Coaching HS Athletics...
Posted: November 26th, 2012, 10:01 am
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.
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.
