To all Head Coaches

^{1. How do you plan to get the faculty involved with your football program?}
Support (and encourage players to support) other programs. Music, drama, etc. Also, teachers come to the football coach with problems concerning players (discipline, grades, etc.). Let them know right away you support what they do in the classrooms (more by how you handle players than anything). Finally, if need be, have a "staff member of the week" who gets a t-shirt or hat and comes to pre-game practice and speaks with the team, then is invited to be on the sidelines at games.

^{2. How do you deal with your on campus Jr. High football program?}
Depends a lot on size, practice schedule. Here, I also coach the JH team (JH athletics period is the last period of the day). If not in that type of situation, talk with JH coaches and let them know what you expect players to know by the varsity level. I coach both the JH and varsity- we run the same basic plays in JH, but not always the same formations. In HS we shift and motion a lot... I just want to get the play off in JH, so we do not run the same offense. Terms, line calls, etc. are the same, but formations are pretty basic compared to what we do at the varsity level (we also obviously have less JH pract. time though too).

^{3. How would you advertise your program to the local community?}
Fundraisers, schedules/team posters, etc. to local businesses. Also, if you have a local paper that will include any informational write ups about the program, use that.

^{4. What is your philosophy of dealing with any parental problems?}
Parent meeting before the season, parent handbook outlining how you deal with "things". I will discuss any issues with parents and I give them school, office and home phone number.
I tell them up front what I will discuss with them and when I will discuss it. Ex: I do not discuss anything within 12 hours after a game, I do not discuss issues of playing time unless I have already spoken to their son and he didn't understand what I told him... then we meet together- coach, athlete and parent; I will not discuss other players period.

^{5. How would you plan to motivate your athletes during preseason, inseason, offseason?}

This really depends. Off season activities (conditioning, weights, etc.) are a must to be competitive. It is also important to realize they are kids and need some time away.
In season- I am big on setting goals and having a clear and definite focus.. mostly at practice(ex: today our goals is whatever... and if we achieve that it will equal 4 sprints).
Pre-season- I have seniors set goals and set team rules (I guide this). They have more ownership (and it is easier to enforce) if THEY decided it.
Most of the motivation year round has to do with developing and encouraging team leadership coming from the players.

I am not a teacher so this first one may not be applicable for the rest of you. I don't have to avoid them in the lunch room.

1. I don't interact with the faculty very much at all. When we first started here they were some of the harshest critics of the program and the kids that played in it. Since we started winning a lot of that has gone away, but I guess I'm still pissed at them for the way they used to treat our players.

2. We clinic with the Jr. High Coaches and sometimes have a varsity coach go down and coach a period or two with them. We only do this after we have spoken with the coaches down there and make sure that we aren't stepping on their toe or usurping their authority on their team. It is my program, but it is their team within my program. I try to be respectful of that as long as they are working within the parameters that we have agreed on prior to the season.

3. We are in a small community, so we don't have to advertise it much. We try to be visible with program sponsorships, fundraising and things of that nature.

4. We have a preseason meet the team dinner with the parents and the students. During that time I speak for a couple minutes about what we will and won't discuss with parents during the season. Mostly it boils down to we won't talk about anything that parents typically want to discuss with you...playing time, philosophy, why we called what we did etc... Inevitably I will get one or two calls or emails a year that want to discuss it anyway, I usually refer them back to the preseason meeting where I told them that we wouldn't be talking about those things. If they persist I will be brutally frank with them on why their son isn't playing. I make sure that I separate who he is as a person from how he performs in his role as a football player. I.e.... "I love having your son on the team, he is a great kid that is an integral part of what we are doing, especially on the practice field. He helps make us better. But he is not fast enough or strong enough to play in front of the kid that is in front of him now. He doesn't remember his assignments all the time. At this point the other kid is a better football player and gives us a better chance to win the game. I have a responsibility to all the kids to put the best possible team on the field." If that fails I send them to the A.D. and let him deal with them.

5. T-Shirts, helmet decals, awards for weight room accomplishments, and I bust my rear end to get the ones that sacrifice for our program into the highest level of college football that they can compete in for those that wish to continue with football after High School.