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Post by defcon316 on Feb 24, 2007 19:36:09 GMT -6
You are the new head coach and you have inherited 8 of the 9 assistants from the previous coach's staff. How do you determine who works at what level and what questions do you ask to determine if they fit into your "big picture"?
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coachwoody
Freshmen Member
Gotta love it!!!
Posts: 45
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Post by coachwoody on Feb 24, 2007 22:17:24 GMT -6
Good luck on that situation. I hope you can bring in at least one of your own guys. Been there and done that before. I inherited a staff that had won only 1 game in 4 years and was not allowed to hire anyone. Then the principal hired a coach that had been fired and forfieted a bunch of games for illegal kids and coaches. Former staffers did not like having to work weekends, "They normally didn't do that". Went 4-6 first year and I was let go because staff could not work for me. I was "unfair" to the coaches and hard on the kids. When I left only 4 kids stayed and played at new consolidated school out of 30 kids. They would not play for the old coaches that were kept by the school. Found out that two coaches were complaining to the principal and supt. about their roles were not as involved(local boys).
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Post by CVBears on Feb 25, 2007 1:39:28 GMT -6
Ask them what they want to do, what their interests and future plans in football are. I think one would get a good fell for each person and how they fit into the big picture. I'm not saying that you do everything that they say specifically. I'm just saying that by asking the questions and facilitating the converstation, one could learn a lot.
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Post by ajreaper on Feb 25, 2007 9:56:32 GMT -6
To some extent I would think you need to consider the circumstances of your coming in- is it a program that's been generally successful or no? If there's been success I'd think you'd not want to change things so much as tweak them here and there- on the other hand if you are coming into a struggling program and are being asked to "fix it" you'll need to be more aggressive in what you do (and likely have stronger admin support to do that). I think all that plays into how you address staff issues. Watch film from the previous years to get a feel for what the coordinators were doing- was it sound fundamental football? Look at each position- do players appear to have had solid coaching? Do you notice improvement as the season progressed? Sit down and talk with each about their goals, philosphy and what they see as being positives and negatives from the past season or beyond- you'll at least identify who's on the same page about where the program is at and whats needs to be addressed. Hopefully you'll have coaches with an open mind and who will approach things professionally if not you'll be fighting an uphill battle until you can get a few of your hires into the program.
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Post by coachd5085 on Feb 25, 2007 18:01:38 GMT -6
First...TIME COMMITMENT LEVEL. Inseason...out of season..summer...
Who will work the hours you want them to work. No sugar coating on this one. It will be miserable for all involved if you expect them to work 10 hours on Sat and Sunday, and they are more worried about getting home to watch USC or the Colts. It will be miserable if you expect them to make summer work outs, and they think summer time is their time. Just cut bait right there, and talk them into making the decision to leave the staff. Nothing personnel here, in fact you are doing them a favor.
Second Philosophy---while it is not important that everyone has the same philosophy, it is very important that everyone realizes that ONLY ONE REALLY MATTERS...and that is YOURS. Let them know what your philosophy is. At the same time, make it known you will INVITE, but then CHALLENGE any suggestions that differ. (As a good coach, if they can defend their challenge, you should probably look at adopting the difference)
X's and O's. Have each coach "teach you" the position they are playing. Maybe on defense, it will be Blow Delivery for the DL, reads and steps in Cov 3 for LB's and DB's.. Just have them teach it to you. This will show you what pieces of the puzzle you have, and what you need to massage.
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Post by roboline on Mar 26, 2007 9:17:38 GMT -6
This is a fantastic thread and some phenomenal answers. I will be taking over a small high school program with 5-6 existing coaches and little chance to bring anyone in...maybe one or two next year but NOBODY for spring, which starts in 5 weeks and I'm not even at the school yet (you know how that bureaucracy can be at the district level....they want to do a rectal search before they give me the thumbs up). 25+ years of coaching but this will be my first HC job outside military ball, so the advice here is exactly what I was looking for and greatly appreciated.
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Post by coachd5085 on Mar 26, 2007 9:57:05 GMT -6
roboline-- I can not stress enough that you be completely upfront and honest with the guys before hand about the time you think should be put in. It will be a much more enjoyable experience with just 3 coaches who WANT to be there, than having half the staff watching the clock, and griping about hours.
Be super friendly but super firm on this. If you are a 30 hour weekend guy...then you need to to let them know in advance so they can LET YOU KNOW IN ADVANCE "uh...thats not how I envision my contribution" Then everythign can be done friendly and professional.
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Post by fbdoc on Mar 27, 2007 7:32:00 GMT -6
I'm also at a small school in Florida and I will tell you that having one or two guys on page with you is FAR better than having 8-9 guys that you are constantly having to manage. Hopefully you have 2 coordinator types that you TRUST and can help you mold and mentor the others. Good Luck ... and by the way, we are looking for a week 11 game!
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Post by kscoach on Mar 27, 2007 14:07:49 GMT -6
I have been in this situation, twice. I inherited the entire previous staff at two schools. The first program was going downhill and the second was dead in the water. In both situations, I took the attitude we were now together and we were going to make the best of it. We had a short meeting (I hate long meetings) in which each coach told me what they had coached, what they wanted to coach, and what they thought the program needed to improve. By giving them instant input, they all felt more comfortable. Luckily, in both situations, the responsibilites given were very similar to what they had done and/or wanted to do. Also, coming into a struggling program, I made them all feel valued as good coaches. I felt that boosting their confidence would, in turn, boost the confidence of the players. It did. Lastly, when I gave someone responsibility for something, I let them do it and stayed out of their way. Come to find out, the previous coach (in both situations) had been micromanager and was always in their business. As long as what they were doing was sound, and it fit into what the overall philosophy was, we were fine. In both places, after the season, several assistants told me how much it meant to them to get to actually coach, and how much they liked that I trusted them to do their job. As for weekends, off-season, etc., we all talked it out. Luckily, it has worked well. In short, my 2 cents are that you make them feel valued (because they are), be together (it's not MY staff, it's OUR team), give them something to do and let them do it.
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Post by brophy on Mar 27, 2007 14:26:30 GMT -6
ask them what is the most important quality of being an assistant coach
if they answer anything but "Loyalty", ask them to resign.
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