. Have 2 or 3 Meetings with parent each year. Usually conducted 1) After Basketball Season and Before Baseball Season 2) At the Beginning of the Summer workouts 3) At the beginning of the season.
Each of these meetings are to outline the plan that the players are expected to follow. Be ready to answer questions at these meetings. Be very organized. Speak with confidence at these meetings. Always answer questions very straight forward but with respect. Let them know that it is ok to agree to disagree. Do not answer questions that are better answered by the AD or Adminstration. Just tell the parent that they need to direct their question to the proper authority. Usually these types of questions have to do with transfers and how school policy is administrated. Let them know that you will only discuss thier player with them and not discuss other players. Do not let parents think that they will be allowed to discuss schemes or playcalling with your coaches. You will still have the loud, outspoken parents no matter what and you have to have school backing to deal with them. Always refer back to the document that they signed about the Parents role in the program. Stick to that document, if you don't, you will lose control. Always be respectful and never raise your voice, if you think that a parent is going to get wild have another coach involved, preferably the player's postition coach. Never talk to parents after a game, win or lose. Sometimes you cannot satisfy parets, you have to be able to accept this. Ron White had a show called "You Can't Fix Stupid", sometimes this applies to parents. (Don't say that to them!)

Booster clubs and fundraising need to be handled by somebody else who is in your corner. If you get intricately involved with these entities, many of the boosters will think that you owe them something. Stay away from any situation where it can even look like that you can be bought. I have had success with giving the AD a list of things that the program would like to have that are outside what the school system provides and let him work with the boosters and fundraising.

In closing, I have a strong belief that it is very beneficial to get involved in the community. Whether it be doing charity work or being accessible to the Pee-Wee football prgrams in your area. Volunteer to speak at the PeeWee's end of year Banquets. Speak about the benfits of your school and how football develops young men. Be careful not to make it look like a recuitment pitch. Hold a summer football camp for the PeeWee programs in the area and use your varsity players to help instruct. The young kids really seem to enjoy working with the varsity players. Sorry about being so long, but these are some things I have had success with and hope my experience is some help.

Perhaps I mistated #1 a bit. Of course you could not tell a kid that playing your sport only is mandatory. But some successful programs around the country (DeLa Salle and Southlake Carroll come to mind) really push for their best players to be in their program.

What is your take Huey? You knew Todd Dodge rather well.

#3 and #4- ask your parents to be involved. However, I would give them specific jobs. When you say "I'll take any help I can get," you'll start to get help in philosophy, scheme, depth chart, etc. that you don't want them to get involved in. Talk to them personally. You will find willing participants.

#5- use the search feature on this board. there are a few fundrasing threads around here somewhere. I'm a big fan of getting the community involved here too. Put together your own program of just your boys, sell advertising in the program (perfect job for a parent). Any of the businesses that are restaurant type places, have the boys take turns being bus boys or something. This also helps build community involvement. A local high school had a bowling fundraiser. The kids got sponsors for how many pins they could knock down (5 cents a pin, penny a pin, a dollar a pin anything in between and beyond) or just a flat donation.

On a side note, another way to get involvement is to get the community involved. We had our players go down to the elementary schools to help out for an hour or so in the afternoon. The players gave the kids tickets to the game for them and one adult and during our last home game, the kids where invited into the team room after the game to meet all of the coaches and players that they may not have met (not all players went to the same elementary school).

Steve -

Good stuff...

ONLY problem I have is what do you do when Johnny Genetics and Danny DNA don't show up for weightlifting and are STILL the two best players on the team come August?

I agree with you about keeping track of offseason performance and participation, however, I still believe that playing time needs to be determined by on-field performance, not by what the kid did or didn't do back in February.

One of the best things we were able to do a few years back and it took some work getting our school board and adm. to believe in it was to get strength training as part of our PE program, our sophs juniors and senios lift during PE class along with any other student that wants to take that vs the traditional PE class. We no longer have to come in early in the morning or chase down kids after school or worry because the bball kids are never getting in there during the winter. It started with one section of about 30 kids a few years back and is now up to 5 sections of 30 plus, quite a few kids are non football kids, they prefer to work out than play kickball. Use that as a huge selling point, this type of set up benefits all kids not just football but it sure takes alot of stress off of you as a coach, for 9 months a year you know they are lifting, you just have to find a way to keep em coming in the summer, but with the gains they make all year, almost all want to keep gaining come summer time.

The point system fixes that problem NOW. IF THEY DONT HAVE THE POINTS to earn decals for helmets, name on jersey, gear, playing time, starting role etc...someone else will.

heres a sample(just an example)...and keep in mind this is about THE PROGRAM not the two studs.

*50 points required or coach will reject physical form and you do not play. You are not physically strong or mentally tough enough for football.

* 80 points required to actually get in a game

1) 60 points, earns team logo on helmet
2) 65 points you get the helmet too
3) 70 points - shoulder pads
5) 75 points- game pants and girdle
6) 80 points- team travel bag
7) 85 points- eligible for captain status
8) 90 points- excused from equipment/locker room clean up
9) 95 points- complete spirit pack
10) 100 points- get to keep jersey and helmet at conclusion of season.