Setting up a coaching staff

All you need is guys who can

#1 TEACH. If they can teach, they can coach.
#2 LEARN. If they can learn you can TEACH them what they need to know TEACH.
#3 BE LOYAL. (unquestioned, this is the #1 thing I look for)
#4 TREAT KIDS WELL. At age group you coach it is VITAL that all kids have apositive experience in football. Your job is to teach them the fundamental of the game, and give them a love for football, and GET THEM ALL to the next coach up the chain. Manay an ALL-STATE football player has quit because of a poor experience at a young age.
#5 BE WILLING TO COACH AT A POSITION THEY MAY NOT LIKE. Relates to #3...if you ask them to do it, they should do it. PERIOD.
#6 BE STUDENTS OF THE GAME. They need to always be learning. This relates to clinics, manuals, books, etc. This board even provides VALUABLE information on our profession.
#7 WORK HARD. Work ethic has gottenme to where I am at, and I still try to get better everyday.
#8 NOT WORRY ABOUT MONEY. It is not about the cash, it is about the kids. In some situations this can be tough I know, as a guy has to be able to see family, and put food on the table. I have had some QUALITY volunteers, and some not-so quality volunteers. They tend to weed themselves out.
#9 NEVER TEACH WHAT YOU DO NOT KNOW. I would rather have to teach it myself the RIGHT way than have you teach it the wrong way and than have to correct it. It will take me 7 reps or more of correct teaching to make up for your 1 of teaching it wrong.
#10. ASK QUESTIONS. No such thing as a dumb one. (kw is a great example on his whiteboard discussions...he is patient and explains things that may seem trivial to him, but he knows that if I ask the question (or anyone else for that matter) that it is because we are unclear on it. He genuinely wants to help us.

You need to

#1. LET THEM COACH. You will turn good guys off fast if you try to have your fingers in too many pies. Give them resposnibility, and let them work. You can keep an eye them, and correct if needed, but do so in private. DO NOT STEP ON THE TOES OF YOUR ASSISTANTS IN FRONT OF YOUR KIDS.
#2 TEACH THEM WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO DO TEACH. Do not expect that they can just pick up a playbook, look at it, and understand it. If you want a drill done a certain way, demonstrate it for them. Leave nothing to chance. If you expect it done a certain way, teach it a certain way.
#3 ENCOURAGE THEM. They need to get a pat on the back for a job well done. THIS HAS TO BE GENUINE. EXPECT PERFECTION and REWARD PERFECTION. Correct everything else. As Calande says (paraphrasing here) Anything you all to happen is what you are encouraging. Correct the smallest of details.
#4 BE PATIENT. As they (assistants) become confident in ability to do a good job, and understand the "big picture" you will find that they will be better and better at "seeing" what you want them to see. They will be better at correcting the mistakes on their own, leaving you to concentrate more on what you are teaching.
#5 BE A ROLE MODEL. If you expect assistants to do it, you need to do it. No job is too trivial for any of us. I often help pick up the lockeroom. I often tape athletes (although I am not good at it so they tend to shy away from me). If you are not willing to "do it" why should they be?
#6 CARE ABOUT THEM. Undertand where they are coming from. Get to know the on a personal level. You are going to spend a TON of time together, so make it enjoyable. My best friends are my assistant coaches. If they have a problem, it affects me as well. I want to see them succeed, I want to see them move up in the ranks and be head coaches if they want to be, and I will help them in any way I can.
#7 HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE. And make sure they know you are doing so.
#8 REWARD THEM FOR EFFORTS. When/if a paid slot comes open make sure you hire one of them first if they deserve it. Volunteers that are good coaches make assistants that are paid good coaches as well. When a guy gets a check, he will maybe work even harder for you.

Just some thoughts I have on this. I could go on and on. But I think you get the idea.

as a head coach of 14 year olds i absolutely would not have "coordinator" roles unless your assistants are a) more knowledgeable about the systems you will run than you and b) they are studying in teh offseason and have earned your trust....but what i would do is this...give each guy control over one position or maybe two....here is how i broke down my staff for jr high...

Me- head coach, OC, DC

I told my assistants that when they could diagram the buck, belly, jet and power series of the wing T against our defense then id turn over the DC job to whoever earned it first...no one did.

I had one guy (former jr high head coach) coach up my backfield , offense and dbacks...and i overruled any time i saw something i didnt like. i often started drills and let him run them as i moved on to another position...

second guy- film guy on game days and my "assistant defensive ends coach"...that is, i started the drills, he continued them and coached the techs and alignments and assignments as i instructed...he also helped with scout defnse.

third guy- dline coach. i sent him a ton of info in the offseason to learn, he did. he was also given a drill book and was suppossed to run dline drills that would apply to our schemes. i often trained the dline while he looked on and worked with teh nose or olien in run drills. he was one of my assistants for oline as well.

I called the plays for offense and the signals for defense and i let my top assistants work harder in teh special teams areas of kickoff and return...but no titles such as OC or DC. no need for it.

steve i appreciate all the insight you have on this board but i have to agree with saint, that egos are a dime a dozen and if a coach has to dictate his team is it doing any good the kids see it and that isn't what coaching is share the wealth with your coaching staff let them do what they know allow them the room to grow and coach. Coaches should deligate but the coaching staff should be allowed to do the job you gave them too. If it is about you why have a coaching staff.

I think the key thing is success, if a HC wants a staff to be productive then set your program hire your staff get on the same page working together so everyone does the same thing. then te HC will be able to delegate easier the staff sould be worked with away from the players so that they don't look like idiots in front of the kids. i had this happen once and it was like telling he kids i was coaching that i didn't have a role as a coach i was just a body filling a spot.

why show a coach something in front of the kids or correct a coach in front of kids if you want the kids to learn from the guy you gave the job too anyways

chorizo,
The thoughts that have been shared are very good. I enjoyed knighter's list very much. Well said.

I have a few things off the beaten path...

Couple of thoughts having set up two new staffs myself. In a reduced staff situation, regardless of how many "volunteers" you may have, you need at least one other guy who really knows football at the minimum. He needs to be strong, where you are weak. It is a rare thing to have a coach equally knowledgeable on both sides of the ball. I can call defenses, but I don't think like a defensive person. I am a QB. I have called both sides of the ball, and to be honest, I don't think it served either side, because when I should have been looking at ways to exploit one side or the other between possessions, I was having to switch hats. Very difficult. I was forced to do it, and would not suggest you do that. Not for any other reason, than it doesn't give you time to think and adjust, which are two of the weapons a coordinator must wield during a game.

If you are hung up on common responsibilities, start with your weakness and fill that position first. In other words, find your strongest opposite, and set that guy first. From there, the other two will find their places by need. The other thing, if you have a lot of two way players and cannot two platoon, is to make sure everyone coach both sides of the ball somewhere. That way, you force everyone to keep learning. You are developing coaches, too. We play ironman ball, and having to do that, I make everyone coach both sides, either as a primary, or assistant, position coach.

Rip a page out of your own playbook. You don't expect your linemen to run the ball, or your QB to block like a lineman. Find the strengths of each guy, and work through their weaknesses, by overlapping responsibilities coaching both ways.

If you must two platoon, and have the kids to do it, you need to delegate at least one coordinator position away, and preferably two(offense, defense, special teams). If these guys don't know football enough to gain your confidence, then find a guy who does. However, don't hesitate to do it either way. If he knows enough, he can learn a lot in a hurry. You won't do everything, so it isn't going to be that difficult. Keep in mind, these are 14 year old kids, and there will be some latitude in the knowledge requirements.

I know you know the following, but indulge me for a moment as I overstate something I feel strongly about:

In my opinion, you have a bigger challenge with "volunteers", than where they will coach position wise. You cannot think short term with a staff. You have to be committed to build football coaches, just like football players.

You will need to express to them your goals and vision for this team, and challenge them to do their homework on their position. Skills in a position can be learned quickly, but being a coach of a 14 year old kid with parents requires input, practice, and accountability.

Making them responsible for a scheme on your team isn't nearly as critical, as not monitoring the impact they have on the individual player and parents. Now, certainly scheme matters, but you can be the most knowledgeable coach in the world, but if you can't get it across to the kids because you aren't a "coach", you are in trouble.

You aren't in this for the coaches happiness( it plays a role, but not as great), you are here for the kids. If you have a high maintenance coach from day 1 whose only goal is to establish his dominion or to "spread the wealth of his knowledge," tell him thanks for volunteering and show him the door.

Your greatest challenge isn't keeping the coaches "happy", its getting them to love and serve those kids and parents. Having them be a coordinator will seem a small deal compared to the hornet's nest stirred up by an egotistical coach.

One of the biggest mistakes I see Head coaches make is not setting the expectations for their coaches people skills from day 1.

We are friends yes as coaches, but while we are in this context we are here to hold one another accountable to why we are here. Like it or lump it, it's the kids. Not the scheme. I hear it all the time, its not the X's and O's, its the Jimmys and Joes. That couldn't be more true than when you are putting together a staff. It is why I had the booster club spend 3,000 on a good set of headsets. What else can you do with them when you are down by 30, other than hold each other accountable to not going on a rampage. We take turns helping each other some times. It is always a challenge. My guys have full freedom to hold me accountable as well. No one is exempt.

There were times I was willing to sacrifice some football knowledge to get certain guys in and around my kids, because of what they brought to the mix. Now, they had their role, and they understood it due to their limited knowledge, but I was just as careful with the highly knowledgeable ones. The problem with the ego of the coach, is that they take it personally when the 14 year old screws up their scheme, and if they lack self-control in their mouths, they can undermine what you are trying to build.

Not a single kid who ever walked on a field in his right mind, ever tried to make the mistake they made, but you would think they woke up that morning seeking to screw up that coach's day the way some coaches jump on them from the very first failure.

Getting after a kid for repeated mental mistakes is one thing, but immaturity and lack of athletic talent is rampant among 14 year olds, and that is not worthy of the verbal beatings I see handed out time and again on that level.

I would set the tone early with any guys jockeying for positions on your staff. Heck, make them all coordinators if you want, or none, just let them know that the more responsibility you give them, that they will be held more heavily accountable for the way they handle the kids and parents.

You know the days of "coach any way you want and the kids and parents have to deal with it" is over. I have never respected a coach who thinks like that anyway. I am a parent of 5 children, and a grown man. I don't want some condescending coach avoiding me, like he is some unapproachable magistrate, especially if he lacks civility. That is gutless cowardice, and lacks basic respect for the people who brought your players into the world.

See, I knew I would get carried away, but I have just seen it so much as an AD and Head Coach.

Now, I have had that philosophy tested up the ringer with some of the most ridiculously selfish parents you have ever seen, but I have never backed away from a parent, a phone call, or a criticism that was valid. Nor have I failed to be honest with a parent, when I felt like they were being unreasonable and pushy.

I am clear at the beginning with my coaches and parents, encouraging and communicating throughout with a "no go" policy on discussing playing time(that is between me and their maturing young man), and appreciative at the end.

Even for the parents who think they know more than me. Those guys will always be a jerk anyway you slice them, but you don't have to be one back. You can slow them down with a little proactive effort, and communication, where appropriate.

I am not suggesting you live in fear of parents or live to please them, but keep in mind, that these are their kids, and they do appreciate it if you would help their son be a better man by being fair, being consistent, and being honest. Position your coaches based on these attributes as well, if the knowledge is equal. Maturity and self-control in your assistants will always get you better calls on the field and off the field.

In all my years of working to develop coaches into coordinators, and delegating jobs to coaches, I have never struggled with their passion to make the right call at the right time. They always seemed to surprise me with their show of skills in scheme in some of the most difficult times.

However, I have never had to work so hard, as I have had to educate those same "volunteer" coaches on how to handle kids and parents under pressure, and how to work us out of some unbelievably difficult situations they put me in because of their egos.

Take heed what you are building coach. A staff of men who want to build young men and know some football schemes, or men who who want to build football schemes, but know little about young men.

Just something to watch for in your guys. You will do great, because you do care already to seek out input.

Ditto,,,

Why would a coach 'coach' if the HC is going to emasculate him anyway? That's a no-win situation.


I've been on HS staffs where this was true as well. It's the HC's job to make sure that the coaches can coach and the position coaches are accountable for what their players know. In the OFF SEASON, take the time to equip your coaches, give mini clinics on coaching points for the kids. "This is how we want to coach such-and-such"
The bottom line is the PROGRAM, not the schemes. Programs are built on TRUST not schemes and chalk boards, if the kids see that staff is UNITY = a strong program. THAT is the most important thing to teach to the kids....that your staff is not autonomous, that they are united (team work).

chorizo,

If you are the HC....the time to start is NOW.

Since you all are volunteers, call them all up and meet at a Sports Bar or whatever some lazy Saturday afternoon.

Bring handouts and discuss the timeline of what you all want to do. No need to be Patton here, just set guidelines, so you all can get on the same page.

A friendly discussion over a Pepsi or beer can do wonders amongst guys.....have your playbook and implementation calendar ready and just go over it quickly and simply, and your philosophy of running the offense and the defense. Ask the guys what their background is and what they'd prefer to coach....

information gave good outline of delegating responsibilities.

Create as much off-season momentum prior to the season as you can.


dsqa's post there should be dipped in GOLD....that was beautiful!

let's remember guys that in steve's case he may not be working with the most knowledgable football guys. that trust and respect is earned, not given. that is why i spend so much time with my assistants working on what they need to do. if i teach them exactly what i want done, leaves no room for error, or free lancing.

face it, some coaches are control freaks. steve is maybe a control freak, but is that always bad? in my situation I have a hand picked staff. my defensive guy and I have been friends since HS, and he basically takes charge of the defense and I become his position coach. i can overrule or make suggestions, but in my situation, i have the trust in him to allow him to do his job. he has earned my trust and respect by "doing" what it takes to be successful. he is a student of the game, and he has brought an awful lot of good things to our program. d-coordinator before him was a young guy who was equally as good. was not quite as good at explaining what he wanted to do, or what he wanted my position to be able to do, but we managed. he got better over the 5 years he was with me, and would make a great head coach if he wanted to be one. he is currently the o-line coach at a nearby small college.

again, my staff is awful tight. my best friends are my assistants. i love them. i would rather hang with them than anyone but my wife and daughter. they have earned my respect and trust. doesn't mean everyone has that situation, and doesn't mean from time to time i have to reign (sp?) in my own guys. but overall my staff is great.

control freak? who me? lol...only until they learn how to coach the stuff i want coached...thats it...ever hand a title to a guy, and a playbook to a guy only to find out hes changed it to suit him?....i have. thats when i learned to be a head coach. titles are earned period.

nope, never been given a playbook. never took a job that i wasnt allowed to run my own stuff. when i started as an assistant i didnt involve myself with anythign other than the fundamentals. I left the scheming and xs and os to the head coach. thats what a good assistant does unless asked otherwise.

this year i just took a job and i have the playbook adn im devouring it. my point was this, i asked one of I disagreeistants to run my defense...gave him the info, he moved players alignments...that destroys the integrity of the front...folks change stuff without understanding the whys behind the method....never again, id rather have that same coach on board for a year or two before handing him the controls.

ok, just thought you had tried to make your DW stuff look like I suff to placate the HC before, kinda like a disguise


congrats on the new job
you didn't tell us about it
gonna be a good deal?

I would feel the same way about the jr high coaches that work at my feeder school changing things without asking.

chorizo,

some more help --- this topic may have some more ideas for ya - coachhuey.proboards42.com/index.cgi?board=gendefense&action=display&thread=1134393395

For the side discussion here - I think the biggest thing is to keep everything in perspective. There are always two sides to every story, just like the game you play may look different the 2nd or 3rd time you watch it. There is always a different angle. Maintaining program perspective is the point. I know I've had my share of staff issues (see earlier general threads) - but it's all in how you either frame it or handle it.

Do you INTERNALIZE the 'issues'? Do you PROJECT the blame on others?
It's difficult to expect others to know what you want if you don't explain it to them. I can give a playbook to someone and 12 guys could run it 12 different ways. Just like you shouldn't with your players - don't assume your coaches know what you mean. Different strokes for different folks, but we'll all agree the bottom line is winning.

The measure of a coach is not WHAT he knows, but how he communicates.