Coaching

[coach]

I was reading in the coaches thread that got locked and there were a lot of great comments and some that i disagree and as usual some that were completely stupid.. Sure coaches need to be bashed and thats part of coaching and most coaches realize that BUT the rules for this board say we can't. Does it make u a bad person if u say, " This guy should be fired he sucks!"...No bc a lot of the times coaches arent that great. lol. lets face it some people arent that good at what they do. Now the real reason why i started this was to comment on someones post. Now i am not calling this person out and it will be real easy for everyone to go back and look to see who wrote this. And i am not trying to make u look dumb but your statement was just a little off and i just want to change a few words to make your statement to what i think would be a really good statement. You simply said..At the Varsity level, the players are young men and women, NOT CHIDREN, coaches should coach to win and develop young men and women. They also should be held accountable for there actions and records.

Thats a good statement but this is where people get it all wrong. As a coach, you don't coach the kids you teach them. Therefore it really should be called a teacher because thats basically what you really are. So as A teacher(coach) you are NOT there to teach them to win. You are there to teach them to BE winners. And yes they are young men and young women but your job is to teach them to become betetr young men and young women. Coaches simply are there to teach these gifted atheletes how to become winners and how to compete at a varsity level with respect, hard work, dedication, and leadership, in order to prepare these people for their future. A coach's job is to teach them how to lose with class. They are not there to tally up the w colomn or collect state rings. if you are go to the pro's. Highs school coaches are there to be a friend, teacher, role model, and parent. Afterall these kids see their coaches more than their real parents.Now Im not saying that if a guy who cant win a game in 3 years, but is a nice guy should keep his job, but what i am saying is if you can teach a kid simple lessons, then you can focus on winning the game.winning the game is icing on the cake in. The number one reason hs coaches should get into the profession is to teach kids how to become winners at life and not just winners on the field bc if you are a winner at life than you are an automatic winner on the field. Whereas winners on the field are not always winners in life. Ex. Pro atheletes.

So for the person that made this statement let me revise it for you.

At the Varsity level, the players are young men and women, NOT CHIDREN, coaches should coach the kids to be winners and not just win and develop young men and women to be responsible and have fun at whatever they are doing. They should be accountable for their actions toward their students and athelets and how they teach them certain lessons and then you can look at their win loss colomn.

Now once again im not picking on you, its just you made the perfect statement to where i can get on my soap box. You were mostly right i just wanted to rephrase a few things.

[Troybuilt]

Thanks Coach........ You stated is exactly like i intended. until i got blindsided. at the varsity level u just have to treat your team like adults if u wanna win. teams always take on the attitude and approach of their coach and the coaches job is to do all the things u stated but also to win games. Thanks again for your wise input:clap:

[18handicap]

That is a great post!!

I always tell mine that we are here to not just prepare them for the game, but for experiences that they may experience in their futures. We learn how to handle success, but most importantly, how to handle adversity. I feel that if they learn one thing from me that will help them succeed in their lives, then I've done my job.

I'm the same way in my classroom. I teach English IV (British Literature) and my job is to show them where our language has come from and how it has evolved to where we are today and where we may go in the future. We talk about history through literature and what has been successful and unsuccessful in history and how we can apply that to our lives. I tell my seniors that they are the generation that will take care of me when I retire and get old and I want to be able to make sure they make the right decisions so I can have a good retirement.

[nobogey72]

Coach--- I couldn't agree more. I think that the perfect coach is one that DEMANDS perfection. BUT, demands it in the proper context of where athletics fit in the overall scheme of their life. Trying to teach them that if they expect perfection in athletics then hopefully they will apply that to work, grades, marriage, parenting and all the things that really matter. It's a long ol' life after you graduate from HS. Winning (as you said) is a great bi-product of such teaching. Winning at the expense of teaching these lessons to me is not worth the price of whatever the gold ball costs. One of my favorite Hugh Sandifer sayings is after a tough loss, or after a great win----- " If winning that game is the best thing that ever happens to these kids, then they will have a pretty pathetic life, and, if that loss last week is the worst thing that ever happens to these kids then they will have a great life".

[sinton66]

Does it make u a bad person if u say, " This guy should be fired he sucks!"...No bc a lot of the times coaches arent that great.

That depends on WHERE you say it. Would you put a statement like this in your local paper? Would you stand up and say it in a booster club meeting with the coach there? Would you say it at a school board meeting? If your answer is yes, then you are correct that you are not a bad person. If your answer is no or "probably not", why would you do it here? The anonymity of a public forum shouldn't change your basic character or your opinions if you're an honest person.

Coaches' families and fortunes depend on the efforts they can get out of highschool kids. That is an unescapable reality. But, for a message board such as this to allow bashing of them when/if they aren't here to defend themselves is inexcusable. 3ADL simply prefers to take the high road.

[allforball]

In most of the situations I have seen, the coaches getting bashed are from parents that are ignorant to the game. Expecting their little johnnies and susies to be perfect all the time. And if they're not, blame the coaches. Easy way out. It truly is all about teaching young men and women how to react in life down the road. All the wins and losses and the reaction to them is about building character. Nobogey72's favorite saying summed it up best.

[Ranger Mom]

Just to clarify, the above mentioned thread was closed at the request of the poster who started the thread......she had the right to request it as it went off on a tangent she didn't expect!

[wimbo_pro]

Coach said it well....the entire idea of an athletics program is to turn young boys and girls into young men and women...with character (which includes "book learning" as Jethro Bodine would say it, but it involves much more). Thats what the entire education system is supposed to do , right?

And I have seen coaches over the years fail this test miserably. A case in point...remember last year (or the year before) someone posted a video of a team that ran a pass play where one receiver ran out of bounds while at the same time, another of his teammates ran onto the field, heading downfield to catch a pass?? This is CHEATING...plain and simple...but what is worse, it was actually practiced by the team previously. A coach...teaching cheating...should not only be fired....he should be barred from coaching ever again. Would you want this guy (even if he won more games than your present coach) teaching your kids?

My understanding is this particular coach is still at the same job. Sad.

[westcoast54]

Good post. Most people who bash a coach or coaches don't have a clue as to what they are talking about. That's my problem. Where I'm at we are having an AWFUL season. Nothing has gone right. I hear the comments and see the looks as I walk down out of the box. Heck, I even got an email earlier this year telling me I had no business being the Offensive Coordinator of our team. With our record the way it is and the way we've played...maby he's right. I DON'T THINK SO but, everyone's entitled to their opinion. And yes I did respond to the email. I kept it professional but, I politely put the person in his place.
My point is this, we as coaches, put our welfare in the hands of 15,16,17, and 18 year old kids. Most of the people who do the bashing don't depend on teenagers to keep their jobs. So if you want to bash, go ahead and do it. However, would you like it if I walked into your place of business and started telling you how to do your job?:thinking:

[OldBison75]

I generally agree with Coach on this one. I have been around football for about 50 years and can tell you that the most sucessful programs have produced the most successful citizens. The work ethic, dedication, and intestional fortitude learned in the battles on the field, in practice and games, will teach a young man or woman to win with pride and lose with grace, then bounce away from that week and rededicate to the next game.

Life is not always fair and how a kid learns to face adversity, defeat, and criticism will determine how they adjust in the real world after high school.

Coaches are, for the most part, dedicated to the idea of building winning character and work ethic. Winning games is important because that determines how many times you will move your family from one town to another. But like was said earlier in this thread, if the lessons of dedication to the team and program, work ethics to give your all every play, and pride to be considered one of the best are passed to a bunch of young teenagers, then the kids have become winners in life , even if not on the scoreboard.

I will say that I have known some coaches that I felt just did not have a clue. I even cheer for a team now that I sometimes wonder what is in the cereal some of it's coaches ate for breakfast. But, it is hard to second guess the results. I may not agree with the coaches on our team sometimes, but if I decide to express my opinion about what i think is wrong, it will be face to face and not on this type forum.

[coach]

Originally posted by Ranger Mom
Just to clarify, the above mentioned thread was closed at the request of the poster who started the thread......she had the right to request it as it went off on a tangent she didn't expect!

o i know that i just wanted to give my 2 cents worth but i couldnt bc it was closd

[957tiger]

Originally posted by OldBison75
Life is not always fair and how a kid learns to face adversity, defeat, and criticism will determine how they adjust in the real world after high school.

Let me throw this out to everyone. Lets say you have a student athlete who basically is a good kid. You ask him to give 100%. You want intensity and desire and he usually gives it to you. The players like him and know he makes a difference. Now along comes "that" coach who has mastered the four-letter word, and believes that yelling and screaming is the key to success. Knows the kid has a short fuse and enjoys pushing his buttons, belives respect is a one way street and enjoys dressing players down in front of their teamates The coach knows ultimately he is the authority and waits for the kid to blow up and react in a negative manner, so they can exert that authority. There are coaches who think they can push players as far and as hard as the want and when a 16 or 17 y/o kid reacts as they are prone to do label them as "problems". All the traits mentioned by OldBison75 are correct but they have to go both ways to be effective.

[RedWhiteBlue]

This thread has gone in to coaching 'styles' and what-not where my original thread was based pretty much on 'please don't bash the coaches and teachers in front of the 'young-uns'. Negativity breeds negativity.
THIS is why I asked for the thread to be closed.

[headhunter]

Well said, but Coaches you have to win games to keep their job. That is the bottom line. The other stuff should be their no matter the athletes or the record. I expect a coach to teach kids the right things, On top of that i want to see deep playoff runs and get the most out of your team.

[JR2004]

Coach I like your post. You hit the nail on the head with just about everything. It's very well thought out and has good points.

Most of the coaches I have encountered in my lifetime though are just there because they like to coach and it's a way for them to not have to let go of the sport or sports they enjoy. I can count on one hand the amount of coaches in my life that cared about myself or my teammates. It didn't bother me one way or the other whether they cared or not, I just find the statements about how so many coaches deeply care about their players (Not just here, but in other places) pretty humorous.

[westcoast54]

Originally posted by JR2004
Coach I like your post. You hit the nail on the head with just about everything. It's very well thought out and has good points.

Most of the coaches I have encountered in my lifetime though are just there because they like to coach and it's a way for them to not have to let go of the sport or sports they enjoy. I can count on one hand the amount of coaches in my life that cared about myself or my teammates. It didn't bother me one way or the other whether they cared or not, I just find the statements about how so many coaches deeply care about their players (Not just here, but in other places) pretty humorous.

Have to disagree with you. Yes coaches enjoy the sports they coach...that's why they coach. BUT, they also want to mold the lives of young men and women. I'm on year 16 and nothing makes me prouder than when a former athlete comes up to me and tells me, "thank you for pushing me to always to do my best. I understand now why you did the things you did. I may have not liked them but I'm better now for it." That's what it's all about to me. winning is nice too!!!!!:D

[RedWhiteBlue]

A good coach improves your game; A great coach improves your life------ anonymous

[ivchris]

And since they cancelled Coach.....TV hasn't been the same. :D

[wimbo_pro]

Originally posted by westcoast54
Have to disagree with you. Yes coaches enjoy the sports they coach...that's why they coach. BUT, they also want to mold the lives of young men and women. I'm on year 16 and nothing makes me prouder than when a former athlete comes up to me and tells me, "thank you for pushing me to always to do my best. I understand now why you did the things you did. I may have not liked them but I'm better now for it." That's what it's all about to me. winning is nice too!!!!!:D

I bet you are not in the majority, WestCoast. Good for you...we need more of our coaches (and teachers) with this view.

[westcoast54]

Originally posted by ivchris
And since they cancelled Coach.....TV hasn't been the same. :D

I love that show!!! Still comes on from time to time on tvland or somethign.