RnS-OC
Sophomore Member
Posts: 117
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Post by RnS-OC on Feb 19, 2023 16:41:04 GMT -6
Hey coaches - we've had a lot of success over the last ten years at a mid-sized program (high school only with 80ish players split between JV and varsity) but will now be taking over a large program that is in need. The new program has roughly 150 players at the high school level and another 150 or so between two youth divisions. I was hoping to get some advice from those who have made a similar transition in the past about program and practice management.
Thanks for your consideration!
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Post by carookie on Feb 19, 2023 18:44:17 GMT -6
I dont know so much about the youth level stuff, but in regards to a larger hs i have been there many times.
I imagine many, if not most, of that 150 will be on your frosh team. Which, during the season you will not have as much day-to-day oversite over. So that being written, you need to get a GOOD guy at the top of the frosh team. Someone who you trust to work with the kids, but also be rock solid with admin and parents.
Outline everything for that program off the start, go over it with those coaches and make sure they are bought it. And im not even talking about techniques and schemes as much as running the program day to day. Make sure they are capable of handling a frosh team of 100+ and have an idea on how to organize practices and get kids playing time.
I imagine your previous experience has already prepped you on what needs to be done with the v/jv stuff. But that massive frosh team that is separate from you most of the time can be a monster. Invest wisely in it early on, so it isnt a pain for you during the season
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Post by freezeoption on Feb 20, 2023 10:09:12 GMT -6
Yes your 9th grade probably alot of that roster. You might want to split that into two teams, A and B. Also, we had a 10th grade season, JV season and Varsity. Remember, idle hands get into trouble. Two platoon as much as you can. If kids are playing most people are happy. By the time they get to varsity they should have had plenty of time to prove themselves. Even when I was at a school with 50 on the roster we still had 9th, jv and varsity. My underclassmen usually had 16 games under thir belt by the time they were juniors.
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Post by MICoach on Feb 20, 2023 11:09:17 GMT -6
So that being written, you need to get a GOOD guy at the top of the frosh team. Someone who you trust to work with the kids, but also be rock solid with admin and parents. Outline everything for that program off the start, go over it with those coaches and make sure they are bought it. And im not even talking about techniques and schemes as much as running the program day to day. Make sure they are capable of handling a frosh team of 100+ and have an idea on how to organize practices and get kids playing time. This is huge. At multiple schools, our best years have always been when we had a very reliable lower level head coach. We've done it a few different ways - basically deciding whether to have JV practice with the freshmen, the varsity, or jump between the two. Conversely, we've had years where the freshmen "head coach" is also tied up with varsity stuff or just not super committed to the lower level role, and that doesn't work well. There has to be somebody "in charge" for it to work well, in my experience.
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RnS-OC
Sophomore Member
Posts: 117
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Post by RnS-OC on Feb 20, 2023 11:49:09 GMT -6
The high school roster is split pretty evenly, about 35-40 per class. I like the idea of splitting into three teams. It's weird/exciting prepping for a program that has so much more talent/depth, but it presents its own logistical challenges.
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Post by vicvinegar on Feb 20, 2023 11:55:38 GMT -6
Hey coaches - we've had a lot of success over the last ten years at a mid-sized program (high school only with 80ish players split between JV and varsity) but will now be taking over a large program that is in need. The new program has roughly 150 players at the high school level and another 150 or so between two youth divisions. I was hoping to get some advice from those who have made a similar transition in the past about program and practice management. Thanks for your consideration! I was at a program with 130 players 9-12. Can't really help with the lower levels. They already had staffs for the middle school and we just left them in place. At the HS level, we were 100% 2 platoon. Everyone warmed up and went through Indy & ST together. After that, freshmen went to a separate field. We did inside run, 7 on 7 and team separately. After team, the freshmen would come back over and we would end the practice together. Freshman usually had between 4-6 coaches. Usually a combo of former players, young motivated guys and old vets that enjoyed coaching, but no longer wanted to put in as much time as the varsity staff.
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Post by MICoach on Feb 20, 2023 12:17:26 GMT -6
The high school roster is split pretty evenly, about 35-40 per class. I like the idea of splitting into three teams. It's weird/exciting prepping for a program that has so much more talent/depth, but it presents its own logistical challenges. Having that even of a split gives you a lot of options. A few different approaches I've worked within... - Freshmen and JV teams both have their own dedicated coaching staffs - I think we had 3 freshmen coaches, 3 JV coaches, and maybe 5-6 varsity coaches. Freshmen and JV coaches each coached an offensive and defensive position group. All three levels practiced entirely independent of one another. A couple lower level guys then had Friday night duties as well, ranging from yelling "get back!" once in a while to spotting in the box and having some say on playcalling. The program was successful but it seems like a mess to me...
- "Platooning" the coaches - all varsity potition coaches also coach their position for the freshmen and JV (nobody coached on both sides of hte ball). First half of practice freshmen and JV would be on offense, varsity on defense - halfway through they'd flip. We did have a dedicated freshmen/JV head coach who would stay with them the whole time, and the varsity HC stayed with varsity the whole time.
- Using the same coaching platoon system, some years we'd have the JV do a lot of live periods as the scout team for varsity. A lot of it they were just running their own offense and defense and it gave them good competitive experience. Another benefit is then that the freshmen get dedicated indy and group time. The tough part was logistics and making sure all groups and coaches knew where to be and when to be there.
- More recently we've done a mix of the first two bullet points, with 2-4 dedicated lower level coaches, and some platooned varsity coaches who help with the lower levels when they aren't needed for varsity. Basically, lower level coaches have a position group on offense and defense, but get some help (for example, when varsity is on offense the DB coach can go work the lower level DB's until he's needed again). This is a good balance, in my opinion. The lower level coaches usually don't have as much experience so they have "their" position group but still get some guidance and help from the varsity staff. As LL coaches become more adept the varsity guys can just help with scout team, one-on-one help, etc.
I don't think there's a right/wrong way to do it, you just need to find what works well for the program and the coaches you have available to you.
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Post by coachwoodall on Feb 20, 2023 13:15:47 GMT -6
We don't have quite that many but close. We divide them up between 2 groups- those that will/have a chance to play on Fridays and those that won't. We have them on 2 separate but nearby fields. We don't have a dedicated Frosh HC, but do have a defacto one. All of the coaches rotate between the 2 groups save a couple. The HC, Coordinators and the QB coach are always with the varsity group. Every other position coach will spend at least 1 day in its entirety with the younger group. That way everybody gets coach by the varsity coaches. The HC will occasionally slip over to the young guns field from time to time.
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Post by blb on Feb 20, 2023 14:25:14 GMT -6
RnS-OCHow many paid coaching positions do you have? What kind of "control" do you have over "youth divisions"?
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RnS-OC
Sophomore Member
Posts: 117
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Post by RnS-OC on Feb 20, 2023 20:19:49 GMT -6
RnS-OC How many paid coaching positions do you have? What kind of "control" do you have over "youth divisions"? I'll get back to you on that - I'm helping a buddy put things together and there's still a bit to figure out. At our prior school we had about 10 paid (peanuts) plus 4-5 volunteers. At new stop I'd imagine we're in a better spot but I'll update you. May also ask if there are any potential pitfalls to look out for with a significantly more talented roster. Over the past 5-6 years we've had about 75% of our roster train D and O out of necessity so it's a big change for us.
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Post by MICoach on Feb 21, 2023 13:28:17 GMT -6
May also ask if there are any potential pitfalls to look out for with a significantly more talented roster. Over the past 5-6 years we've had about 75% of our roster train D and O out of necessity so it's a big change for us. One "pitfall" we've struggled with is having a good plan for the guys who are platooned. IYou need to have stuff for the plantooned guys when the other varsity guys switch to O or D. That probably sounds obvious, but if it isn't in the practice plan then it either won't happen or won't be good work. The whole point of platooning is to get guys better at what they do so half-assed player led stuff or jumping in with freshmen just isn't very useful. Also worth noting that this doesn't need to be all of the other half of practice - some indy to fill the schedule then they can run scout for the defense in group and team periods.
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RnS-OC
Sophomore Member
Posts: 117
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Post by RnS-OC on Feb 25, 2023 1:28:46 GMT -6
RnS-OC How many paid coaching positions do you have? What kind of "control" do you have over "youth divisions"? Not sure on paid positions but I'm sure it's more than we are accustomed to. There is a largely intact staff for the intermediate and JV program. We have complete control, but there are still limitations since you don't want to piss everyone off. There are probably 20 or so coaches already on staff between those two levels.
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