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Post by justryn2 on Jul 27, 2008 15:22:32 GMT -6
I have a great deal of respect for those who actively participate in this discussion forum so I am counting on some good advice. This will be my third year to head coach a select 13 - 14 year old team. Note, I do not have a son playing at this level. Each year I have a different group of assistant coaches. I want to get them involved and make them feel that they are an integral part of the team. At the same time, I have and continue to invest a tremendous amount of time in improving myself as a coach. That means that I do some things differently than is "traditional" within our organization.
So, I see some potential conflicts. On the one hand, I want my assistant coaches to feel that they have a say in what we do. On the other hand, I don't want to change something that I've already spent hours researching and weeks deciding just because one of the other coaches has "always" seen it done differently. Most, if not all, of the assistant coaches will have players on the team (daddy-coaches).
Has anyone else faced this type of challenge? Actually, I guess its not a challenge yet; we have a week of conditioning beginning Monday (7/28), then a week of evals. So, our first real day of team practice is still two weeks away. However; I would like to be prepared in advance. As always, everyone's thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated.
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Post by coachdoug on Jul 27, 2008 15:55:58 GMT -6
If you haven't done so already, you need to have a coaches meeting ASAP and spell out for everyone exactly what their roles are and what you expect from them and what they should expect from you. This is not a time to worry about being nice, but to make sure that your positions are crystal clear and that you have clear and open lines of communication.
You need to stress that while their input will be given serious consideration, once you make a decision it is FINAL and you expect everyone to get on board 100%. Any undermining of your plans and schemes is grounds for immediate removal from the staff and then be prepared to act on that should the need arise.
Assistants coaches that have not completely bought into your systemc can severely undermine what you're trying to do, so if sense that any of them are not with you, don't hesitate to remove them.
Good luck coach.
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coachbigelow
Junior Member
Coach at Southern Virginia University
Posts: 261
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Post by coachbigelow on Jul 27, 2008 17:14:17 GMT -6
CoachDoug is right, let me give an example from a youth program I worked with last year. BTW coaching high school ball then going to a youth practice isn't something I recommend I was tired as could be.
But there were two different levels within this program 13-14 year olds and 11-12 year olds. The Head Coach and I were good friends and we brought in an assistant coach who let's just say has difficulty being honest in his dealings. Well to make a long story short both teams won the youth league championship and everything seemed to be going well. As we prepared for the 11-12 year old all star game which we were the coaches of I worked with the line. We had run different offenses because the two teams were distinctly different. This was after trying to run the same offense for both teams.
Well I didn't know how the younger team blocked the run plays, as I wasn't the OC. I mentioned to this aforementioned assistant coach I wish I had a copy of the playbook (Now we hadn't handed out playbooks to our kids all year but as coaches we shared the plays to understand how to teach them). Well this coach went and told the younger team OC that I was criticizing him for not having a playbook.
We also had a lot of Polynesian kids on this 11-12 team that were all related. This assistant coach told the oldest brother of this family that I said his son was a terrible player. I never said anything like that at all since this kid was the Defensive MVP in my opinion. Oh btw the OC was another one of the brothers in this family and had a couple kids on the team. Yeah his daughter even played and hit harder than some of the boys. Ok so to make a long story shorter as I can, they threatened to walk out on the head coach unless I stopped coming to the practices. As he was trying to build a program we mutually agreed on me not coming anymore. Well not a week after the all star game this assistant coach told the head coach that he was taking over the team and had the support of the Polynesian families.
This is really unfortunate and the league is letting this happen because they are having a tough time getting teams especially against another more established youth league. My feeling is that these families will learn the hard way that this coach is a liar, he can't help but contradict himself. Well this was too long a post but it gives a good example of making sure the assistants are on board.
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Post by gunrun on Jul 30, 2008 22:04:12 GMT -6
If you haven't done so already, you need to have a coaches meeting ASAP and spell out for everyone exactly what their roles are and what you expect from them and what they should expect from you. This is not a time to worry about being nice, but to make sure that your positions are crystal clear and that you have clear and open lines of communication. You need to stress that while their input will be given serious consideration, once you make a decision it is FINAL and you expect everyone to get on board 100%. Any undermining of your plans and schemes is grounds for immediate removal from the staff and then be prepared to act on that should the need arise. Assistants coaches that have not completely bought into your systemc can severely undermine what you're trying to do, so if sense that any of them are not with you, don't hesitate to remove them. Good luck coach. Good advice, coachdoug. Justryn2, if you let your coaches know how you have spent time researching your system, they should be on board as long as you let them know how you want them to contribute. I'm sure you have put in more time than any of your other coaches have and you're the boss, so you have more than earned the right to run what you want. Have some ideas how you want your coaches to contribute and find out their strengths and weaknesses to see how you can best utilize them. Don't be afraid to let them know that you are primarily looking for them to contribute by coaching their specific position to the best of their ability. That's how a lot of places are, especially with an inexperienced staff that you are just getting to know. Emphasize that you are looking for coaches who don't mind ard work and are eager to learn. It sounds like you have a good plan. Don't sell yourself short and give away control to those less qualified than you. Best of luck to you this year. |
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Post by eickst on Jul 30, 2008 23:03:33 GMT -6
As an assistant coach this year, I am trying to watch my mouth and not talk out of line when the HC is talking. I am so used to taking over from being a HC before it's hard to not jump in when you have something you want to add. But it's his show and if I want to add something I talk to him about it after the practice. He listens, considers what I say and sometimes he agrees, sometimes he doesn't. But he's the one who is going to get blamed for anything that goes wrong so I live with whatever decision he makes.
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