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Post by coachcb on Feb 28, 2018 8:53:42 GMT -6
So, what are your thoughts in this situation:
I was coaching the WRs one year and our pass skelly sessions were crap as our QBs had terrible footwork and throwing technique. And, the QBs couldn't read coverage to save their lives. The QBs were either missing the WR by a mile or throwing the ball right into coverage. I talked to the HC/OC/QB coach about it several times in the office but he really didn't have a clue.
During one particularly bad session, our HC/OC/QB coach was working with the varsity crew while I coached the JV. I got fed up and started coaching up the JV QBs on the basic technique and the fundamentals of reading a coverage. Things picked up and our pass skelly sessions improved dramatically. The HC left me to run the varsity and JV sessions a few days later so that he could work with the OL. I pulled the varsity QBs aside and taught them the same things I taught the JV guys.
The HC/OC/QB coach saw me doing it and chewed my a-- out after practice. Now, bear in mind, I wasn't teaching them any skills contrary to what he had been coaching; just actually giving them coaching points that he wasn't. I stood there and took the a-- chewing for a little bit ("You need to be focused on the WRs, not the QBs!! That's my position!!") and then pointed out that our passing game had improved since I started working with both the WRs and the QBs during these drills. He didn't have much to say other than repeating his rant about me focusing on the WRs. After that, I just left it alone and did what he wanted.
Would this be considered an over-step in boundaries?
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Post by coachcb on Feb 27, 2018 9:50:03 GMT -6
I have been through three active shooter situations. Two were impromptu drills and the other was an actual case where we had a potentially armed student in the building. Potentially armed? Isn't everybody? So I'd say you've been thru a total of 0 active shooter situations. How could she know which entrance a shooter would've used? Because it was the only entrance that was unlocked; it is an older building and that door cannot be locked during the school day because of fire code. But, Bob, please enlighten the folks on this board with your infinite wisdom. Seeing as you have added so much to our conversations over the last decade.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 26, 2018 12:20:34 GMT -6
Honestly, I can't really nail down ONE drill for each position that would tell us whether or not they're a quality player for the position. It really is a combination of successful completion of a series of drills that show us whether or not a kid can play ball at that spot.
We had a pretty good Mike LB last year who was aggressive, destroyed blocks, and punished ball carriers. He understood his run fits and his pass drops well. But, he couldn't read to save his life. He struggled to key the OL and his eyes were continually caught in the backfield and had a hard time defending simple plays like QB Counter out of the gun. He ended up starting for us over a couple of kids that could read the line reasonably well but struggled in other areas. His back-up read his keys well enough and played solid pass coverage but just couldn't get off of blocks. We worked with the kid all year long but he continually ran past blocks and gave up yardage.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 26, 2018 9:53:28 GMT -6
We evaluate our players through drills specific to football and the position they're playing. Over the years, we have had many kids that were "athletes": fast, agile, and strong but they struggled to actually PLAY FOOTBALL. I can go through a few dozen cases of "Looks Like Tarzan, Plays Like Jane" but here is a good one from last year:
6'1'', 185lb junior WR/DB that ran a 4.75 forty, 4.4 pro-agility, benched 225lbs, squatted 285lbs, cleaned 215lbs. He is an all-state basketball player and all-state sprinter and jumper.
Started off the year looking at him at the SS spot but it became clear through tackling and shedding drills that he was afraid of contact. He was solid in zone coverage and off-man coverage but he couldn't play press coverage because, again, he didn't want to hit people. He made some good plays in zone coverage throughout the year as he had a knack for breaking up passes and picking the QB. But, we were screwed if a ball was caught within 10 yards of him because he couldn't tackle for chit.
He continually ran around blocks and dove at the ball carrier's ankles, despite being coached other-wise. At WR, he ran crap routes (couldn't even get into a proper stance at times), dropped the ball repeatedly and basically refused to block anyone. He tried to catch the ball with his breast plate, whiffed on his blocks because he either lunged at the defender or just wouldn't make contact, and a three-step slant turned into a 10 yard post in a hurry. He could catch a fade or corner route as long as there wasn't a defender within 4 yards of him. He was spooky about catching a ball in traffic and taking a hit. Again, we coached the crap out of the kid and we saw all of these glaring deficiencies in various drills.
So... We finally decided to utilize his speed and size in simple ways: getting him the ball on Fly Sweeps and on quick screens. This didn't work out either as he would juke and jive as soon as he got the ball instead of getting upfield. On one Fly Sweep, everyone but the 5'8'', 150lb CB was effectively blocked and he was ten yards down the field. Instead of running to the sticks (as he had been coached) he saw the CB coming free (again, 10 yards down field) and cut it right back into WRs who were blocking for him. A LB slipped a block and dropped him for a one-yard loss. Had he turned the corner, he would have run free for at least 5-6 yards before the CB got to him and then he could have made a move or just buried a shoulder through the kid and dropped him.
Basically, the most athletic kid on the team became our second-string FS and our fifth-sixth WR. We coached the hell out of the kid and repped all of skills necessary to play the positions repeatedly. But, he's not coachable, he's afraid of contact, and is most comfortable popping off threes in basketball and running and jumping in track.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 25, 2018 9:29:25 GMT -6
I still haven't read anything about how the Florida killer actually entered the school. Anyone know? Me either. All the talk has been either : a) We need to arm teachers because the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is good guys with a gun b) There were several good guys with guns on campus who did not react c) Both the FBI and local law enforcement were notified and aware of the perpetrator. Although, I think it may be best if they don't publicly describe the successes. Unfortunately, it's not hard for am motivated individual to gain entrance to a school if they really want to. When I first started teaching, I subbed at many different schools and all of them had security precautions (magnetic doors that were controlled from the inside, security cameras at the entrance, etc.etc..) and I can't tell you how many times I showed up, hit the buzzer, stated my name and was let right in. Sometimes then secretaries knew me, sometimes they didn't. One time, in the dead of winter, I was wearing a long, heavy jacket, a stocking cap and the hood pulled over my head and I didn't even have to state my name; I hit the buzzer and the doors opened. I know they couldn't see my face because of the jacket.. I don't blame the school secretaries as they have a lot to handle first thing in the morning and it's an impossible task to keep track of the hundreds of kids and adults that come into the building during the day. Right now, I think that the best we can do as educators is to follow the safety protocols; keep the doors locked, windows covered and get the kids out of the building quickly if possible or hunker down in the rooms if not.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 24, 2018 14:56:41 GMT -6
I have been through three active shooter situations. Two were impromptu drills and the other was an actual case where we had a potentially armed student in the building. I handled all three according to our "active shooter: protocol:
1. I locked my door and told all of the kids to get down on the floor, against the wall that was the furthest away from the hallways. In two situations, the blinds to my room were opened, a kid reached up to close them and I told them to sit the hell down and I got it handled.
2. I told the kids to do EXACTLY what I said; STAY ON THE FLOOR, NEXT TO THE WALL, AND DON'T MOVE. On all three occasions I had a couple of kids who thought they were going to try to be heroes and I chewed their a--es out. I hollered at them to get the hell down, stay down and not to move until I told them to do otherwise.
3. I didn't hear any gunfire or loud noises, so I carefully opened up my door and peaked down the hallway to see if it was clear. Before I did so, I told the kids that, IF I gave them the all-clear, they were to get their a--es out of the room, move to nearest fire exit and then get down the street to a church. I told them I would be right behind them. Now, this was a tough call to make because I did have a couple of wannabe-Rambos in the room and I was afraid they'd take off, looking for the shooter. But, apparently my stern tone of voice and the look on my face told them I meant business.
4. The hallways were clear, so we booked it out the nearest exit and then jogged down the street where we regrouped in the church parking lot (out of the school's line of sight) and I took a head count and we waited the situation out.
5. When reviewing the situation with the kids, I told them that they were not to do ANYTHING unless I told them to. We would only attack an active shooter IF he got into the room and they would only do so when I told them to. I told them that our first priority was getting getting out of the building if possible and that is what we did.
The problem with these situations is managing a group of terrified kids when you're already freaked out. Many teachers struggle with these kinds of drills because they have a hard time keeping it together enough to get the kids to safety. One teacher had her whole English class bolt down the hallway, TOWARDS the entrance a shooter would have used. She felt awful afterward as she realized that, had there actually been an active shooter, her class would have probably run right into them.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 20, 2018 11:46:42 GMT -6
"Injured" means that a doctor or a trainer hasn't cleared him to practice. We have a few kids who hobble up to practice, claiming to be "injured" and we politely tell them to go and see the trainer (if one is available) or go to the doctor. Our GPs are pretty good about being realistic with "injuries". One kid had bad tendnitis and the GP told him to lay off of it for a practice, follow the RICE protocol and then get back to it.
If a kid is habitually "injured" (i.e. always has a doctor's note) then he his absences are excused. However, he isn't going to see the field for us. If he's too 'injured" to practice, then he's too "injured" to play. He'll spend practice helping out the managers; filling up water bottles, handling gear, etc..etc.. We do run into those kids who've been told to follow the RICE protocol so they'll sit on the ground (NOT ON PADS) and ice their "injuries".
But again, kids better plan on riding the bench if they've spent all week dealing with an "injury". Parents will inevitably throw a fit because they've been "cleared to play" but our reasoning is simple; we're not going to risk a "further injury" if a kid is too "injured" to practice.
"Take the week off, buddy, get back up on running, then we'll play you."
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Post by coachcb on Feb 20, 2018 8:58:16 GMT -6
If he doesn't talk back or do anything overtly how do I know that he doesn't respect me? Good Point. In my experience, the one time this has happened, was they go on the field and do things the way they want to. This example the player would run his routes differently than I would coach them. Block who they would want to block or not block if they didnt want to. I was an Assistant and basically told to put up with this. I tried to hold his feet to the fire one time and he quit. We let him back on. We had two all-state basketball players (no small feat in this state...) playing for us one year. One was a TE/DE the other was an OT/DE. They never popped off in practice and worked hard but they tried to do whatever they wanted to on the field. One would get into p-ssing matches with the BSDE and block him instead of scooping to the next level. The other would try to block whoever he wanted and did so by dropping a shoulder through someone instead of using his hands. They had gotten used to free-lancing in basketball; they did whatever they wanted on the court and the coach let them because they'd score point. It didn't work out so well for them in football; we benched them as soon as we saw them pulling this crap. They both had tantrums but we told them they'd see the field when they started doing their jobs. One did and ended up being an all-conference tackle for us. The other didn't and he ended up quitting.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 19, 2018 14:58:57 GMT -6
They get three shots: First unexcused absense: benched for a half. Second unexcused absence: benched for a game. Third unexcused absence: don't come back. During practice, it's the same deal and we tell the kids that if they're going to act like spectators, we will treat them like one. First behavioral problem/incidence of laziness/tardiness: warning Second behavioral problem/incidence of laziness/tardiness: sit out of the drill and benched for a quarter. Third behavioral problem/incidence of laziness/tardiness: sit out of practice/benched for a half. Fourth behavioral problem/incidence of laziness/tardiness sit out of practice/benched for a game. Fifth behavioral problem/incidence of laziness/tardiness: removed from practice and don't come back. Generally speaking, we'll have a one or two kids every year that will hit three-four strikes in an early, single practice, are told they're benched and they just quit. There's always a chit-storm with their parents but we stick to our guns with with it. It's the whole philosophical basis for our program; those that put in the time, are coachable, and work hard will play. Interested in this approach. I am all for hard rules and discipline. However, in the past, there have been times where I told a player to go home and get well. I understand it has to be a special kid to not practice and play well in game but it can and has happened. I guess my question is..... Are these guidelines flexible, and if they are how is that different that what others do that don't seem as cut and dry??? And Im not just asking the quoted poster.... Im asking all that have hard line rules like this... Do you follow the miss 1 practice = miss one half always??? no exceptions??? I understand you listed UNEXCUSED ABSCENCES... But If kid isnt there he isnt there period regardless of reason. The theme I am getting is that practice is a must... I AGREE... But its a must regardless of reason missed, isn't it??? Im rambling now so ill see how responses go lol We built a lot of flexibility into these rules so we can't paint ourselves into a corner. "Examples of excused absences are _____, _______, and _____. Examples of unexcused absences are _____, ______, and _______. However, many absences will be considered excused or unexcused based on the coaches' discretion." Honestly, if a kid has been at school but just doesn't show up to practice, it's probably going to be obvious if it's excused or unexcused. That kid had better come to us with proof that there was some kind of emergency or a doctor's note.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 19, 2018 11:59:14 GMT -6
They get three shots: First unexcused absense: benched for a half. Second unexcused absence: benched for a game. Third unexcused absence: don't come back. During practice, it's the same deal and we tell the kids that if they're going to act like spectators, we will treat them like one. First behavioral problem/incidence of laziness/tardiness: warning Second behavioral problem/incidence of laziness/tardiness: sit out of the drill and benched for a quarter. Third behavioral problem/incidence of laziness/tardiness: sit out of practice/benched for a half. Fourth behavioral problem/incidence of laziness/tardiness sit out of practice/benched for a game. Fifth behavioral problem/incidence of laziness/tardiness: removed from practice and don't come back. Generally speaking, we'll have a one or two kids every year that will hit three-four strikes in an early, single practice, are told they're benched and they just quit. There's always a chit-storm with their parents but we stick to our guns with with it. It's the whole philosophical basis for our program; those that put in the time, are coachable, and work hard will play. I like how specific and measurable this is. Do you coach in a big program? What type of absences are excused? What if they dont get an absence excused before hand but it turns out to be a good reason? We have around 50 kids, 9-12. We have the "coaches' discretion clause" written into our policy for all absenteeism and disciplinary issues. Automatic excused absences include a doctor's note, a death in the family, various emergencies, etc..etc.. We will work with parents and kids on things but we do put our foot down hard on certain things. For example, we had a ton of kids that went to school with a nasty head cold but wanted to skip practice. I told them they had one of two choices; show up to practice and watch or go to the doctor and get a note. I tell them that if they're well enough to be in school, then they're well enough to watch practice. But, they also have to understand that there's a good chance they will lose their starting spot and playing time if they decide to sit on the bench all week while everyone else practices. I make it real simple for them; "too sick to practice=too sick to play." Disciplinary issues can be more difficult to address as those become very subjective. Straight defiance/lack of coachability is pretty self-explanatory and can be handled during drills. We will make a kid run through the same drill repeatedly until they DO IT RIGHT. They learn that we will either get them to show that they can execute the skill or they'll sit down. One or two kids will have tantrums when we make them do five reps on a tackling drill, pout and they'll just sit. They don't stick with us very long. The rest will do it correctly the second time around because they know we'll push them until they get they either get the job done or they're gone. We also have a deal with the kids; if they bust a-- and condition themselves through drills, then we don't have to worry about condo AFTER practice. Our ACs keep track of who has been continually dragging through drills and those kids get to make it up after practice with MORE position specific drills. Last year, I had four WRs that decided to give minimal effort all day (not enough to warrant benching) so they were with me after practice for twenty minutes, running routes on air and doing blocking drills. The drills would have lasted ten minutes but I kept working them until I saw them doing it correctly and with effort. One kid tossed his helmet and walked off of the field so I benched him. So, do things the right way, the first time and we won't have issues. Do them the wrong way and you'll be getting hammered with reps until it's done correctly. This could be viewed as managing using "fear" but the overall message to the kids is clear; get better or go away. Again, we run into issues with this during the first week or two of practice but the kids figure it all out in a hurry. We continually talk about "respecting the process" and "embracing the grind" and just the importance of getting better at practice. Our policies help to enforce those philosophies.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 19, 2018 11:02:16 GMT -6
You're right, they don't respect us or the program. So, we're going to play the kids that do. I'm done splitting hairs on this thread. Yea it needs to stop. At what point do you dismiss a kid from the team instead of putting up with continual problems? They get three shots: First unexcused absense: benched for a half. Second unexcused absence: benched for a game. Third unexcused absence: don't come back. During practice, it's the same deal and we tell the kids that if they're going to act like spectators, we will treat them like one. First behavioral problem/incidence of laziness/tardiness: warning Second behavioral problem/incidence of laziness/tardiness: sit out of the drill and benched for a quarter. Third behavioral problem/incidence of laziness/tardiness: sit out of practice/benched for a half. Fourth behavioral problem/incidence of laziness/tardiness sit out of practice/benched for a game. Fifth behavioral problem/incidence of laziness/tardiness: removed from practice and don't come back. Generally speaking, we'll have a one or two kids every year that will hit three-four strikes in an early, single practice, are told they're benched and they just quit. There's always a chit-storm with their parents but we stick to our guns with with it. It's the whole philosophical basis for our program; those that put in the time, are coachable, and work hard will play.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 19, 2018 9:00:07 GMT -6
Nope. They didn't earn the playing time so they don't get it. I disagree. If they respected you in the first place they would have made proper arrangements to miss practice, or would not have missed. You are using the fear of playing time to motivate them. You're right, they don't respect us or the program. So, we're going to play the kids that do. I'm done splitting hairs on this thread.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 19, 2018 8:58:26 GMT -6
I picked up multiple concussions playing football and I still deal with migraines from them off and on. With that being said, we were taught to lead with our face masks when blocking and tackling when I was playing so it's no surprise that I was concussed. I was also an "aggressive" player that had no qualms putting his face-mask through people standing around piles or on unsuspecting LBs or DBs on the back-side. I don't have any ailments other than that. But, out of the twenty-two starters from my senior year, I'm the only one that has had any on-going issues due to football. I do have friends from high school that didn't play football that have dealt with some medical issues over the years. One is a former tennis player who has had repeated back and knee surgeries. He has is first knee surgery when he was a junior in high school as he blew out his ACL at practice. Another is an all-state wrestler who has had his right hand operated on three times as he broke it during a match. There were issues with the placement of the pin and that hand has become arthritic. edit: I'm 37 and used to compete in shot, discus and the Highland Games until I completely separated my shoulder playing kick-ball a few summers ago, lol.. I still lift heavy three-four days per week and I might be able to throw shot and discus this summer if my shoulder cooperates. Shot isn't too hard on it but tossing the disc lights it up. We need to know how you dislocated your shoulder playing kickball?!? Lol.. I was working as a mental health counselor at a treatment center for teens and got drilled in the legs with a rubber ball while running bases. I landed right on the shoulder.. I couldn't believe it; I was involved in lot of violent situations (restraining angry teenage boys..) while working there and I screw myself up playing friggin' kickball.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 15, 2018 13:36:58 GMT -6
Oh... I have had plenty of kids that didn't like me. But, most of them still respected me, the staff and the program overall. Those that didn't we're either asked to leave the program or quit. The culture of the team goes a long way in this aspect. 90% of the kids see the staff coaching their a--es off, treating the kids well, and acting professionally and they have no qualms telling the other 10% to fall in line or get out. We used to run kids as punishment but I, personally, don't like the message that it sends. It sends a bad precedent when we run the hell out of a kid who is a discipline issue but still play them. The rest of the team is working hard, not being a PITA but they miss out on playing time because we've run a cancerous kid instead of benching him. Benching them sends a better message. Being really picky here, but wouldnt that technically be the fear of not playing. So you are still using a fear tactic, albeit a better one, to get what you want. I am working really hard here to be right... Nope. They didn't earn the playing time so they don't get it.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 15, 2018 13:00:29 GMT -6
A kid won't be playing for us long if it takes "fear" to motivate them. We coach the hell out of our kids, treat them respect and handle discipline fairly and consistently. A kid needs to go away if he still can't be coached when we take this approach. We don't use physical conditioning (i.e. instilling "fear") as a punishment for much anymore. We'll just take away playing time as a) it's a better motivator and b) it's a logical motivator (you don't come to practice, you don't play). All that stuff on the list and yall find one word you dont like. HAha. I am just kidding. I like the feedback. Yall must be much much better coaches than me. You have never had a kid not like you. All your players respect you like a mix of grandpa, santa and Ronald Reagan. So none of you have ever Run a kid for being late, or Up Downed a unit for not performing well during practice. These are all fear tactics. If they respected you all the time you wouldnt have to do that. No one has to up down you to get you up on Christmas Morning!! HAHA, being funny but some truth. Oh... I have had plenty of kids that didn't like me. But, most of them still respected me, the staff and the program overall. Those that didn't we're either asked to leave the program or quit. The culture of the team goes a long way in this aspect. 90% of the kids see the staff coaching their a--es off, treating the kids well, and acting professionally and they have no qualms telling the other 10% to fall in line or get out. We used to run kids as punishment but I, personally, don't like the message that it sends. It sends a bad precedent when we run the hell out of a kid who is a discipline issue but still play them. The rest of the team is working hard, not being a PITA but they miss out on playing time because we've run a cancerous kid instead of benching him. Benching them sends a better message.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 15, 2018 12:32:41 GMT -6
A kid won't be playing for us long if it takes "fear" to motivate them. We coach the hell out of our kids, treat them respect and handle discipline fairly and consistently. A kid needs to go away if he still can't be coached when we take this approach.
We don't use physical conditioning (i.e. instilling "fear") as a punishment for much anymore. We'll just take away playing time as a) it's a better motivator and b) it's a logical motivator (you don't come to practice, you don't play).
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Post by coachcb on Feb 14, 2018 14:21:32 GMT -6
I picked up multiple concussions playing football and I still deal with migraines from them off and on. With that being said, we were taught to lead with our face masks when blocking and tackling when I was playing so it's no surprise that I was concussed. I was also an "aggressive" player that had no qualms putting his face-mask through people standing around piles or on unsuspecting LBs or DBs on the back-side. I don't have any ailments other than that. It's funny but I feel that my lack of concussions was because of the way that we were taught. Feet-Hat-Hands! Face-mask on their outside number! Virtually every contact resulted in a blow to the head. lol
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Post by coachcb on Feb 14, 2018 11:24:25 GMT -6
I picked up multiple concussions playing football and I still deal with migraines from them off and on. With that being said, we were taught to lead with our face masks when blocking and tackling when I was playing so it's no surprise that I was concussed. I was also an "aggressive" player that had no qualms putting his face-mask through people standing around piles or on unsuspecting LBs or DBs on the back-side. I don't have any ailments other than that.
But, out of the twenty-two starters from my senior year, I'm the only one that has had any on-going issues due to football. I do have friends from high school that didn't play football that have dealt with some medical issues over the years. One is a former tennis player who has had repeated back and knee surgeries. He has is first knee surgery when he was a junior in high school as he blew out his ACL at practice. Another is an all-state wrestler who has had his right hand operated on three times as he broke it during a match. There were issues with the placement of the pin and that hand has become arthritic.
edit: I'm 37 and used to compete in shot, discus and the Highland Games until I completely separated my shoulder playing kick-ball a few summers ago, lol.. I still lift heavy three-four days per week and I might be able to throw shot and discus this summer if my shoulder cooperates. Shot isn't too hard on it but tossing the disc lights it up.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 14, 2018 9:27:35 GMT -6
My experienced has been mixed.
I coached with one father who was an incredible assistant. He knew his stuff, understood his role and remained neutral with his boy. And, he was a QB coach that worked directly with his son who turned out to be an All-State player for us. But, this guy had a ton of coaching experience at the high school level, had taken a few years off and wanted to get back into the game.
However, one of the worst coaching experiences I had was with a daddy-coach at the high school level. The guy had coaching experience at the high school level as well and it seemed like a good fit when we brought him on. It wasn't. He b-tched continually about his kid not playing varsity ball (he was a starter on the sophomore squad) and caused many headaches for us. He used to bring a cooler of Gatorade for his kid to games and practice and had a tantrum when we told him that he either provided enough for the whole team or stop doing it all together. One time, he disrupted an entire film session because one of his kid's Gatorades disappeared.
Unfortunately, my latter experience is enough for me to tell a parent that I don't want them coaching their kid.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 13, 2018 11:19:11 GMT -6
Damn. They would have been even better if their weight lifting wouldn't have messed with their shot all year. Yeah.. They look a bit bulky too.. That probably slowed them down. Great job but look into Crossfit For Basketball next year.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 13, 2018 10:25:32 GMT -6
I agree, to a point. We've had issues with track and baseball in the past because some kids will use one sport as an excuse to get out of another. I described a good discus thrower in a previous post and we did have one issue with him playing two sports last year. We had a track meet about three hours away on a Friday. He didn't want to travel that far and tried to use baseball practice as an excuse. He had missed a few baseball practices in the past because of track meets but said meets were closer. I pulled out the track and field contract he and his mother had signed that stated that he it would be considered an unexcused absence from a meet and a) he wouldn't letter and b) he would be one step away from being removed from the team (skip two meets and you're gone). His mom was upset about it but I reminded her that we discussed the situation before the season started and that we agreed track would come first. The baseball HC had agreed to it as well because the baseball season was twice as long as the track season; he'd finish up in May and be able to focus solely on baseball all summer long. To be honest, some of this comes to down my goal of turning the track and field culture around in this school. Track has always been viewed as a tertiary sport for our kids. They've played baseball, joined traveling basketball and volleyball teams and showed up for track practices and meets whenever they felt like it. Before I took over as HC, we had a dominant relay team that we scratched out of several meets because the kids skipped for another sport. It let the other kids on the relay team down and the team as a whole. So, I became a hard a-- when I took over the program. Thankfully, we've been quite successful in track and it's quickly becoming a priority for the kids and the community. I think you touch on the most difficult issue when it comes to this topic. Program vs the kids. Does making concessions for kids hurt the overall program development. Unfortunately, we're going to run into this issue this season. Our boys basketball players have all decided join a traveling team and several of their parents have already approached me about "being flexible". I have told them that track comes first if they decide to come out as they have all summer to play basketball. Most of the parents have backed off as their kids really aren't interested in track and would rather play basketball. A few are still harping on me but I won't give on it. The traveling teams play games all weekend long and I'm not going to have the boys picking and choosing what meets they go to. One has threatened to go over my head to the administration (I'm the AD as well as head track coach) and I already told him I would step down as head track coach and AD if I was over-ridden.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 13, 2018 9:45:22 GMT -6
If you have a guy who can help the team I don't know why you wouldn't want him. I agree, to a point. We've had issues with track and baseball in the past because some kids will use one sport as an excuse to get out of another. I described a good discus thrower in a previous post and we did have one issue with him playing two sports last year. We had a track meet about three hours away on a Friday. He didn't want to travel that far and tried to use baseball practice as an excuse. He had missed a few baseball practices in the past because of track meets but said meets were closer. I pulled out the track and field contract he and his mother had signed that stated that he it would be considered an unexcused absence from a meet and a) he wouldn't letter and b) he would be one step away from being removed from the team (skip two meets and you're gone). His mom was upset about it but I reminded her that we discussed the situation before the season started and that we agreed track would come first. The baseball HC had agreed to it as well because the baseball season was twice as long as the track season; he'd finish up in May and be able to focus solely on baseball all summer long. To be honest, some of this comes to down my goal of turning the track and field culture around in this school. Track has always been viewed as a tertiary sport for our kids. They've played baseball, joined traveling basketball and volleyball teams and showed up for track practices and meets whenever they felt like it. Before I took over as HC, we had a dominant relay team that we scratched out of several meets because the kids skipped for another sport. It let the other kids on the relay team down and the team as a whole. So, I became a hard a-- when I took over the program. Thankfully, we've been quite successful in track and it's quickly becoming a priority for the kids and the community.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 12, 2018 11:31:47 GMT -6
We only allow it if the club sport doesn't interfere with the school sport. We have a pretty good discus thrower that wants to play baseball this year. He played in the minor league club last year and there weren't any conflicts with track practice or meets. However, he will be playing Legion this year and he's looking at missing a lot of track practice time and meets because of it. He is going to have to make a choice this season. His mom is having a fit about it but we're not going to have him showing up for track practice and meets when he feels like it. It just sets a bad precedent. I think we are talking about two school sports...not a club and school We've only run into that situation once and it was soccer player who wanted to kick for us. The HCs worked it out so that the soccer was his primary sport and he only came to football practice a few times a week to kick for us. He missed one football game during the season because of the soccer schedule. But, the kid didn't just get a guaranteed spot; he and the back-up kicker went head-head each week to see who kicked for us. The back-up kicker was decent but the soccer player was a stud who didn't miss a single PAT all year and only whiffed one FG. We had the back-up kicker run kick-off for us as he was also a starting safety that went through all of our tackling and shedding drills.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 12, 2018 10:55:17 GMT -6
We only allow it if the club sport doesn't interfere with the school sport. We have a pretty good discus thrower that wants to play baseball this year. He played in the minor league club last year and there weren't any conflicts with track practice or meets. However, he will be playing Legion this year and he's looking at missing a lot of track practice time and meets because of it. He is going to have to make a choice this season. His mom is having a fit about it but we're not going to have him showing up for track practice and meets when he feels like it. It just sets a bad precedent.
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Post by coachcb on Feb 8, 2018 12:55:18 GMT -6
I've coached all levels of football: youth through HS varsity. Concussions in the youth leagues were few and far between because a) we taught safe blocking and tackling technique and b) the younger kids just aren't big enough or fast enough to truly generate the momentum to cause many concussions.
I got into it with our boys basketball coach last week because he made a comment about how "dangerous" football is. I had to point out to him that a) we've lost two boys to concussions this season and neither of them played football and b) that we only had four diagnosed concussions in football this season versus ten in basketball and three in volleyball.
What's more dangerous? A kid tackling and blocking with proper form or a kid rebounding his head off of the basketball floor after taking a charge?
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Post by coachcb on Jan 31, 2018 13:54:37 GMT -6
Yeah, we've run into issues with that a few times but the parents and players sign several documents acknowledging that they have read the school and team's athletic policies and will abide by them. They probably wouldn't hold up in court but the parents who've pulled the ADA card on us didn't feel like shelling out several grand fighting to keep a kid in a sport when they didn't want to play anyway. We had a set of parents that pushed it hard my second year of coaching. We wanted to boot a kid with an IEP from the team for missing practices but they brought a lawyer in. The solution was simple; we didn't play him. Yup, he was still on the team but we weren't going to play a kid who had missed 10 of the first 17 practices. Mom and dad dragged us into a meeting with a lawyer again but they had no legal grounds to stand on. We had a violent girl in track who stated she was going to "smash Lil' Johnny's f-ing teeth in with a javelin". She was actually waving the javelin at the kid.. I kicked her off of the team right there and then and mom tried to sue us. There was another simple solution there; Johnny's parents filed for a restraining order against the violent athlete. Mom backed off quickly because she. So, yes, the law is there. BUT, there are ways to push back if mommy and daddy get litigious. I have an earlier post where I outline exactly this as our starting point, and take it a bit further to pulling kids from practice reps because of their behavior. I don't ever want to put myself in a position where I'm making the district bring the lawyers out. It's expensive either way. We did it with any kid, not just the ones with IEPs. Again, the point wasn't to punish them for the sake of it, or even to drive them away, but to create immediate feedback for behaviors that were undesirable/counterproductive. You can actually comply with the IEP AND ensure your team is held to a high standard. Our first step in the discipline process is to remove the player from the drill and talk to them about their attitude, effort level, etc..etc.. The second step would be removing them from practice but keeping them in the facility. The third step would be booting them from practice all together and contacting their parents and the administration to let them know why. This is obviously situation-dependent. The major conundrum we've run into is these kids skipping practice and trying to enforce the attendance policy. We've gotten a lot of excuses from enabling parents over the years when kids skip practice. But, again, we just won't play them at the end of the day. We're not violating their "rights" by benching them. I'm the AD of our school and I obviously toe the line when it comes to the law. BUT, with that being said, I won't tolerate poor behavior or absenteeism coming from the athletic programs, regardless of the kid's IEP/Behavioral Modification Plan. Right now, we have several students with serious mental health/behavioral issues that are dragging down a lot of kids but we can't even suspend them from school without having to pay for services that we can't afford. So, we're stuck with them in the school but I'll be damned if we have to put up with it in athletics.
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Post by coachcb on Jan 31, 2018 12:43:50 GMT -6
Yeah, we've run into issues with that a few times but the parents and players sign several documents acknowledging that they have read the school and team's athletic policies and will abide by them. They probably wouldn't hold up in court but the parents who've pulled the ADA card on us didn't feel like shelling out several grand fighting to keep a kid in a sport when they didn't want to play anyway. We had a set of parents that pushed it hard my second year of coaching. We wanted to boot a kid with an IEP from the team for missing practices but they brought a lawyer in. The solution was simple; we didn't play him. Yup, he was still on the team but we weren't going to play a kid who had missed 10 of the first 17 practices. Mom and dad dragged us into a meeting with a lawyer again but they had no legal grounds to stand on. We had a violent girl in track who stated she was going to "smash Lil' Johnny's f-ing teeth in with a javelin". She was actually waving the javelin at the kid.. I kicked her off of the team right there and then and mom tried to sue us. There was another simple solution there; Johnny's parents filed for a restraining order against the violent athlete. Mom backed off quickly because she. So, yes, the law is there. BUT, there are ways to push back if mommy and daddy get litigious.
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Post by coachcb on Jan 30, 2018 11:33:31 GMT -6
We have a kid in the school that is a screaming PITA. He lies through his teeth about everything, he's a defiant and disruptive chit, he steals, he's been busted drinking and drugging by the cops, etc..etc.. He told me he wants to play football next year and I smiled, nodded, and said "that's great". I wanted to tell him to stay the hell away from the football team but I'd get into trouble for that. However, little does he realize that the football field is MY WORLD and it's a privilege for him to be a part of it. I will run him out of the program in a heart-beat if he screws around next year. I will never tell a kid he shouldn't play football for us. Sometimes it's just what the kid needs; a good football season will provide them with the structure they need to succeed. That's not the case with the kid I described above; he's a friggin' nightmare. And, I will get into a world of chit if I tell a kid not to play a sport. But, sports are a privilege and they are not a right; I'm stuck putting up with his crap during the school day but I won't do it in a sport season. Such kids are often what I call Spring Football players - in Spring they talk about playing but aren't around in August.
Even if he does show up when practice starts, chances are he won't last long. Won't be able to tolerate the demands-rigors of the sport.
I would consider him a Spring baller but I get the feeling he and his folks are going to push the issue with us for a few weeks, come August. His parents won't let him "quit" a sport, no matter how much of a PITA he is. So we'll end up kicking him off of the team. He'll start skipping practices and the situation will take care of itself. We'll see.. The kids know that I don't have to put up with the IEP/Behavioral Modification Plan bullchit in sports like I do in school so there's no hoops to jump through. You do the right things or you're gone, it's as simple as that. I'm surprised he's even talking about football; I kicked him off of the track team last year and will probably do the same this year.
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Post by coachcb on Jan 30, 2018 8:26:15 GMT -6
We have a kid in the school that is a screaming PITA. He lies through his teeth about everything, he's a defiant and disruptive chit, he steals, he's been busted drinking and drugging by the cops, etc..etc.. He told me he wants to play football next year and I smiled, nodded, and said "that's great". I wanted to tell him to stay the hell away from the football team but I'd get into trouble for that. However, little does he realize that the football field is MY WORLD and it's a privilege for him to be a part of it. I will run him out of the program in a heart-beat if he screws around next year.
I will never tell a kid he shouldn't play football for us. Sometimes it's just what the kid needs; a good football season will provide them with the structure they need to succeed. That's not the case with the kid I described above; he's a friggin' nightmare. And, I will get into a world of chit if I tell a kid not to play a sport. But, sports are a privilege and they are not a right; I'm stuck putting up with his crap during the school day but I won't do it in a sport season.
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Post by coachcb on Jan 23, 2018 11:54:25 GMT -6
Here's the reality; other sports with poor cultures will eventually correct themselves. I'll expand upon my earlier statement. I coached in an area where the Legion baseball coaches wanted the kids specializing; they set up a "fall baseball league" and told kids that they'd better be playing year round. We had several very good football players quit to play fall baseball as they were fed b.s. about "going pro" and D1 scholarships. One kid was a varsity starter as a sophomore and also a NATIONAL CHAMPION wrestler. He quit both because they Legion coaches had him believing that he was going to be drafted as a pitcher right out of H.S. Unfortunately, his parents fell right into it too. We tried to talk them out of it (without trashing baseball) but they were adamant. Long story short, the kid specialized in baseball for three straight years and ended up with a full ride to an NAIA school. His shoulder and elbow were shredded from playing so much baseball and he lost his scholarship within the first year as he needed surgery. I ran into him a few years later and he told me that quitting football and wrestling was a terrible mistake. The same story came out of other kids and parents, kids stopped participating in fall baseball. Many of them still competed in Legion ball but they quit specializing. Legion baseball, aau basketball, spring select soccer, are different. Has no affiliation with your school. If that was the other program with a bad culture then I would absolutely talk to the kid about not playing a specific sport all year round. I am under the impression the OP is talking about other school sports. I agree but I still won't knock the non-school affiliated sports when it comes to the kids. Take the high road, tell the kids to participate in as many sports as possible and go from there. As I have posted, we've had many issues with Legion baseball over the years but we keep our mouths shut. We've had words with Legion coaches about their behavior but that doesn't do much good either as they're not generally in the school.. One coach was a 22 year old college kid who was getting a $20k stipend (I chit you not...) and he did his best to drive kids away from other sports at every turn. It came down to money; he wins games, he keeps his job, he keeps getting paid. He brings numbers up for fall baseball and he gets another stipend.
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