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Post by coachcalande on Jan 4, 2006 9:01:47 GMT -6
Just thought a few "disagreeants" might want to vent some of their experiences and frustrations...what makes a poor head coach/leader?...how have you handled the lack of leadership and organization?
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Post by coachjd on Jan 4, 2006 9:07:54 GMT -6
A coach that is a dictator. Does not allow his coaches to coach, always looking over their shoulders. A coach who is not open to listening to his assistants for input. A coach who does not allow his assistant coaches to grow as an educator and coach because of his stubbornness.
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Post by brophy on Jan 4, 2006 9:18:13 GMT -6
nothing is worse than a 'dictator'.
Only thing you can do is focus on the best interests of the players and hold the 'confrontations' to the coach's office. The easiest way to diffuse those kind of guys is through the chalkboard. I worked under a guy that wanted to install our 3-step package out of double-tights (single wing)....butted heads every week with this guy and he really made an A$$ out of himself every week. Screamed and yelled and hollered and would try to get 'worked up' on game days....I just left him to his own and kept working.
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Post by tog on Jan 4, 2006 9:42:49 GMT -6
A coach that is a dictator. Does not allow his coaches to coach, always looking over their shoulders. A coach who is not open to listening to his assistants for input. A coach who does not allow his assistant coaches to grow as an educator and coach because of his stubbornness. agree |
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Post by tog on Jan 4, 2006 9:43:45 GMT -6
that and a guy that will sell you out to the boosters/those in charge to save his own job
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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 Jan 4, 2006 10:11:07 GMT -6
OK, from a head coaches' perspective, if you have a new coach that you aren't sure of yet, yeah you watch over his shoulder some so that you can learn what he knows, and what he doesn't know, so you are ABLE to educate him, and that can come across as a dictator.
Contrarily, as a disagreeistant, I find that HC's that dont stick to their own plan, and/or dont communicate their plan to their assistants to be especially expasperating. The other thing that frustrates me as a assistant coach is when I am left COMPLELTELY out on a limb with no help, or who doesnt even listen to my suggestions, or countermands my decisions of who starts and who doesnt without explaining to me why.
My final gripe is a head coach who doesn't know what he is doing, and worse yet, DOESNT KNOW he doesn't know what he is doing. Had a JV HC who changed our QB four times in Four weeks, and changed our whole GAME PLAN four times in four weeks. We ran Wishbone one week, Shotgun one week, Wing-T, one week and Spread Option the next week, None of these with the same language as the Varsity. My Buddy who played college ball took one look at the Wishbone playbook, and said, this is more complicated than the stuff we were running in college, man! Only saving grace was that the Varsity HC overrode him on my being the DC, and we were able to run the same defense the whole time (VERY simple 5-2). He would yell at the kids when they didnt understand, and YELL AT ME and the other assistants in front of the kids. Needless to say when he lost his key and was LATE TO A GAME, he got fired after the fourth game and I was installed in his place. So whenever you think you had a bad HC, let me tell you, I probably got you beat...
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Post by saintrad on Jan 4, 2006 12:12:28 GMT -6
kakavian-
i like the points you brought across. the one HC type you forgot was the one that thinks only they know football and discredit and demean their assistants behind their backs or in front of the team. Those are HCs that have lost perspective and have way too much ego involved.
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Post by sls on Jan 4, 2006 12:33:13 GMT -6
I never worked with this guy, but there is a story at my present school about a JV coach who never punted and kicked off onsides every time. He was called in and told he had to start punting or he was going to be fired. The next game on the first 4th down of the game he punted and got a standing ovation.
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Post by splitricky5 on Jan 4, 2006 12:36:33 GMT -6
Brophy, you used to work for my head coach?? haha
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Post by coachcalande on Jan 4, 2006 12:45:10 GMT -6
Hey, that guy that never punted and onside kicked alot sounds alot like me...we had punted 3 times in 5 years...and we only kicked deep when we had a big lead....never had a kickoff run back and recovered about 1 in 5 onsides kicks...folks griped about it but they dont know how often the ball is run back to the 45 or 50 so who cares...most of em dont have a clue....i guess I was lucky enough not to be told that I had to punt, course we scored a point a minute for the last 5 years....maybe i know that jv coach?
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Post by coachnorm on Jan 4, 2006 14:44:16 GMT -6
I've worked for a coach who was a dictator. Not only did he not let any of his coaches coach but he was both the OC and DC and this at a 5A school with a staff of 10 coaches. I've also worked for a head coach who was the "buddy" type he was mostly a politician and everyone liked him. but the inmates were definitely running the asylum. The point is both were equally frustrating to coach under and I only spent one year under each.
Most of the coaches I have worked with have been amazing and I have learned enormous amounts from them, and they from me.
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Post by bigdaddyd on Jan 4, 2006 23:41:38 GMT -6
dictators are the worse...
I was an assistant for an HC, that would always say "I'm tired of doing everything." He would never give us the opportunity to do more because he didn't trust us, when you made a suggestion he would not acknowledge it, but no sooner then a player made a mistake, he would chew out that coach in front of the team; complete a s s...
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Post by saintrad on Jan 4, 2006 23:53:10 GMT -6
sure he didnt coach here too?
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Post by tog on Jan 5, 2006 6:36:43 GMT -6
There is no reason ever to front out coaches in front of players. Now, if something is not being done the way the hc wants it. He should just say how he wants it done, the asst should say yes sir, and then if he has a problem with it talk about it after practice.
Good communication and a thorough understanding and agreement on what is going to be taught before hand should fix most of this kind of mess. If it doesn't, then find a new job.
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Post by sls on Jan 5, 2006 6:58:10 GMT -6
Hey, that guy that never punted and onside kicked alot sounds alot like me...we had punted 3 times in 5 years...and we only kicked deep when we had a big lead....never had a kickoff run back and recovered about 1 in 5 onsides kicks...folks griped about it but they dont know how often the ball is run back to the 45 or 50 so who cares...most of em dont have a clue....i guess I was lucky enough not to be told that I had to punt, course we scored a point a minute for the last 5 years....maybe i know that jv coach? You have only punted 3 times in 5 years? Thats incredible! |
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Post by sls on Jan 5, 2006 7:03:21 GMT -6
I never worked with this guy, but there is a story at my present school about a JV coach who never punted and kicked off onsides every time. He was called in and told he had to start punting or he was going to be fired. The next game on the first 4th down of the game he punted and got a standing ovation. I am pretty sure this guy did not score 48 points a game. |
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Post by coachcalande on Jan 5, 2006 7:25:35 GMT -6
well for me, my thinking in my first year at the job was that i had about 4 kids that could actually tackle. In my opinion the fundamentals at the 9th grade level were about on par with a bunch of 9 or 10 year olds....then, to make things really difficult, i had 23 kids turn up on the academic warning list the first week...we never had the same lineup two games in a row...so, our special teams were not exactly polished. we had 3 or 4 different snappers throughout the season so i wasnt secure with punting. besides the statistics show that 90% of the time a team that has a punt blocked loses....so, i took the approach that "I wake up in 4 down territory"...we have been incredibly successful at taking the ball and playing keep away from other teams. I play a very low risk style of game. I coach to avoid turnovers and sacks and holding penalties. we go for two on every conversion and we dont punt unless its like 4th and 4 or more from inside our 30. I have alot of confidence in my defensive schemes...besides, we have a good offense...one turnover inside our 40 is not a big deal since we dont a) get sacked b) throw interceptions or c) fumble much. Its a different type of philosophy than the teams that play for multiple posessions and have lots of 3 and outs....we play a 4-5 posession game and play keep away from the other guy.
as far as onsides kicks...when you kick the ball deep who are you kicking too? the stud...at the jr high, jv and youth levels the studs will run it back across the 50 most of the time. so, onsides kicks...which by the way are less risky at the lower levels because of where you kick off from...(ie pros cant do it much due to where they kickoff from)...anyhow, just kills teams when you drive for 6 or 7 minutes, score and onsides kick and recover for another score...they get the ball for 4 or 5 plays in the first half and they are down 16-0...(as i said, we go for two)...different type of game. works for me. i take criticism for it but all i can do is walk away from both programs being the guy who set them straight...winning the games and making the kids love the game is pretty darn important. As I said, i was lucky that they didnt say "you have to kick deep"...yeah, i heard about it in my reviews (even after an unbeaten season) because the varsity needed someone to point fingers at for their troubles of course...everyone needs a scape goat. but it didnt stop me. if they had said "you MUST" id have said "no thank you, you want to coach, go ahead and coach"...and again, just because we didnt kick deep in the games much doesnt mean we didnt teach the kids kickoff coverage in practice. I take pride in the fact that no one has run back a kickoff on us since i have been a coach...btw, we have run back at least one every year. we run primarily a trap kickoff return that works very well and we thank the other team for kicking deep. I see it as part of strategy...sort of like in chess, some try to bring out the queen early, others choose to develop the minor peices and pawns....Im the latter type.
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Post by coachcalande on Jan 5, 2006 7:38:06 GMT -6
here are some pretty funny football statistics from my teams...off the top of my head here so I could be off by one or two sacks/ints
-48 yards total offense allowed in one game
-43 total yards allowed in another
0 td passes allowed in 2001
3 punts in 5 years
1 punt blocked in 5 years
0 td passes in 4 years
0 sacks allowed in 2001
0 sacks allowed in 2002
2 interceptions thrown in 2001
1 interception thrown in 2002
2 interceptions thrown in 2003
4 interceptions thrown in 2004
sacked 1 time in 2003
sacked 1 time in 2004
0 kickoff returns for tds allowed in 5 years
0 punt returns for tds allowed in 4 years
0 interception returns for tds in 4 years
0 defensive tds allowed in 2004
scored "a point a minute" or more in 2002 and 2004...both at schools who scored less than 5 tds FOR A SEASON before we brought in our wacky ideas.
1 or two holding calls each year is about what we commit. also, since we keep the cadence the same every down we rarely commit errors there...we have very few formations so we dont get illegal proceedure called against us either...yup, we are just different...or at least i am.
point is, we play a "different" game than most...but when you analyze it, you see almost no holding, interceptions, sacks, fumbles, kicking game blunders...things that lose games quickly or change momentum.
anyhow, might be shocking to some folks to see a coach go for 2 every time...but when Don Markhams Bloomington team set the 14 game scoring record of 880 points, he did the same thing....might seem strange to see a coach squib or onsides kick so often but when your starters on offense are your starters on defense and special teams too...you have to "rest em" sometime. I actually turned around to the fans in one game and said " you want to try to play defense agains the spread after a 50 yard sprint?"....at small schools sometimes you have 8-9 kids that play both ways AND SPECIAL TEAMS and you always have to hide 3-4 kids who have no business being on the field. those are the kids who "trip" over the chalk line when you finally decide to kick deep.
oh, one other weird tactic I use...i rarely if ever put anyone back to return punts...why? because my skilled kids are so few that getting one smacked on a punt return would hurt my offense and defense and special teams....one year, first game of season, my starting safety and back got speared in the arm...no call, fumbled ball and we lost that game...that was the last time i put anyone deep...we instead, cover the tes and wings and send the rest to block the punt...we block 2-3 every year. i know, weird....
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Post by sls on Jan 5, 2006 8:07:40 GMT -6
The kicking deep I am in agreement with you, never do it ourselves. The punt return thing is a very good point about your returners.
What do you do on offense?
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Post by coachcalande on Jan 5, 2006 8:21:43 GMT -6
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Post by saintrad on Jan 5, 2006 22:37:08 GMT -6
the one thing that i tend to find ineffective (aka bad) coaches lack is ... effective communication skills
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Post by oguru on Jan 5, 2006 23:00:49 GMT -6
The worse type of bioss is the type has no idea what your doing with your job. Like video coordinator,and then tells you how to do it. He has no idea how to do it yet he is telling you how to do. Thats the worse type of boss
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Post by airman on Jan 5, 2006 23:05:56 GMT -6
I have heard the motto of the double wing is 4 for 12. get 3 yds on 4dwons and never have to punt. |
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Post by coachcalande on Jan 6, 2006 3:50:14 GMT -6
mine is "2.5 yards per play"
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Post by coachcalande on Jan 6, 2006 6:54:48 GMT -6
BAD BOSS:...some things i have heard or seen...(the resemblance to any board members is purely accidental and coincidental)
Has no clue as to what his philosophy is, it changes like the wind and weather
Has no clue as to what his assistants do because he doesnt stay in touch with them
Has too many other interests to actually work on football(coaching other sports)
doesnt return phone calls or emails
Has poor relationship with kids because he honestly doesnt care about them
criticizes staff because he cant keep up with their work ethic or enthusiasm..looks bad when others are more motivated than he is.
fails in that he isnt a student of the game, thinks he knows it all already..."wont work" anyhow.
negative and critical, puts blame on kids and others.
wont consider anything his assistants say because he didnt think of it first
disorganized with equipment
poor time management, no practice plans or staff meetings...had a meeting but accomplished nothing.
doesnt watch film
doesnt scout oponnents
no practice plan
moves kids from position to position constantly looking for the magic combination
does not support assistants career goals
does not communicate with parents or shield his assistants from parent issues...
kids dont know whats going on..."when are equipment handouts?" "where is the coach, the wt room is locked?"
puts in 100 plays a week, calls plays in games that no one has practiced.
changes his back and hole numbering and play calling terminology from year to year yet expects everyone else to run his stuff....even though no one knows what "his stuff" is???
yells and screams at the kids and cant teach at all...undermines the assistants relationships with kids.
doesnt communicate with other coaches during the game...half time is too late.
"look at what i can do" instead of "what we can do"
and my personal favorite: criticizes your work to an administrator when he feels threatened....nice.
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Post by saintrad on Jan 6, 2006 8:33:26 GMT -6
calcnde you forgot one:
forced out after he burns too many bridges
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Post by brophy on Jan 6, 2006 8:50:10 GMT -6
Had one 'boss' (that I didn't work for) at the lower levels that spent 40 minutes on stretch routine, even after we showed him findings of how 10 minutes of dynamic strectch does the trick.
Insisted on running "HIS" defense (from 30 years ago).
Complained that he never got any scout film, but never would go out and scout his opponent when he had the time / resources.
Complained that he never got any game film, but never would set a filmer up for his game.
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Post by coachcalande on Jan 6, 2006 8:59:51 GMT -6
"calcnde you forgot one:
forced out after he burns too many bridges "
as George Castanza says on Seinfeld..."Flame on! Burn baby burn!" yeah, bridge burning isnt a good thing is it?
Sometimes someone else lights that match...and you dont even know it.
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Post by wildcat on Jan 6, 2006 9:18:53 GMT -6
BAD BOSS:...some things i have heard or seen...(the resemblance to any board members is purely accidental and coincidental) Has no clue as to what his philosophy is, it changes like the wind and weather Has no clue as to what his assistants do because he doesnt stay in touch with them Has too many other interests to actually work on football(coaching other sports) doesnt return phone calls or emails Has poor relationship with kids because he honestly doesnt care about them criticizes staff because he cant keep up with their work ethic or enthusiasm..looks bad when others are more motivated than he is. fails in that he isnt a student of the game, thinks he knows it all already..."wont work" anyhow. negative and critical, puts blame on kids and others. wont consider anything his assistants say because he didnt think of it first disorganized with equipment poor time management, no practice plans or staff meetings...had a meeting but accomplished nothing. doesnt watch film doesnt scout oponnents no practice plan moves kids from position to position constantly looking for the magic combination does not support assistants career goals does not communicate with parents or shield his assistants from parent issues... kids dont know whats going on..."when are equipment handouts?" "where is the coach, the wt room is locked?" puts in 100 plays a week, calls plays in games that no one has practiced. changes his back and hole numbering and play calling terminology from year to year yet expects everyone else to run his stuff....even though no one knows what "his stuff" is??? yells and screams at the kids and cant teach at all...undermines the assistants relationships with kids. doesnt communicate with other coaches during the game...half time is too late. "look at what i can do" instead of "what we can do" and my personal favorite: criticizes your work to an administrator when he feels threatened....nice. Hey!!! Are you on our staff?  |
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Post by brophy on Jan 6, 2006 9:21:41 GMT -6
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