Coaching HS Athletics...

[WPIAL~Titan]

This is a discussion that was begun in another thread, and I think that it is worthy of further discussion...

The motto of some basketball parents...

"Start the best 4 players and my kid!"

I totally agree with the premise that coaches play who they believe to be their best players. The conflicts arise when parents/fans/outsiders disagree with which players are the best. I tend to side with the judgement of coaches, who see and assess each player at practice, in scrimmages, drills, conditioning,etc. every single day.

NOW, if the coach is NOT playing the best players and is making bad judgements/assessments of players like playing favorites based on what someone else wants, then he/she won't be around for long anyway.

Fortunately, the majority of parents and supportive are let the coach do his/her thing...

...But, as the saying goes, 75% of one's time in coaching is spent dealing with 5-10% of people's problems/issues. For the $2000-$8000 one may earn coaching vs. other factors make coaching far from a worthwhile proposition from a financial and personal standpoint.

Sure, there are exceptions in salary, like at North Hills SD where head football coach Jack McCurry makes somewhere between $15,000-$20,000 to coach football and run conditioning/weightlifting at North Hills. McCurry is an exception since the building at the football stadium, complete with a fully equipped office, is named after him. He can do whatever he wants.

Some mitigating factors in coaching HS athletics are:

*Time spent in hours, often 4-5 extra hours a night at minimum, which may come to 30-40 extra hours worked in a given week in addition to one's full time teaching or other full time job.

*Time away from families on evenings, weekend, and holidays...This is especially tough for coaches with young children, I remember as a young kid going everywhere with my father, who coached football, basketball, and track...practices, scouting trips, camps, etc. I enjoyed thos etimes, but can't help but wonder what my mom thought.

*Incredible, awesome responsibility of the welfare of student/athletes...Safety issues particularly in football with injuries, travel on buses in bad weather on lousy roads (winter sports), concussion issues, properly supervising student/athletes at all times to prevent things like hazing, taking student/athletes on overnight trips out of town to holiday tourneys, playoff games, etc.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot stuff like...

-Practice and game planning

-2-3 hours of actual daily on the field/floor practice time 6 days a week

-Scouting/breaking down film

-Meeting with the team and with individual players to keep lines of communication open

-Meeting with/advising booster clubs

-Communicating with colleges in attempts to elicit opportunities for senior student/athletes to play at the college level

-Communicating with the media

-Frequently communicating with school administration like the principal and AD about program issues

-Monitoring student academic progress as well as in school and out of school behavior

-Attending mandatory PIAA and District meetings and trainings

...All this PLUS always having to maintain a high standard of behavior, integrity, honesty, ethics, and honor within the community where you work...That means being careful about what you say, who you say it to, how you act, and what you do every single day.

There's a lot more and I could go on, but I think that you get the idea.

In essence, coaching HS athletics is like having another full time job IF YOU DO IT CORRECTLY. Sure, there are sandbaggers who do the minimum, but again those folks usually aren't around long.

It is things like I mention above which discourage folks from wanting to coach junior high/high school athletics.

COACHING IS A LOT MORE THAN JUST SHOWING UP AT THE GAMES AND CALLING THE PLAYS. This is what the public and fans see and criticize, but there's a lot more to it.

With that said, coaches are public officials and folks who pay the $5 admission fee to the game have the right to free speech and question coaching decisions within reason (free of threats), that's part of the territory and something that won't ever change, and frankly that sort of trivial nonsense is ignored by the best coaches...HOWEVER, watch what happens when a coach makes an ill-advised gesture or says an ill-advised word to the fans or student section...

Coaching is a vocation, a calling. The very best do it to support, inspire, empathize, and motivate young student/athletes and are there to revel in their successes and support and encourage when there are failures.

Given the awesome responsibilities, I cannot say that I blame those who get tired/burned out.

[sparky]

Titan usually I don't read your posts because they deal with the penn state crap. But I'll admit I think this is a great post with 100% truth behind it.

[Coach]

It's like when the grinch finds out he has a heart... I'm shocked. I just looked at the post again to make sure I read correctly when I saw that Titan posted this.

[DragonsDoExist]

Great post and I agree 100%. Couldn't imagine coaching a varsity level sport with my typical everyday responsibilities of working and being a father and a husband! Props to all those that do it!

[Tussey Mt. fan]

Titan, well said. This is the best post I've ever read from you.

[Manfred]

Just goes to show what some people are capable of, if they get off their pulpit. He's been preaching to an empty church about PSU.

[dadw/2sons]

Since everybody shared their shock over Titan's post I figured I should also. I can't believe it is the same guy. Your post is very legit and I couldn't agree more. After officiating for 23 years and now coaching again, it is fun and challenging. With juggling the family, teaching, and everything else, I am fortunate to have a great bunch of girls to lead and a great program to be associated with.

[WPIAL~Titan]

I have great respect and empathy for those who coach grades 7-12 athletics.

Another point that I would like to mention is that athletics has become absolutely unwieldy for HS and even JHS student/athletes in terms of out of season commitments and choices.

IMHO, the most successful coaches run out of season programs with BALANCE in mind for the multi-sport athletes. Open gyms, weightlifting, conditioning, nutrition, and fall/spring/summer leagues and team camps all play a part in a successful out of season program. However, those things are not a be all end all, nor should they be, particularly for multi sport athletes. Allow athletes to participate in other sports and enjoy the HS athletic experience without feeling undue pressure to be all things to all coaches.

NOW, a whole other issue is the burgeoning issue of "travel sports" such as: club baseball, cup soccer, baseball/softball showcases, and AAU basketball. These are avenues which enable kids to be exposed to a large number of college coaches in a short amount of time, so they are necessary for those athletes with the ability to play at the collegiate level. The reality is that few kids are major D1 or D2 "scholarship worthy" athletes, but these are ways to get kids exposure.

With that said, I have seen AAU basketball in certain situations bastardize basketball to its lowest level making it nothing more than a circus, a gymnastics or track meet with a round orange ball being the end all. AAU, better known as AA-ME, provides exposure basketball players as God given athletes and enables them to showcase their individual talents, buit flies in the face of teamwork and basketball purity.

The best athletes who are AAU players "look the part" as they run the court, jumping, shooting, dunking (notice I didn't say DEFENDING), but when it comes to playing within an offensive or defensive system, that is a whole different story. Of course, the college coaches see and woo the God given athleticism and talent and believe that they can "change" a kid and make them "fit their system", which is often like pounding a square peg into a round hole.

Will there be a time when HS athletics becomes nothing more than intramurals while club and AAU sports reign supreme, much like Europe where schools educate students and club athletics provides the extra curricular activities?

Given where we are headed with academic accountability and budget constraints, I wouldn't be surprised to see this happen in my lifetime.

[Manfred]

TWO in a row! Titan is on fire.

[dadw/2sons]

Whoever has captured his body and taken over his computer I just want to say THANK YOU. Keep it up. This is the writing that this site was intended for. I again agree wholeheartedly about the off season of some coaches. Again in the program I'm in we do have summer leagues, camps , and etc, but DO NOT discourage involvement in other sports. I've seen where boys have not played football to "concentrate" on basketball and for what purpose? Did that kid receive a basketball scholarship? NO All that happened was the basketball coach was happy that the kid didn't get hurt and the football program lost a vital member of the offensive line. Don't you think that the training this kid would have received from the offensive line coach would have helped his footwork in basketball? I also sgree that the schools might be getting out of the athletic business. It has already happened at the junior high level at some schools. I can see it at the varsity level if things don't improve economically. Good post Titan!! Keep it up