lafan1
Probationary Member
Posts: 7
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Advice
Dec 16, 2005 21:28:27 GMT -6
Post by lafan1 on Dec 16, 2005 21:28:27 GMT -6
Hey, I'm 20 years old and in L.A. I coached for year when I was 18-19 at my old highschool with the freshman team. I was rb's. dl's and reserve team o-coordinator. Now my father's school where he is the P.E. Department Chairman, might be starting an 8 man team. They want to interview me if they do,and said I have a great shot at the job. this will be the first of any football at the school so basically I'm going to be starting a program from scratch. I was wondering if you guys had any advice for me from any standpoint i.e. starting a program, program management, first time head coach, etc. Thanks all you guys are great coaches from reading your posts, great site.
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Advice
Dec 17, 2005 15:23:39 GMT -6
Post by senatorblutarsky on Dec 17, 2005 15:23:39 GMT -6
There are a lot of things you need to have ready when taking on the responsibility of being a head coach… and some things you will learn on the fly. One of the main things is establishing your program expectations. Just off the top of my head I know that you will need: 1. General rules/team guidelines. You certainly can not have rules in place for everything, but some specifics are needed (ex. player misses practice- what are the consequences?). Our basketball coach was a first year HC a few years ago… he brought in 44 team rules for me to review. I have 7... we reduced his down to 10. Remember- every rule and consequence action have to be those you are willing to live with… if you go against your own rule you have more problems than it you didn’t have a rule for that particular instance. Also a parent meeting is very important- as is some kind of parent handbook that they sign. Mine is about 30 pages (I put in some motivational stories, NCAA and NAIA rules, State, Conference and District regulations, directions to new teams on our schedule, academic study guides, Equipment usage guides… I probably do too much here), it used to be 50- some people have a 1 or 2 page handout… anything that expresses the mission of your program to them is good. Most of our potential problems have been addressed by the handbook- and often times I refer parents to that and do not hear from them again on the issue (not always, but enough that I find it to be invaluable). 2. Be yourself- you certainly will beg, borrow and steal from others- but if you try to adopt a personality style other than your own on the field, it makes the job harder (I learned that from experience). I am not Coach X or Coach Y, and though I may admire them and take influences from them, I’ve got to be myself (I am thinking more about practice demeanor here… if you are not a yeller and screamer it is hard to be one for 2-3 hours a day. If you are by nature, kids usually accept that as who you are). 3. Finally, have a philosophy for offense, defense, special teams, conditioning/weight training and program management. Some guys on this board have vastly different philosophies than I do- but I know they are good because they believe in them and make them work because their players buy in to them. Learn from everyone, but have confidence in what you are doing… you can not do that unless you have a philosophy. Good luck.
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Advice
Dec 17, 2005 18:51:43 GMT -6
Post by knight7616 on Dec 17, 2005 18:51:43 GMT -6
I would really like to see the hand out that you give the parents. I have been a HC for 2 years now, we always have a parents meeting, but I have never given them anyting other than the team rules that I give the Kids. I'm always looking for new stuff to help the program run smooth. my e-mail is kroc76@sbcglobal.net
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lafan1
Probationary Member
Posts: 7
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Advice
Dec 17, 2005 21:15:12 GMT -6
Post by lafan1 on Dec 17, 2005 21:15:12 GMT -6
senatorblutarsky, thank you so much for that. I really will just be myself and coach how I see fit. My base goal for practices and games is " to establish a competitive yet posititve environment" meaning, this will be challenging and serious, but at the same time it will be fun and up beat. I already have some team rules in place, and I realized from your post I need to sit down and put them all on paper BEFORE the interview. I would love to see your parent handbook/Letter. edaaud@aol.com
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Advice
Sept 14, 2008 1:09:49 GMT -6
Post by coachbrexrode on Sept 14, 2008 1:09:49 GMT -6
Make sure it is the right situation for you. Ask questions that you may have concerns about during the interview process. Will you have a system or will you evaluate your talent and then make adjustments to your offense and defense based on talent? Run the program immediately like you would want it ten years from now. Make sure you have a good support staff and delegate as much responsibility's as you can. Good luck
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Advice
Sept 14, 2008 8:11:51 GMT -6
Post by ajreaper on Sept 14, 2008 8:11:51 GMT -6
Ok let's just mention the elephant in the room- personally and I may be wrong, but I doubt it, a 20 year old with a year of coaching freshman ball is in way over his head trying to start a high school football program. Frankly any school who's looking to start a program and is seriously considering hiring a 20 year old with a year of experience as thier first head coach is not serious about having a quality program- that will make your job even more difficult.
If you are really interested in being a high school head coach some day find a competitive program with experienced coaches and go to work for them- be a sponge, watch, listen and learn. Find coaches who are willing to mentor you and give you increasing levels os responsibility as you grow professionally. Being an HC is not about having a title and some power it's a huge job that demands a basic skill set to be in place to give your kids, the program and yourself any shot at success.
This is not a shot at you- I know the job and at 20 with limited experience you are simply not ready to take this on.
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Advice
Sept 14, 2008 9:16:28 GMT -6
Post by coachorr on Sept 14, 2008 9:16:28 GMT -6
Ajreaper, I think this is sound advice. I just took over a Freshman team after being a varsity assistant to 10 years and am now 36 years old. Time and time again, a little voice inside my head says, "Boy, aren't you glad you knew what to do for that situation, because you have seen it before?"
I have saved myself a lot of headache by seeing issues and things happen from the perspective of an assistant and by having a cooler head because of my age.
I have a friend who has moved around from program to program and he has never had the chance to stay in one spot for long period of time both for personal reasons and for coaching reasons. His lack of experience with one program under some sort of mentorship has hurt him in the long run.
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Sept 14, 2008 9:17:01 GMT -6
Post by coachorr on Sept 14, 2008 9:17:01 GMT -6
Bluto, great post.
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Sept 14, 2008 9:40:04 GMT -6
Post by coachorr on Sept 14, 2008 9:40:04 GMT -6
One thing I was not prepared for, however, is a kid telling me on the sidelines he would pay attention to the game if I played he and his friend in the game.
There were a few kids in Thursday's game who were messing around on the sideline. I went over to them and told them that it was not okay to be screwing around and they needed to pay attention to the game. As I was walking away the kid mumbled under his breath "We would if you would play us".
Well, I killed that kid, his body can be found in an unmarked grave in the desert.
No, seriously. I jumped all over that kid. What is funny, is he was the only kid who did not bring all of his gear to the game. I told him he was the only kid who did not bring all of his and so there was no way he could play, he responded with "I am not talking about me". Well, his buddy missed three practices this week. (He was sick and had a doctor's excuse, but I should have dodged the bullet and not let him dress down.)
We had it out with the players on the bus. They know that we will continue to be vigilant in enforcing consequences. Moreover, if a coach is not addressed as "coach or sir" there will be a consequence. I think it is time to transition from team consequences, which has been a focus to individual consequences. The principal will not let me cut kids, and why should he it is a great service for the type of kids we have they need football more than it needs them. That being said, those handful of kids who are not focused at practice, nor on the sidelines of a game need to cut themselves.
That kid turned in his equipment and I think he is trying to get his buddy who he was "standing up for" to quit with him.
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