Good player quits.............returns?

i know that for a winning team all the spring and summer stuff basically needs to be mandatory...

Now please allow me to play devils advocate

technically the kid doesnt have to go to any of it. You can not make it practice until your states official start date of practice.
House in your case in CA it goes by section, not sure what your date is but here Technically we cant make anything mandatory until Aug 18th... so if your official start date hasnt yet come up then the kid never really quit, he just missed non mandatory practices

I tell my players, over and over again, skill is not the most important factor in earning a starting spot or getting playing time. Effort is more important than skill be even that is not as important at trust. It does not sound to me like this player is a guy you can trust. Having said that, I would still let him back on the team but he would have to do a lot more than just appear a bit more skilled than another player in order to earn a starting spot or any significant playing time.

There are no problems at home with this kid. His heart wasn't in it. He doesn't like to work hard. That was real evident last year.

Our program is built on a lot of what 5085 is saying. Our players work their ass off and to have a guy come in this late after they grinded through everything? They see it. I don't want to be the program that has an "open door" to this stuff.

"Guys, I'll miss everything all spring and summer because I know other guys have just come back at the start of the year and the coach put them on the team".

Our HC says that if he comes back....key word "if".....he would make him sit out the first 3 games. He has already told him this. The point? How bad do you want to come back? Are you going to work hard leading up to the games? Are you going to be a great teammate during the games where you can't even suit up? How bad is this desire to come back?

If it's not that important and a guy is itchin to do everything great........don't come back.

That is the angle I'm taking.

The way around mandatory is to hold try outs and cut him.

tothehouse

wingtol brings up a solid point.

Did the boy miss anything since the actual season began?

If that were the case, he would play in our program as long as he wasn't sitting on his butt while his team was working through the winter/spring/summer. If that were the case (sitting on his butt), I would have told him to "make a decision". If the behavior kept up, he might be within his rights to be issued practice gear but he will not get any reps during practices with the 1's or 2's.

If he was putting time into another sport - there would be no problem with him showing up on day 1 of the real season.

Somewhere, as HCs, we have to draw the line and be sure that the support will be there when challenged.

I don't think this is too complicated.

First, have a team vote to let him back on. Make it the team's decision since they went through the work. At least give the kid a chance to say his piece.

If the HC already told the kid he would be out the first 3 games, that is all you need. Either he works like an animal from now until the first 3 games (perfect attendance, extra work after practice, clean up cones etc.) or you remove him from the team.

Kids simply make mistakes and it is possible for a kid to grow up. If he really wants it, he will bust his hump until after the 3rd game. He will watch and root for his teammates and not complain an ounce.

If he does that by game #4 you have an asset you weren't planning on. If he remains the quitter attitude, you cut ties or simply never play him. Either way you aren't out anyhting but a little time.

In this scenario you get 1) Team buy in (although likely with skeptism) 2) a chance to change a kid's life 3) teach the kid a lesson about redemption 4) maybe some unexpected help for your team.

Unless the kid has a real change of heart, he will either quit or you will force him out. Best thing though is you don't have to question what if. I would always error on giving the kid a shot and removing him if need be.

There are many thoughts and philosophy's on how a coach might deal with this situation and all could likely make a convincing argument for their position. In my case I would deal with it in the following way:

1) Involve your seniors and/or letterman- where do they stand on this and what conditions would they want for this player should he return?

2) If high school athletics are truly an extension of the classroom how do you deal with a student who returns to your class having previously dropped or failed it? What approach do you take with that student? You still have an obligation to teach this student so I'd say I still have an obligation to coach this one as well.

3) If you view football as a means to help young people become better men, better husbands, fathers, brothers, son's, employee, boss etc then you use this as a teachable moment and help this young man grow as a person. I'd set conditions that he's expected to meet and a price he must pay but would support and encourage him to meet those conditions and allow him to earn back your trust and that of his team mates.

Our HC is a big, "let the team vote guy". His point? "They are the ones who decided". Meaning....if the kid turns out to not work out...they are the ones who voted for it. It is on them.

The issue hasn't been resolved quite yet. I had a long talk with the HC and I'm leaning towards letting him come back. BUT...I have a big deal with him missing all that time. I understand the whole thing about not techinically having to be there. The big thing? He checked himself out of the football PE class. Being in the football class all winter/spring is like being on the team. It's ONLY football players in this class. By checking out he essentially said, "I'm done". He told all the coaches that he was going to concentrate on volleyball. Legit leaper I said, "you're making a big mistake not playing both, but....whatever". Off he went.

There needs to be stipulations upon his return. He would miss the first three games and during the whole time he would be scrutinized about everything. If the coaches feel like he isn't cutting it then we have the right to tell him to leave. Even if the players agree to let him on.

I also suggested that he does extra conditioning after EVERY practice to catch up on the stuff he missed.

I wouldn't be opposed to his return it these requirements were met. I would be supportive of the decision.

In my experiences, kids like this will usually cut themselves. Let him back on the team, but the only position he is going to play is tackling dummy during practice. He'll get the message. Heck, he might not even make it though the 3 game benching....

When I coached Baseball, different sport, but same idea really. We had some injuries and had a senior who had played before come to me and ask if he could come out since we had so many injuries (good athlete), (best athlete in the school, to be honest). I told him let me think about it.

I talked to my Leadership Counsel, they agreed that he needed to complete a few requirements (They were hard on him too.)

This was on a Thursday they came to me with their decisions, he had to complete the following items by Monday:
- 100 Poles (Thats a lot.)
- Attend 2 BP sessions that the players did on Saturday
- Complete both practices that we had.
- Could not start the first 3 games.
- Help all freshman put up equipment.

Counsel said they would count his poles between BP sessions etc.
He ccompleted it all on Saturday, because the players called me and said he's done, I was shocked, especially with the poles, but he stayed at the field until like 8 on Friday night and got there at 8 in the morning on Saturday and ran until he got done. He earned my respect as well as a spot on the team. He sat, until he was needed, pinch ran, played defense, turned out to be a great team player.

Had some parents complain, I told them it was a players decision, and I back them up 100%, no matter what there decision was. Oddly it wasn't the position that he eventually took complaining.....

Kids make mistakes, they are teenagers, let him come back if the players want him. Most of the time that will tell you if he is really wanted or not.

No one wants to be the bad guy. That said, he is still a teenager. Sometimes we forget that. We assume a great deal because we've done it for so long. Did we make mistakes? You bet your A-- we did. When you did, did your coach, mentor, etc. cut you off at the knees, or did you get another chance? Extra work? H--- yes. Ostracize him? H--- no. Punish/remind him? H--- yes. Prejudge him? H--- no. Give your council some say, but the ultimate decision rests with the HFC. If he fulfills realistic expectations, he's in. If not, see ya.

I'm never going to tell a kid he can't play.

With that being said, a kid who didn't do anything during the offseason is not only going to be at the absolute bottom of the depth chart, but he is going to do extra work after practice to make up for the days he missed.

That's how our head coach does it. When practice is over, the guys who didn't make the minimum number of offseason days get 30 minutes of extra conditioning and it is BRUTAL...100-yard tire flips, uphill bear-crawls, full ladders and crossfields...those kids are DEAD (and some are in tears) when the 30 minutes are up.

And the way our head coach packages it, it is not "punishment". His argument (which is a good one) is that these kids, because they did not do the work in the offseason, have to do it now just to get caught up to everyone else.

jgordon - our HC is a great leader and doesn't mind being the bad guy. Believe me on this one.

This is one of the items that I disagree with our HC on. I believe what some of you are saying. Being that black and white guy this is a no brainer for me. To me each situation is a different one. As talexander stated, we don't have this happen often. It is an extremely rare situation, actually. I feel that the "train has left the station" already. No matter if we haven't officially started yet. By the end of the spring, in our program, the guys who don't want to work like everyone have dropped off. If there is doubt, some hang for the summer, and then drop off.

I failed to mention that this particular player did this last spring as well, but changed his heart after a week. Like I said, each case is different and with a guy who has past practice and being a quitter.....I am leaning towards not letting him back on. I just don't know if he can be trusted to dig in deep like the other guys.

I was reading Tog's quote and the one that fit with this guy?

"Motivation is simple. You eliminate those who are not motivated"

Lou Holtz / Arkansas

Gosh, fits perfect for this kid. And believe me, it's not like he is just chomping at the bit to come back. He isn't saying things make you believe that he won't fade during the year. He is also a jokester kind of kid. Which is fun sometimes, but was a major distraction to some of our good players last year. After not seeing him for so long we aren't sure if he has matured in this area.

Is it now the time for us to figure this out? At no time in the spring and summer did we (coaches) say, "Man, if ______ ______ was here, he'd have made that play" or "Gosh, if _____ _____ was here we'd be some much better". He was off the radar.

All that being said, if what the coaching staff feels is just cause for his return (missing games, making up conditioning, doing the fundraising everyone else did) then we'll all be on board. This guy also would have a clause where until his three games are up he HAS NOT made the team. He would really have to show he belongs each day.

It's all about the players. Okie him with linemen. Run him in tackle drills vs. your best defenders and skills. Pour it on.

If he wins their confidence back, then it's all about how he buys into team items. Does he practice full speed, does he block, sell fakes, run clear outs unselfishly? The ones who do play.