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Post by rfryklu on Feb 20, 2023 19:07:03 GMT -6
I am working on a slide for a parent meeting to share with them the reasons that I have heard a STUDENT-athlete needs to miss practice. I want them to be true, but I also want them to laugh a little bit, and simultaneously, use this as a teachable moment with the parents on what does and does not constitute a valid reason to miss practice.
Aside from the fact that some coaches I have reached out to agree that Football Season is the most dangerous time of the year to be a grandmother, what else are some gold standards reasons/excuses that you think are worth sharing.
I truly look forward to reading what you all have come across.
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Post by larrymoe on Feb 20, 2023 19:26:24 GMT -6
I once got a text from a kid telling me he wasn't coming to practice. I asked why. His response, verbatim, was "Cuz da heat".(I should add after reading this- this kid was extremely white, from an extremely rural, poor area)
He was promptly nicknamed Da Heat by our coaching staff and we later cut him loose after he and his dad informed me he'd be missing a JV game because his dad had a fantasy football draft to go to. I have no idea what that had to do with the kid playing that evening.
Another favorite was a kid was going to miss because his little brother needed new shoes and his mom wanted him to go to help pick out "cool" ones.
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Post by groundchuck on Feb 20, 2023 20:20:56 GMT -6
I had a player miss a practice because his car wouldn't start. You could see his backdoor from the school. He lived less than a block away.
About 10-12 years ago I had two players skip practice to go play the new Call Of Duty.
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Post by carookie on Feb 20, 2023 21:08:32 GMT -6
When the Dodgers made it back tot he World Series for the first time in a long time, "the Dodgers game" was a big one.
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Post by larrymoe on Feb 20, 2023 21:11:23 GMT -6
When the Dodgers made it back tot he World Series for the first time in a long time, "the Dodgers game" was a big one. I'll admit when the White Sox were in the World Series in 05 I contemplated skipping practice and I was HC. |
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mc140
Sophomore Member
Posts: 220
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Post by mc140 on Feb 20, 2023 21:42:31 GMT -6
Three of my favorites:
-I have to go home after school, my mom texted me our cat just died.
- I was helping paint our basement floor and accidentally painted myself into a corner. I had to sit there for a few hours to let the paint dry before I could walk across it.
- Our house was raided by the cops last night, they tore up my room and I can't find one of my spikes and my track top.
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Post by 44dlcoach on Feb 20, 2023 22:01:39 GMT -6
Our HC sends a calendar out to parents in December or January for the coming year. During the spring/summer portion he lists every day we have a practice or function and the time frame. Once school starts the calendar doesn't list every days practice, I guess he thinks it's implied enough that we'll be practicing after school that he didn't think it was needed.
So one year a kid is involved in summer Weights, 2 a days (this was back in those days), etc. and stops showing up in the fall. He shows up after 3 weeks and HC asks "where have you been? You haven't been here for like 3 weeks." Kid says "sorry coach there was nothing on the calendar so I didn't think we had practice." We were 3 games into the season. Live and learn.
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Post by Defcord on Feb 21, 2023 5:33:08 GMT -6
Had a kid miss once on his 16th birthday to go buy a car. Car salesmen even wrote him an excuse note for practice. I laughed at that one because it was new.
The one that is maddening is kids missing to get a hair cut. Every losing program I have been in kids have missed to get hair cuts. Every winning program I have been in kids have not missed to get hair cuts.
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Post by MICoach on Feb 21, 2023 7:28:18 GMT -6
Deer season opener
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CoachC
Freshmen Member
Posts: 56 
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Post by CoachC on Feb 21, 2023 9:38:40 GMT -6
I had a coaching buddy of mine (at a private school) tell me he had a kid that missed practice becuase of an equestrian event. That was new... Definitely never had to deal with that myself.
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Post by coachdmyers on Feb 21, 2023 10:09:33 GMT -6
I swear on my life that we've had multiple kids miss because their parents scheduled haircuts during practice, even when checking with the parent that this was the case. Absolutely baffling to us.
Also had opening day of hunting season and a bass fishing tournament among our hall of fame reasons.
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lws55
Sophomore Member
Posts: 241
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Post by lws55 on Feb 21, 2023 10:21:17 GMT -6
A few years ago there was a video on FB or Twitter, that showed a coach teaching his entire team how to change a tire. All the comments were about how this coach was teaching life lessons and being a father figure to these young men, real feel good stuff. But there was one football coach on there that chimed in with the truth. One or more of his players missed practice because they said they had a flat tire and this coach was going to eliminate that excuse by showing the entire team how to do the repair. That way, the next time one of his players called and said they had a flat, he could tell them to change it and get to practice.
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lws55
Sophomore Member
Posts: 241
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Post by lws55 on Feb 21, 2023 10:22:57 GMT -6
The one that always got me was missing a spring practice to get fitted for a tux for prom. Not like the mall was open till 9 and we were usually done by 5:30 or 6.
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Post by shocktroop34 on Feb 21, 2023 10:29:05 GMT -6
Had a player text me that he was going to miss because his feet hurt...he cut his toenails too short. Kindly asked him to bring me his helmet when they grew back. *Sigh*
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Post by wolverine55 on Feb 21, 2023 10:36:38 GMT -6
Since it is now fashionable for males to wear jeans to prom and Homecoming, we had a student miss practice because he had to get a new pair of jeans for Homecoming. His dad, a middle school coach for us at the time, seemed shocked that we were shocked: "Well, the store is only open until 5..."
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Post by flballcoach on Feb 21, 2023 10:45:26 GMT -6
A kid told me once he had to get his golf clubs sized by his pro, same school two kids would get dropped off and hide in the bathroom to miss practice (one ended up being a college player later in his career). At my current school we get kids who skip practice and go play open gym basketball after school. Had a mom mad the kid wasn't playing and I told her I hadn't seen him at practice in weeks. This kid was in trouble.
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Post by CS on Feb 21, 2023 10:48:39 GMT -6
I swear on my life that we've had multiple kids miss because their parents scheduled haircuts during practice, even when checking with the parent that this was the case. Absolutely baffling to us. Also had opening day of hunting season and a bass fishing tournament among our hall of fame reasons. Had this also. Had a kid say he couldn't make it to practice because of traffic. He lived a mile from the school and rode a bike to practice on the sidewalk |
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Post by fantom on Feb 21, 2023 11:03:22 GMT -6
Had a player text me that he was going to miss because his feet hurt...he cut his toenails too short. Kindly asked him to bring me his helmet when they grew back. *Sigh* That reminds me that we had a guy skip because his arm was still sensitive from his new tat. We've heard the haircut excuse as well as shopping for school clothes for their class pictures. The best was the guy who couldn't come because there was a gopher in his house. We had a guy miss because he said that traffic was blocked by a Black Lives Matter protest. A few problems with that: 1. The march had been publicized for a week; 2. Police controlled traffic so that the march only blocked one lane on an eight lane road; 3. There were many alternate routes. |
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Post by 44dlcoach on Feb 21, 2023 12:31:55 GMT -6
Definitely seen an uptick in the haircut one the last few years as longer hair has become the style.
We're pretty lenient on drivers tests just because the kids don't get a ton of control over when they can schedule those around here.
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coachtconkle
Freshmen Member
"Perfection is not attainable; but, if we chase perfection we can catch excellence" – V. Lombardi
Posts: 70
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Post by coachtconkle on Feb 21, 2023 12:42:48 GMT -6
I was coaching in a rural area and had 2 guys tell me a few years apart that they would need to miss practice and when I asked why, they said they had to leave right after school to get to the city several miles away for high-profile concerts. And, when I was a head baseball coach at one high school, my starting catcher (w/ JUCO and/or college playing potential) told me after practice that he would "need to miss the game tomorrow (against a BIG rival) to take his GF to the AC/DC Concert about 40 miles away from our small town. I told him that would not be a wise choice. When he failed to jog through the gate for pregame on game-day he cut himself from the team. Sad thing is, several 2- and 4-year coaches contacted me about him and I would not give him a glowing recommendation. I simply mentioned that he had a problem with choosing priorities and that sport was not high on his list, and that his work-ethic was marginal. He received no offers.
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Post by blb on Feb 21, 2023 12:55:18 GMT -6
One Unexcused absence meant make up conditioning after practice, possible demotion-loss of PT.
Second equaled sit out a game and make up conditioning after a practice.
Third meant what I heard them saying was "I don't want to play football for our HS this year" (three Strikes and you're out) and we would accommodate them by taking up their equipment.
Playing HS Football should teach kids how to make-carry through on a commitment, be self-disciplined, and part of a TEAM.
When kids refuse to do those things or want those rewards, time to cut them loose.
Fortunately, because we made our expectations very clear before season started, we had very few problems in that area.
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Post by fantom on Feb 21, 2023 13:05:16 GMT -6
Definitely seen an uptick in the haircut one the last few years as longer hair has become the style. We had a baseball coach who postponed a game because he had a hair appointment. |
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Post by QBCoachDurham on Feb 21, 2023 13:13:54 GMT -6
My all-time favorite missing practice story. Practice is about to start and one of the player's mothers comes walking up to the head coach. She said little Johnny couldn't come to practice because he had a "mammogram" headache. Half the team fell down laughing.
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Post by CanyonCoach on Feb 21, 2023 13:16:22 GMT -6
We got a note that said that the kid was not to get to windy... gusts of 45-55mph that day.
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Post by blb on Feb 21, 2023 13:27:33 GMT -6
This story is not about missing "practice" but is interesting.
Had a kid sign up for first time as a Junior.
Barely made it through Warm-ups at first two Summer Conditioning Workouts, then never saw him again.
A week or so later his mother shows up, wanting to know what was going on (after we called to check on him).
Turned out he was telling Mom he was going to Football, picking up his girl friend, then spending that time with her.
In school parking lot no less. Which is where Mom found him-them.
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Post by bulldogsdc on Feb 21, 2023 14:07:07 GMT -6
Girls soccer coach is getting a game moved so she can attend a bachelorette party.
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Post by coachscdub on Feb 21, 2023 14:28:48 GMT -6
Some that i've had either as a player or coach
Word Series Parade
Dentist appointment
Doctor appointment
Birthday party for someone else
Overslept
Girlfriend was sad
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Post by coachwoodall on Feb 21, 2023 14:58:39 GMT -6
Speaking of coaches, this was many moons ago when the state highly regulated such things.
I worked with a couple of guys that coached baseball. Bus driver had to coach the 1st couple of innings of an away game they had planned just across the state line.
They were late to the game b/c the tattoos they were getting before the game took longer than they planned.
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Post by woodyboyd on Feb 21, 2023 15:21:15 GMT -6
A few from this season (mostly freshmen or kids who rarely played):
Needed to get a haircut
Skipped practice ask a girl to homecoming
Needed to get measured for a suit for homecoming
Family photo
Senior photo
Needed to walk his dog
Stressed about a math test that he failed earlier in the day
Wanted to watch his 9 year old sister play tennis
And so many more…
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Post by woodyboyd on Feb 21, 2023 15:45:16 GMT -6
I did my student teaching at a school that closed for the beginning of deer season every year. It was pretty common to see almost every truck in the parking lot with gun racks (and Guns on them). Not sure if that would still fly today. |
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