Time Spent By Coaches....

[Bullaholic]

A few years ago my son-in-law was on a highschool coaching staff, and up until that time, I just thought I knew some about the amount of time that most coaches spend away from their familes.

It was absolutely incredible the amount of time that these coaching staffs spend preparing teams for games. In his case, many hours every night, up until 11:00pm or so, including weekends, viewing game film and making game plans.

I realize that not all coaches are that dedicated, just like individuals in every other profession, but I have come to appreciate ( without being sappy) the tremendous time that the good coaches give our kids.

I wonder if any coaches out their would want to share a little more about the many other things that they do day and night during the season in their profession.

[pirate4state]

You sure you wanna go there? :eek: :D ;)


:o


Wait, I totally misread your last statement. HAHA :doh:

[kaorder1999]

I'll give you a small idea of the hours. Here is a normal work week when the varsity plays on Friday night...

Monday: Get to school at 6:45 to make sure I can have scouting packets distributed before school so kids can look at them throughout the day. Have practice till 6:30 roughly. Then go to JH game and get home at around 10:00 or 10:30

Tuesday: Get to school at 7:00. Practice till 6:30. Watch film with kids after practice of opponent then watch practice film with staff till 7:00. Get practice script ready for next day. Get home at 9:00

Wednesday: Get to school at 7:00. Have a shorter practice till 6:00. Watch film with kids and then watch practice film until 7:30 or so. Meet with defensive staff to make sure game plan is still looking good after 3 days of practice. Get home at 8:30

Thursday: Get to school at 7:00. Walk thru practice until 4:30. Go to 9th and JV games. Get home sometime after 10:00.

Friday: get to school at 6:30. Go to game. Get home sometime after midnight

Saturday: Get to school at 8. Grade previous nights game film. Kids get to school at 9:30. Run and lift kids. Watch film with kids. Send kids home. Watch next opponents game film. Then get home around 6:00

Sunday: Get to school at noon, watch game film of opponent. Begin game plan for next week. Finalize game plan. Draw scout cards. Work on scouting packet to pass out next morning. Get home at 6:00

[kaorder1999]

And I forgot to mention booster club meeting nights and volleyball game nights and things that happen during the week we are also expected to at least make an appearance at!

[Bullaholic]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
I'll give you a small idea of the hours. Here is a normal work week when the varsity plays on Friday night...

Monday: Get to school at 6:45 to make sure I can have scouting packets distributed before school so kids can look at them throughout the day. Have practice till 6:30 roughly. Then go to JH game and get home at around 10:00 or 10:30

Tuesday: Get to school at 7:00. Practice till 6:30. Watch film with kids after practice of opponent then watch practice film with staff till 7:00. Get practice script ready for next day. Get home at 9:00

Wednesday: Get to school at 7:00. Have a shorter practice till 6:00. Watch film with kids and then watch practice film until 7:30 or so. Meet with defensive staff to make sure game plan is still looking good after 3 days of practice. Get home at 8:30

Thursday: Get to school at 7:00. Walk thru practice until 4:30. Go to 9th and JV games. Get home sometime after 10:00.

Friday: get to school at 6:30. Go to game. Get home sometime after midnight

Saturday: Get to school at 8. Grade previous nights game film. Kids get to school at 9:30. Run and lift kids. Watch film with kids. Send kids home. Watch next opponents game film. Then get home around 6:00

Sunday: Get to school at noon, watch game film of opponent. Begin game plan for next week. Finalize game plan. Draw scout cards. Work on scouting packet to pass out next morning. Get home at 6:00

I don't know of too many folks who would want to walk in your shoes, ka. Sure glad we still have people like you who love kids and coaching enough to still do it for a living.

[Johnny Utah]

Part of the reason why some coaches are divorced. They do spend a lot of time away from their families and actually spend more of their time with other peoples kids.

[pirate4state]

Originally posted by Johnny Utah
Part of the reason why some coaches are divorced. They do spend a lot of time away from their families and actually spend more of their time with other peoples kids. Well that's a pleasant thought!

[LionKing]

My sister just retired from high school girls basketball coaching after 24 years, it was unbelieveable how much time she spent with those girls from cross country thru the regular season and playoffs, then camps, summer leauges and AAU.
Take her girls basketball coach job and multiply it many times, that's how much time and work the dedicated high school football coach goes thru, that doesn't even figure in the irate, meddling parents they have to put up with, lots of parents are great, but every school has those ones you just hate to see coming.

[JR2004]

I remember several years back asking one of Gatesville's assistant coaches what a typical work week was like during football season. He said that between his duties as a teacher and as a football coach he was working around 100 hours a week during the season. He said he basically said goodbye to his family at the beginning of August and saw very little of them until the season came to an end.

[Bullaholic]

Coaches do all that and still have to find a way to explain, somehow, to some parents why their son or daughter is not playing more or had to run laps at practice.

[BILLYFRED0000]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
I'll give you a small idea of the hours. Here is a normal work week when the varsity plays on Friday night...

Monday: Get to school at 6:45 to make sure I can have scouting packets distributed before school so kids can look at them throughout the day. Have practice till 6:30 roughly. Then go to JH game and get home at around 10:00 or 10:30

Tuesday: Get to school at 7:00. Practice till 6:30. Watch film with kids after practice of opponent then watch practice film with staff till 7:00. Get practice script ready for next day. Get home at 9:00

Wednesday: Get to school at 7:00. Have a shorter practice till 6:00. Watch film with kids and then watch practice film until 7:30 or so. Meet with defensive staff to make sure game plan is still looking good after 3 days of practice. Get home at 8:30

Thursday: Get to school at 7:00. Walk thru practice until 4:30. Go to 9th and JV games. Get home sometime after 10:00.

Friday: get to school at 6:30. Go to game. Get home sometime after midnight

Saturday: Get to school at 8. Grade previous nights game film. Kids get to school at 9:30. Run and lift kids. Watch film with kids. Send kids home. Watch next opponents game film. Then get home around 6:00

Sunday: Get to school at noon, watch game film of opponent. Begin game plan for next week. Finalize game plan. Draw scout cards. Work on scouting packet to pass out next morning. Get home at 6:00

Now that is what I call working.

[kaorder1999]

Originally posted by BILLYFRED0000
Now that is what I call working.
and you notice that is all just football stuff. There is no mention of all the othe rstuff I have to do wiht teaching...lesson plans, faculty meetings....blah blah blah

[NastySlot]

and we still have to find time to grade papers.

[themsu97]

sad thing is... you really do not have to put that much time in... you could easily be off on a Saturday or Sunday... the LaMarque staff under Waddell did not work on Saturday's at all... they came in on Sunday after church and then worked till about 8:00, then they were done... stayed a little later during the week...

I have put my time in on both... high school and jr hi... it is pretty taxing...
but some staffs work just to stay away from home... some work way too hard and plan way too much... some know exactly what they are doing so it does not change much from week to week...

I have been on all sorts of staffs... it varies...
but one thing for sure, you have to maximize the time you spend in the office with the kids and on film...

[Johnny Utah]

You are lucky if you just coach one sport. Lots of TX HS coaches coach more than 1 and up to 3 during the year. You talk about working a lot.

[nobogey72]

But what's cool about coaching is that I'll bet as a %, coaches actually love what they do for a living as much as any other profession out there.

When you take that "stipend" that most ASST's and JH coaches get, and divide it by the # of extra hours spent "working" over just a teacher, and it is not very much per hour. AND, before someone jumps me about saying just a teacher, I think teachers are way underpaid and underappreciated, and perform one of the most important jobs out there.

[wildstangs]

I will give you a bit of a report on my first "complete" year.

Monday - 6:00 AM practice for 7th graders. Complete that at about 7:55, take a quick shower and hang out with whiny 6th graders all day. Come back out from 3:00 to 6:30 for 8th grade practice.

Tuesday - 6:30 AM practice for 7th graders, full day of school, then games for our 8th graders. If we are home I will get to my house around 9ish. If we travel, I am lucky to get the bus dropped off by 11:30.

Wednesday - 6:30 AM practice for 7th graders, school all day, 8th grade practice from 3:00 - 6:30. Every other week I go to the high school to break down a film for the following weeks opponent. Usually leave there about 10:30 or 11:00.

Thursday - 6:00 AM practice for 7th graders, school all day, 8th grade practice until 6:30. Film breakdown until 10:30 or 11:00.

Friday - 6:00 AM practice for 7th and 8th graders. School all day, get to the Varsity game by 5:00 PM. Either go to the game and chart the offense, or break down film during the game if it is my week. Game ends by 10:30, wait for that nights game film to get back to Granbury. Tech guy does his thing until about 1:00, then me and another coach break down that film so that it will be ready for varsity in the AM.

Saturday- SLEEP! Grade papers, lesson plans, etc.

Sunday - Usually go to school for a couple of hours and get things ready for the week.

Not near as bad as a varsity coach, but some days can be VERY long. I don't even want to divide my $1600 stipend by the hours I work.

[Rocket]

I coached for 4 years at Brownwood on both the Varsity and Junior High Levels. They were the most fulfilling and fun times of my life. I was also single and young, so I didn't have anything better to do with my time. Typical work week was 80 hours (Jr. High Level) during Football Season. I am glad that I had the chance to give back to the community that I grew up in. I loved the coaching part, but didn't really enjoy the teaching aspect. The coolest thing about coaching is the kids. You build relationships that will last a lifetime. What's funny is seeing those kids grow up and then get jobs and start a family. I am still in contact with many of them and enjoy catching up with them when I get a chance. The relationships you build with other coaches is also priceless. I grew up a coach's son and I coached myself, but you better love it if you are going to do it and you better marry a woman that understands as well. Coach's are important and deserve and demand our support and gratitude. It goes way beyond wins and losses.

[DukeNukem]

great post from many of you. have a buddy that coaches and he said the only part that makes him think about doing something else is the parents. he says they have gotten worse and worse each year he has coached.

he also gets tired of the teaching requirements. not the actual teaching, but all the TAKS, special ed paperwork, and no child left behind stuff. he calls it the no child get ahead plan.

note - he says the hours are long and the pay is crappy but he still enjoys his job which many of us can't say. his wife also coaches so they see other about 1-2 hours per day if the other is still awake when they get home.

[LH Panther Mom]

I was in high school when I learned that not everyone eats supper at 8:30 or 9:00 at night. Thank you for all that you men and women do to help the kids! :)

[WylieBulldog92]

Originally posted by LH Panther Mom
I was in high school when I learned that not everyone eats supper at 8:30 or 9:00 at night. Thank you for all that you men and women do to help the kids! :)
I eat mine at 5:30....Mom wants to get it out of the way as soon as she gets home :)

[LH Panther Mom]

Originally posted by WylieBulldog92
I eat mine at 5:30....Mom wants to get it out of the way as soon as she gets home :)
LOL! My dad was a coach so we waited on him to eat, except for game nights.

[Chillimaru]

I have a great deal of respect for all coaches (winning or losing records) the time they spend with our kids is unbeleivable and whatever their salaries are they earn every dime they get.

[Chillimaru]

Originally posted by Bullaholic
Coaches do all that and still have to find a way to explain, somehow, to some parents why their son or daughter is not playing more or had to run laps at practice.
and have to listen to all of the peewee/parents/coaches on how the 7th grade football coaches are messing up their footbal teams they had all ready to win district the 1st year

[LH Panther Mom]

Originally posted by Chillimaru
and have to listen to all of the peewee/parents/coaches on how the 7th grade football coaches are messing up their footbal teams they had all ready to win district the 1st year
Y'all have some of those? :D Yeah.... :doh:

[Haunta Yo]

No days off from the last week in July until Christmas if you do things right and ya get a little luck mixed in.

We do take 24 hours off - basically from Sat 1:00pm until Sun 1:00 pm.