HS coach In need of Advice

[FiveFrameSwing]

So their is a lack of trust within the coaching staff? One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a coach is to treat everyone equally instead of fairly. Equal has nothing to do with fair. You need to understand the difference. Absolutes and zero tolerance are only needed when you lack the ability to exercise common sense and proper judgement. Great coaches have that ability.

I see you edited your post after I replied to it.

On the topic of trust, … … … I trust my players to be at practice, or to not play. I trust them to be part of the “team” … or if they chose not to be part of the team, to not be part of the team. There are team rules, just as there will be rules in the work environment for them later in life.

In terms of fairness … I consider such rules quite fair.

HS ball is generally made up of girls from a particular geographic location. To some extent it is like an older age of LL.

There will be girls that are truly gifted and some that really struggle. It’s quite the mix.

You can have some of the more talented players feel that the practices aren’t helping them advance their skills. They are playing alongside of girls, that from a club-ball perspective, don’t belong on the same field as them.

You can also have some of the weaker players not truly understand how far behind they are … and not grasp the importance of working on a program of continual improvement. Often there is a reason they are far behind.

From the high end to the low end, excuses can be made to miss practices.

If something special comes up … such as a funeral, then I’m open to considering an exception … but for the most part, I’m not overly open to extending an exception.

 

[JJsqueeze]

Thanks all, I went from liking DDs future HS coach to feeling lucky to live in this school district.

 

[soonerfan1966]

i understand the need for rules, but could you as a coach not drive by her place of work and verify that she is indeed working, thus assuring yourself she is not taking advantage of you and the team. be careful (despite what some people here say) about painting yourself into a corner. high school softball is not going to pay the bills. just change your practice time so she can attend or will that cause someone else problems with attending. two sides to every coin.

edit- to five frame swing, if you think a funeral is something special, you have major issues

 

[riseball]

I see you edited your post after I replied to it.

On the topic of trust, … … … I trust my players to be at practice, or to not play. I trust them to be part of the “team” … or if they chose not to be part of the team, to not be part of the team. There are team rules, just as there will be rules in the work environment for them later in life.

In terms of fairness … I consider such rules quite fair.

HS ball is generally made up of girls from a particular geographic location. To some extent it is like an older age of LL.

There will be girls that are truly gifted and some that really struggle. It’s quite the mix.

You can have some of the more talented players feel that the practices aren’t helping them advance their skills. They are playing alongside of girls, that from a club-ball perspective, don’t belong on the same field as them.

You can also have some of the weaker players not truly understand how far behind they are … and not grasp the importance of working on a program of continual improvement. Often there is a reason they are far behind.

From the high end to the low end, excuses can be made to miss practices.

If something special comes up … such as a funeral, them I’m open to considering an exception … but for the most part, I’m not overly open to extending an exception.

So how is it you can grant an exception? That is fair not equal.

No Practice resulting in No Play is a policy based on equality.

No Practice resulting in Appropriate Consequences is a policy based on fairness.

There is a big difference.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

So how is it you can grant an exception? That is fair not equal.

No Practice resulting in No Play is a policy based on equality.

No Practice resulting in Appropriate Consequences is a policy based on fairness.

There is a big difference.

Regarding "appropriate consequences" ... I consider "no play" to be an appropriate consequence for "no practice" ... and over the last decade, my one exception is with a player attending a funeral.

The other players understood this exception.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

i understand the need for rules, but could you as a coach not drive by her place of work and verify that she is indeed working, thus assuring yourself she is not taking advantage of you and the team. be careful (despite what some people here say) about painting yourself into a corner. high school softball is not going to pay the bills. just change your practice time so she can attend or will that cause someone else problems with attending. two sides to every coin.

edit- to five frame swing, if you think a funeral is something special, you have major issues

From my perspective it doesn't matter if the player is at work. They aren't with the team.

 

[Yellowjacket]

Robert,

I sent you a pm but will publicly state some thoughts contained in that pm. Robert, if you listen to some of the advice in this thread, you'll be fired in a year and you should be fired. People, in this thread, were quick to create scenarios placing you in a position of being the bad guy if you held on to your position of wanting your team at practice. All practice! Are you going to build a team and program or are you going to baby sit. You were attack or at least it was suggested that you were an ego manic and worthless HS coach and so, let the kid do what they want. In fact, all HS coaches have been attacked in this thread as worthless and as those that don't develop talent but rather depend upon TB players for any success. Robert, if you believe that, quit.

I have coached HS and TB. I have coached for 30+ years and have been the HC in 4 different sports. Each one of those sports were losing programs before I took over. I have had one losing season ever. That was in girl's basketball when we had 8 players come out my first year and they averaged 3 wins for 10 years. We won 3 games that first year. After that, we won 19, 23, 24, ... You know how we won? We made our programs special by demanding commitment, blood, sweat, tears, heartache and we won.

Robert, the instant you give into this young lady to leave early for her job, you will have mass exodus from practices. They will leave for every imaginable excuse. For that girl's basketball team, I inherited that very problem. So, if they left, great, that open a starting job for someone else. My AD was beside himself because I wouldn't have enough to field a team. If I believe that I should accept that I was a babysitter, take the money each month and never talk about wins, conference championships, regional championships, sectionals ... Instead, I stood my ground. We won the first regional championship in school history the next year. We on conference, regional and sectionals the next.

Robert, having said all of that, I had to do my homework for each sport. I had to watch film, go to clinics, talk to veteran coaches, and pay my dues. If you don't intend to pay your dues, quit.

Before I leave this thread, I'd like to address the comment about TB players making the HS coach and the comments about the length of practice. In my area and in the State of Illinois, some of the top national programs hardly ever practice as a team. Heck, they hardly ever practice as individuals with the TB coaching staff. Players in those programs come from various parts of the state and even out of state. So, how are they getting all of that quality TB instruction? In my practices, I teach fundamentals and we repeat those fundamentals with intense practices. My SS and 2B will know their pivots for the double play. We will have various bunt defenses. The will do various drill work I call Double Infield and Multiple Infield. When we hit, we will have hitting drills geared for team and individual practice. I leave no stone unturned and will match any of my knowledge and practices against anyone. I am not alone in this and know hundreds of outstanding HS coaches who do the same. So, while it may be in vogue to attack HS coaches as dummies and worthless, I ain't hip. I can find as many pathetic TB coaches as there are pathetic HS coaches.

This is exactly the mentality that is required to be a successful at developing character and athletics. I promise you his teams are not getting out worked. Again I don't mind loosing, but I hate getting out worked. Hard work leads to success period!

 

[Yellowjacket]

the work world is where you need to arrive on time. then leave when you are supposed to. It is not really flexible. It is the extra curricular activity world where things should be flexible. That is why this girl should be allowed to be flexible in her softball practice so she can WORK.

As long as she can keep up with the team and performs well I don't see any reason she should be punished, benched, or anything else. If she starts lagging then the coach should take appropriate action for the sake of the team, but assuming there is a problem before there is one is narrow minded.

In my department we employ 5-6 college students as co-ops/interns every semester. If these kids work hard it could lead to full time employment upon graduation (it did for me 25 years ago). I am astonished at the students that have little to no work ethic show up late, miss work habitually, surf the internet, fall asleep during meetings, play on phones, etc.... (There is a different generational expectation .... As I am old school). High School athletics is meant to be part of you're overall education that teaches you life lessons that are required for you to be successful.

Patrick Murphy the coach at Alabama said it the best:
“Uncoachable kids become unemployable adults. Let your kid get used to somebody being tough on them! That's life, get over it."

 

[soonerfan1966]

yellowjacket. im confused about your quote from Patrick Murphy, are you/him saying this lady who goes to school, goes to practice, and then to work(all in the same day) is uncoachable and will be unemployable or am i misunderstanding your post.

 

[3bmama]

This is why so many kids have to miss out the high school sports experience, and that's kind of sad.