|
Post by gmccown on Feb 28, 2006 22:47:05 GMT -6
I felt there needed to be a thread on this level. Any experience, recruiting tactics, fundraising or publicity strategies, what works and doesn't, and jsut a general check in to see who all is or has coached semi pro and where. I'll start. I coach for the Oklahoma Outlawz of the CFL. www.cfleague.com
|
|
baraboo99
Sophomore Member
[F4:ryan.andersen33]
Posts: 205
|
Post by baraboo99 on Mar 1, 2006 6:31:25 GMT -6
I coach semi pro in Europe, and I have a lot of similar challenges to you all in the States. I'll give my two sense on all of the unique challenges that us semi pro coaches have to deal with.
Recruiting: This is obviously my biggest challenge. In Finland, hockey is king and there is no challenging it. While football is known here, it is by no way a big time sport. I have two seperate strategies when it comes to recruiting, one for senior players one for juniors. For seniors, basically any guy I see who looks like he has any athletic ability I try to strike up a conversation. While my players are out getting lit up on Friday/Saturday nights, I'm out there with them trying to recruit their friends. I get a lot of ex hockey players, ex soccer players, ex finnish baseball players who are tired of the grind of their sports and just want to play for fun. We got 10 players that way last year, and 4-5 so far this year and its worked out great.
As for recruiting juniors, I try to get out to as many schools as I can, gym teachers are always more then happy to take a day off for us to come teach their kids football. And the kids love it if their teacher stays and we put the pads on them. We get a lot of kids out of this who are backup hockey players, soccer players who want to see the field. And 90% of them have skills we can use that they couldnt use playing their old sport.
We also are big on flag football here. Every junior high school and high school in town we have sent them sets of flags, footballs, and a basic rule book. Then in the fall and spring we have a school flag football tournament. Our tournament champion from last year went on to represent Finland in European School Championships before the World Bowl. This got us some great media exposure too, which is a big help in recruiting as well. We have a very good relationship with our newspaper and they usually put a nice story and picture after each of our games.
Fundraising/sponsors For fundraising, this is a major problem over here because its very hard to find people who want to sponsor a sport they know nothinng about. So what we did was basically create our own sponsor. The majority of my players are licensed security guards, and whenever there is an event in Kouvola or the surrounding area that needs security, we provide it. There are tons of festivals, concerts, and events here every summer so this is a big cash cow for us. We have one major sponsor, which is a local restaurant. They are a part of a big chain here in Finland so this is going to mean major money for us. And basically what we did was slowly work up a relationship with them, get to know the bosses, etc. So our sponsorship started out as them buying a satelite deal so we could watch the monday night games. Then last month we had a friendship game against their bartenders, bouncers, etc. This was big publicity for them...and big money for us.
My team basically has started from the bottom in the last few years. From no team in 2003 to 2-5 in 2004 to 5-2 in 2005. I work to increase their level of play by instilling a very simple notion in their heads, you are better then you think you are. I saw those old films from 2004 and my current team would destroy them 50-0 easily. We have national team calibre players on this team. You just need to build their confidence. You can't a tyrant with them, because they will just quit. This isn't life or death for them as it is in HS football. These guys work full jobs everyday then come to practice 3-4 days a week. You have to appriecate what you have, because if you don't...its gone...
Well thats my two cents, sorry for rambling!
|
|
|
Post by slvcoach on Mar 1, 2006 7:58:06 GMT -6
I coach semi-pro football in northern New York. Played for 10 years as a runningback for the Watertown Red and Black, oldest semi-pro football team in the nation, now in their 110th year of existence, and coached there as well for over 10 years. Now I am the Head Coach with the St. Lawrence Valley Trailblazers that are, along with Watertown, members of the Empire Football League, one of, if not, the oldest semi-pro leagues in the nation. Offense: One-Back, Defense: Multiple (4-4 based) www.eteamz.com/trailblazers
|
|
|
Post by gmccown on Mar 1, 2006 19:36:03 GMT -6
Wow baraboo...coaching in finland must be a awsome experience! I sent resume's to a couple of german teams but they didn't offer translators so withdrew my app. (probably wouldn't have gotten the job anyway!) I've looked into coaching overseas and it is still an interesting thought. How do you deal with the language barriers?
slvcoach. We are the exact opposite, we are a second year team (first in 11 man) who is trying to make a go. We have had problems with player retention, and discipline, but we have a core of guys (11-14) who are as committed as the day is long and have great potential. We run a double wing offense and a multiple 4-3 based defense.
|
|
baraboo99
Sophomore Member
[F4:ryan.andersen33]
Posts: 205
|
Post by baraboo99 on Mar 2, 2006 4:52:32 GMT -6
It is definitely an experience that I will never forget. The language isn't really a barrier here, at least in northern Europe because 95% of the people here speak english. For example in Finland they are required to learn both English and Swedish in school starting in elementary school. Some might not speak it well but at least they understand me. Germany can be hard sometimes because they are very stubborn about keeping everything in their language...but with so many american coaches and players there I'm surprised that they gave you trouble. I think you would really enjoy coaching over here, and if you want any help finding teams let me know! Oh and we run the Hybrid Spread Option and a multi 3-5 defense. www.kouvolaindians.com
|
|
|
Post by carson101 on Mar 2, 2006 5:07:03 GMT -6
I am a HC for a alumni football team that is going semi pro next yr 07, I recruited the kids from the high school I coached at we have 40 kids yr round. Each year they match up with other alumni teams that play to raise funds for school athletics of the schools they represent we have raised over 15,000.00 in the last 4 years for our school.
|
|
|
Post by gmccown on Mar 2, 2006 9:36:47 GMT -6
That's a great idea. I'd never thought of starting a team and making it an alumni team.
|
|
|
Post by gmccown on Mar 2, 2006 9:38:37 GMT -6
baraboo:
Do the teams in Europe pay at all? That sounds bad...but I'm married with one child so I have to think about providing for the fam as well.
|
|
|
Post by coachaaron on Mar 2, 2006 15:50:20 GMT -6
I am a long time semi pro coach and former player. I am also a former player/coach in Europe as well, 2003 in Austria and 2005 in Denmark (played 1AA ball in college at Umass). By the way, football coaching in Europe does not pay well, but they do give you room and board and you get to see Europe. Generally you are looking at 1,000 - 2,000 Euros per month for a HC job. I just took a new HC job for a team in Massachusetts called the North East Hurricanes (www.northeasthurricanes.org ), we play at a HS stadium in Amesbury, MA. Currently I have a staff of 4 and I am looking to add one more coach on the defensive side before the season (if you know any LB coaches in MA). To answer the questions from the original post: Recruiting - I go with a several pronged attack: 1) Make some connections with local colleges and see if you can meet with their staff regarding their graduating seniors. It may be tough to get your foot in the door as a lot of college coaches do not take semi pro seriously, but if you are persistent and very professional about it, they will meet with you. When you meet with them know who their seniors are and what you are looking for, dress professionally as well. You can also make your relationship symbiotic if you have any young semi pro players on your roster that are college level players, but never went to college for whatever reason. 2) Same thing as above with the local HS coaches, get to know who can play and is not going on to college, or at least not going right away. 3) Make up a good recruiting flier and hang it up where ever you can. Best places are generally gyms, bars, and college campuses . . . anywhere young guys hangout. 4) Word of mouth recruiting is huge, make sure your current players are actively recruiting friends etc. 5) Run some kind of off-season conditioning program or football clinic that is open to all semi pro players . . . that way you can get to know free agent players from other semi pro teams in your area and recruit them into your program. 6) Talk to the AD at colleges that do not have football, but have athletes from other sports, they may have some good track athletes, for example, that played football in HS and want to get back into football once they graduate. Publicity/Marketing: I don't handle this on my team, our president/CFO handles it, but here are a few ideas: 1) Try to get your team hooked on to any local festival. For example, we are having a preseason game that coincides with the Newburyport, MA Yankee home coming festival. Our team president got to know some folks on the festivals planning committee and now the preseason game is being advertised by the festival committee as one of the festival activities/attractions. 2) Run a clinic for the local youth football/pop warner kids and then give all the kids free season tickets. If you give the kids free passes, they will bring their parents (who will pay admission) to the game. 3) Get to know community groups, like chamber of commerce, human service agencies, YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs, Council for Elders, etc and have the HC go and speak to them about your football program. Have the HC talk to anyone who will listen. Then give these groups bunches of free season passes . . . if they show up they will buy stuff at the concession stand where you make your real money anyways and they will spread the word about your team. Hope these suggestions help, let me know if you have any questions, -Aaron Beineke, Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator North East Hurricanes "Hardest working coach in semi pro football" www.northeasthurricanes.org aaronbeineke@northeasthurricanes.org
|
|
|
Post by Coach Shane on Mar 2, 2006 16:07:54 GMT -6
I have coached and played at the Semi Pro level since 98 I am currently the Offensive Coordinator of a new team in Southern California called the Santa Clarita Maddogs. www.maddogsfootball.com I have also played in International games in Finland 89, Mexico 90,91 and have played host to Sweden in California. Damn I'm Old
|
|
ike2112
Sophomore Member
Posts: 158
|
Post by ike2112 on Mar 2, 2006 16:29:05 GMT -6
I am in Scotland, coach a University team and play and coach with a Semi-Pro (actually purely amateur - nobody in the league is paid [officially anyway]) team.
All the players pay to play here, and coaches are unpaid. It actually costs me the equivalent of about $300 a year to coach and $500 to play. But i'm non-stop football all year so it's a permanent hobby.
Recruiting: For university team, I visit the same places the students do and try and talk them round. I quietly point out that football has cheerleaders while rugby does not. I get many players from rugby, those who didn't make first string. We get a handful of US transfer students in the Autumn so I try to recruit those. Some are good, some awful. I also do as much as I can to find the players jobs that aren't on sundays if they show interest so they have no excuse on the cost or missing training/games [we play sundays].
For the senior (amateur/semi-pro) team we recruit whoever we can with experience and target athletes where we can. Have a regular squad of 30, and always manage to find players each summer.
Slight problem I have found with recruiting from other sports is the willingness to be the anonymous cog in the machine. In rugby or soccer for example anyone can score a goal. A prop forward can score as many tries in a season as a centre (equivalent of DT to RB). But try telling them they won't even touch the ball, let alone have a chance to score. It is imperative to get the teamwork mentality into them very quickly.
Fundraising is very difficult for what is a minority sport here, but we did break a deal with a local student pub. The pub is out of the main area of pubs, so wanted to attract more. They gave us 1,000 tickets to sell in their pub for £1.50 each. Each ticket buys a pint. A pint is usually £1.80. We keep a % of the £1.50 on each pint. Last year we had a huge turnout and they gave us almost £1 from each ticket.
For publicity, get in the good books of the local radio station. And as someone else mentioned above, look out for festivals or anything like that. There's a 'Big Boys Toys' event at a shopping centre next month that is mostly for people wanting to try quad-biking and things like that but we'll be there and I expect will pick up a player or a minor sponsor or two.
slvcoach, do you know an Erik Lyman? A DE/LB, played at Boston College and for St Mary's College in Halifax, I think he also played for Watertown in 2001/2?
|
|
|
Post by slvcoach on Mar 2, 2006 17:19:02 GMT -6
ike2112,
Yes, I remember Erik. Great athlete and person. Tough as nails and a hard hitter, even at practice. Practiced like he played. I was the offensive coordinator and he certainly helped us become better on offense because of his play on defense at practice. Haven't heard from him since he moved on from the team to play ball at the college level at St. Mary's. If you hear from him or see him, give him my best.
Mike Britton SLV Coach
|
|
baraboo99
Sophomore Member
[F4:ryan.andersen33]
Posts: 205
|
Post by baraboo99 on Mar 3, 2006 5:38:10 GMT -6
baraboo: Do the teams in Europe pay at all? That sounds bad...but I'm married with one child so I have to think about providing for the fam as well. It depends on where you go... I think if you try hard enough you could find a team in Germany or Italy that pays enough. You could see it too as a summer vacation that you get paid to take. But if you are young like me and don't have huge debts, Europe is a great place to get experience. During the season last year I got paid 400€ in cash plus all my bills paid, cellphone, flights, meals, etc so when you add it all up things were quite comfortable. This year I have a job outside of football that pays about 1500€ a month so you add an additional 500€ its a very comfortable living (remember the euro is more valuable then the dollar). I'm using my experience over here as a eventual stepping stone to coaching in the States. I think after coaching over here with all the unique challenges that we have coaching in the States can only get easier!
|
|
baraboo99
Sophomore Member
[F4:ryan.andersen33]
Posts: 205
|
Post by baraboo99 on Mar 3, 2006 5:43:02 GMT -6
played host to Sweden in California. Damn I'm Old What was the Swedish team? I used to coach in Sweden as well...
|
|
|
Post by gmccown on Mar 3, 2006 10:12:06 GMT -6
Coaching in Italy would be great. How hard would it be to bring family? And what are the entry and exit points like..(I've only been to Mexico and the US)
|
|
ike2112
Sophomore Member
Posts: 158
|
Post by ike2112 on Mar 3, 2006 11:20:08 GMT -6
slvcoach,
I just met him at our superbowl party, and helped recruit him! I will pass on your regards.
|
|
|
Post by coachaaron on Mar 3, 2006 11:25:15 GMT -6
Coaching in Italy would be great. How hard would it be to bring family? And what are the entry and exit points like..(I've only been to Mexico and the US) In my experience it would be very difficult to bring a family over there. When I was there it was more of a young single and unattached guy type of thing to do and all the coaches and players fit that description. I had heard that there was a player there the year before that brought his wife, but they did not have any children. I had some offers that offered full nice apartments and so fourth that would be appropriate for a family, but the pay was less due to the nicer living quarters.
|
|
|
Post by Coach Shane on Mar 3, 2006 13:38:04 GMT -6
It has been to long but I belive it was an all- star type team they played very tough and we all had a blast.
|
|
|
Post by gmccown on Mar 3, 2006 14:13:58 GMT -6
I don't know that I could go that long without seeing my wife and daughter. That would drive me nuts (they might like it....) but I'd go crazy.
|
|
ike2112
Sophomore Member
Posts: 158
|
Post by ike2112 on Mar 3, 2006 17:39:08 GMT -6
gmccown,
It could be done, but you would have to do more of the arranging and take more of the financial burden. Mostly in europe if you get a place to stay it is a room in a friend's flat or something like that. It depends on the team, but some will get you a job but it is likely to be manual labour or something very simple and non-reliant on any qualifications you may have. You can go as far as you like, it is not difficult to come to europe (it's far more difficult for us to enter US!). You could take a year to plan and pre-arrange etc, get a 3 bedroom apartment rented and an administrative job or something like that. Maybe even a teacher exchange, if that is your career - in Scotland we do exchanges with Canada every few years.
|
|
|
Post by gmccown on Mar 7, 2006 22:45:50 GMT -6
Hmm...I'm in the oil industry..and my work is based off of US federal law...so there wouldn't be a market for me over there.
|
|