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Post by wonderingcoach on Jul 23, 2008 22:24:00 GMT -6
I was just wondering what people's thoughts were on being called "Coach" rather than by your last name or hopefully not your first name. I am a teacher and coach and notice that more and more its hard for me to get kids to call me Coach unless I remind them. They want to call me by just my last name. I notice that in the classroom its an issue too. I take great personal pride in the title Coach and have given up a great deal to coach. Am I just out of touch?
I also notice that other members of my staff don't seem to care about it? Is it a non-issue?
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Post by carookie on Jul 23, 2008 22:31:56 GMT -6
Its nothing major, but I feel you on this. I am coach "last name" or Mr. "last name" thats just the way it is. A few years ago I was on a JV staff with a guy who tried to call me coach "first name" in front of the players; that ended quick. besides the fact that I'm a teacher on the campus, he tried to make himself the only coach "last name" of the JV staff (which is laughable cause he had NO CLUE, but I digress).
I'm sure there will be a lot of coaches who say it doesn't matter; or that in todays society kids are different, or whatever. But obviously it matters to you, so just remind the kids that you are coach "last name". And no you aren't out of touch.
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Post by midsfan on Jul 23, 2008 22:41:14 GMT -6
This actually happened to me last Spring. It was actually happening to a few of the guys that I was on staff with. I don't tolerate it at all from STUDENTS. They can call me either "Coach", "Coach (last name)", or "Mr. (last name)". I had a female student address me that way and our Asst. Principal heard it and jumped down her throat in an instant. I probably would not have went off like Asst. Principal did, but I would have made it known that that is un acceptable. As far as co - workers, I really don't care. I just make sure that when there are kids around that I call people by "Mr./Ms." or "Coach (last name)". Just my opinion.
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ramsoc
Junior Member
Posts: 431
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Post by ramsoc on Jul 23, 2008 22:56:49 GMT -6
Have very few guys call me by just my last name. Usually its a slip on their part, but my response is always "Am I one of your boys?" Then they call me coach and we carry on.
As far as assistants, we call each other by first names cause we spend so much time outside of practice that to try to snap into calling someone Coach Blah Blah instead of Paul is a waste of my mental capacity. Got better things to focus on.
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Post by tog on Jul 23, 2008 23:00:17 GMT -6
correct them
we call each other by whatever in the office
but in front of the kids talk about each other as "coach whoever"
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Post by 19delta on Jul 23, 2008 23:01:57 GMT -6
The last guy I worked for let the kids call him by his last name...I hated it and really thought it to be unprofessional. And obviously, the kids felt that if it was OK to call the head coach by his last name only, it was OK to call the assistants by their last name only, as well.
I will run into my high school and college coaches from time to time, and I STILL, more than 15 years after graduating high school, refer to them as "Coach ____".
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Post by touchdowng on Jul 24, 2008 0:07:19 GMT -6
Kids are kids and the present generation calls teachers, coaches and many adult authority figures by just their last names. For many it's not a sign of disrespect as much as a casualness that permeates the young kids of today.
We address this at the beginning of every season and it takes a week, or two to get them out of their casual habit.
I don't answer any player who calls me by my last name only. They figure it out pretty quick and get back to being respectful.
Our job is to teach them and sometimes that means reteaching, too.
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kakavian
Sophomore Member
Where's the ball, boy? Find the ball.
Posts: 175
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Post by kakavian on Jul 24, 2008 7:38:47 GMT -6
In my particular case, I am a Coach "last name" guy as well. I explain that in my speech at the beginning of the year, that even if I know them as Chris or Tim off the field, they are Mr Summers and Mr. Couch ON the field, and I am COACH De Marino, not Steve. So far it hasn't been an issue. But I do call them Mister in most cases, occasionally using just their last name. I save first names for a) I know them well off the field, or b) particular a--chewings/motivations.
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kdcoach
Sophomore Member
Posts: 194
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Post by kdcoach on Jul 24, 2008 7:46:26 GMT -6
It is always Coach "Last Name" in my program from 7th grade on up. They also respond with "yes coach" and "no coach" rather than yeah, or no and I HATE "huh". I have young men that played for me 7 or 8 years ago when I started that still say yes coach and no coach.
I've also found out over the years that the kids actually really like it, it sets them apart in school and have even gotten to the point where they correct the younger guys and the new young men that come on to the team so that neither my staff or I have to do it anymore. I get a ton of positive feedback from the parents and administrators in the school regarding that as well.
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trojan
Junior Member
[F4:wingtcoach.com] [F4:wingtcoachdon]
Posts: 494
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Post by trojan on Jul 24, 2008 8:17:09 GMT -6
I coach 7th grade, so all my kids that have played before are in the habit of saying Coach Tim or Coach Greg. We start them on Coach Jacobs/Coach Wilson/Coach Sleet, and they take to it quickly.
I've not experienced kids calling me by my last name as a sign of disrespect, just something they do.
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Post by justryn2 on Jul 24, 2008 12:23:23 GMT -6
On my team, all of the coaches are Coach [last name] and all of the players are Mr. [last name]. Respect is a two-way street as I see it.
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Post by wingt74 on Jul 24, 2008 13:01:20 GMT -6
I go with "Coach" or "Coach Steve". Anything else is unacceptable and is corrected.
I'm a stickler for this. I had a kid call me "dude" just one time and had no choice but to let him run the remainder of the practice.
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Post by wonderingcoach on Jul 24, 2008 14:17:49 GMT -6
I appriciate everyone's take on this. I know our staff has an issue in that our head coach refers to us by last name and the lower level coaches talk about us by first name. This is not big time football, but it really bugs me. I don't tolerate kids calling me anything short of Coach. I know one of the other assistants feels pretty strongly about it, but there isn't a lot we can do about it. It isn't our show. I was just curious if the times were passing me by.
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Post by fbdoc on Jul 24, 2008 16:38:52 GMT -6
I don't automatically rip a kid IF they happen to call me by just my last name - like others have said, it is usually not a sign of disrespect more than it is their not beign held accountable elsewhere - its one of those teachable moments. However, once you have taught them the proper way to address you, It's "Coach", gentlemen, always "Coach." Even if its with your first name like Coach Jim, Coach Bill, or Coach Abdul... the title of COACH qualifies the owner for instant resect. That's why we are so careful to award this honor on only those who have earned and deserve it. If at some point they lose the respect for the title, then they also lose the priveledge and honor of being addressed by it. I'm introduced during the year as "Mr.", "Dr.", and as "Coach" ... I'll take Coach every time.
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Post by phantom on Jul 24, 2008 19:57:12 GMT -6
I was just wondering what people's thoughts were on being called "Coach" rather than by your last name or hopefully not your first name. I am a teacher and coach and notice that more and more its hard for me to get kids to call me Coach unless I remind them. They want to call me by just my last name. I notice that in the classroom its an issue too. I take great personal pride in the title Coach and have given up a great deal to coach. Am I just out of touch? I also notice that other members of my staff don't seem to care about it? Is it a non-issue? I teach and coach at different schools. I've had no issue with kids not calling me "Coach". At the football school it's automatic. Never a problem. Years ago I started calling the kids "Player" and for some reason the kids find it amusing. At my teaching school I rarely have the last-name problem and how I respond depends on the context. If a kid who I like greets me in passing with my last name I'll probably do the same- greet him with his last name- and keep walking. No big deal. In class if a kid asks me something with my last name I'll probably ask "Who?" and they'll get it and correct themselves with Mr. or Coach. If there's a hint of disrespect we'll have a discussion. I also call the kids in class "Mr." or "Miss". That's partly to show respect but if they ask I'll tell them the real reason- so I don't have to remember how to pronounce Shoshinique. For coaches who have no problem with just last names or even first names let me point out that at Penn State the players call the coaches by their first names. One of the icons of coaching is "Joe" to the players. |
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Post by 19delta on Jul 24, 2008 21:30:35 GMT -6
I think if you're a coach and you are continuously addressing every kid by their last name, then if they do it to you...what else do you expect? My high school coaches addressed us by our last names...none of us would have even CONSIDERED calling them by their last names...it was just the way it was. Calling kids by their last names is not disrespectful. If I'm coaching a group of 15 kids and I have three "Jims" and "Joes" in the group, I'm going to use last names simply so the specific kid I am addressing knows that I am talking to him. Furthermore, I think that there should be a REASONABLE expectation that kids, even if they don't respect you PERSONALLY, need to learn to have respect for people who are in positions of authority over them. That's the way the real world works...most of us would never consider calling our boss by their first name or their last name (without "Mr./Mrs./Miss, etc, etc) in a professional setting. I typically use first names in the classroom but, when I have some "ethnically challenging" first names, I will use "Miss" or "Mr.", as well.  I don't make a big deal about it even though it really bothers me. The last place I was at, the head coach allowed the kids to call him by his last name, as did many other head coaches of other sports and even teachers in that building. Who was I to challenge what was apparently an acceptable standard? I guess it comes down to picking your battles, depending on the lay of the land. The place I'm at now...if a kid was to call me by my last name only or my first name, I would pull him to the side and gently correct him. Yeah...I've never been "Mr 19Delta"...it's always been "Coach 19Delta"...especially, for some reason, by the kids who didn't even play football. Yeah...I've been guilty of that. Had a great, big linemen whom I called "Pants" because he was an XXL and somehow (apparently with the help of powerful hydraulic equipment) managed to squeeze into an L. Looked like an overstuffed Polish sausage and ripped out the crotch as soon as he started warm-ups. The name stuck...kids were still calling him that 3 years later and I wasn't even at the school. Had another freshmen I called "Finger" because he had an ingrown nail on his hand and didn't practice for like 2 weeks because of it. |
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