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TOPIC: How to grade a HS Coach |
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| Bobby
December 18, 2013
3:19:49 PM
Entry #: 4108597
| This year has seen a rise in sideline incidents that raises a valid question. What is going on in the high school soccer community and how do we assess it.
Red cards, immature sideline behavior, canceling games to protect a win / loss record, being late, not showing up, allowing players to do what they want with no regard for discipline, all are issues that obviously have tarnished the image of teh high school coaching community.
Lets break it down and let you judge for yourself, and not on here, no one name calling or posting, but just to yourself.
There are two typs of high school coaches, and unfortunately one has become too prevalent.
The first type of coach is a coach who coaches out of the sport as there is no financial currency in this other than ego and we will get to that later. This coach shows up on time, does w=his best with what he has and of course tries to win, but winning is secondary to educating Whether it be the game or life, he / she educates and teaches the fundamentals of life. Decency, sportsmanship and teamwork. Winning is a bonus, but not the only thing that measures success. As if that was the case 99.99% of coaches each year would be deemed failures.
This is a true high school coach and one that can go home every night and live his life not counting on the results of kids for his / her happiness.
The second coach. is one who deals in the only currency available to high school coaches, ego. Some value this more than others, while the extreme see this as the only viable reason to coach.
He / she will cancel games when missing players, recruit, behave poorly on the sidelines, get red carded for frivolous things, in essence teach his/her players that winning is the only thing that matters and the ends do justify the means. Whether that is skirting the address issue, manipulating unaware AD's to change the schedule, what have you. It all is the same. It teaches deceit, weakness and when the going gets tough cancel the game instead of play it. Much better than playing with second team players.
This in the end teaches a player who may =not be as gifted that, don't worry, no matter how hard you train, no matter what the 'first teamers do' we will make sure you never get in a real game as you are not good enough to pay my ego.
If winning at all costs is what you want, then #2 is your guy. If you want a true high school experience, well then #1 is the one.
Lets be honest, no one is going from high school to the college ranks. The only one who did that single handedly destroyed the FIU program. If you want to coach in college you become a grad assistant. If you want to coach at the pro level, they play at that level first, then try. High school is not the route.
So take a long hard look at the coaches around you and even perhaps your own coach, and where does he/she land? What currency does he/she deal in? Teaching or ego.
Interesting to think about.
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December 18, 2013
4:57:06 PM
Entry #: 4108606
| Bobby, you "hit the nail directly on the head." Well said. I was once told by a wise man that you can be honest or you can be brutally honest, and you my friend, were brutally honest.
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December 18, 2013
8:42:44 PM
Entry #: 4108630
| Very interesting Bobby. However I would say most of my fellow coaches fall in the first category and that the second category is a bit rare....at least in high school soccer. I can see your point but it happens mostly in football, basketball and even baseball. Also, you forgot another category....coaches who cannot coach, they may have the good will however just because they teach they get to coach since nobody is stepping forward to do a thankless job.
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December 19, 2013
8:35:58 AM
Entry #: 4108656
| I see it a bit differently. While I certainly can think of a few examples (here in Miami-Dade) of both the educator-coach and the ego-driven coach, I think there is a third, increasingly more common variety. This is the person who, through circumstance – i.e. they are a teacher at a school that needs a coach – is given an opportunity to take over the team. Typically this is somebody who played soccer earlier in life. How hard, he or she asks themselves, can coaching be? Well, plenty hard. Those who take the profession seriously know if takes years of trial and error, mentoring from others, continuing education, not to mention perseverance and a tremendous amount of patience. But the circumstance-coach expects quick and easy results – wins on the field and happy, obedient, fulfilled kids off it. (Not to mention generous and supportive parents). The initial enthusiasm and optimism turns to frustration at the lack of success, which in turn leads to the sideline tantrums, verbal abuse of players, and other boorish behavior. This type of coach lasts 3-5 years. Then they move on, the team typically in shambles.
Postscript: If the coach remains in the school system they fill an empty position as volleyball coach (they played this, too, back in the early 1990s). If they leave the school system they sell insurance, forever harboring a resentment that if not for a bad offside call they would have been district champions in that one season in which they had a winning record.
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| yea
December 19, 2013
9:17:57 AM
Entry #: 4108661
| winning is in my nature. i go by win or die trying
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| Bobo
December 19, 2013
9:46:20 AM
Entry #: 4108664
| Obviously proper English is not in your nature either.
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| Bobby
December 19, 2013
10:24:04 AM
Entry #: 4108666
| While #3 does exist, they still fall into the 2 categories. There are many good people who know nothing of the sport who do an admirable job. The team is together, well dressed, respectful and although the level of coaching from a soccer standpoint may be substandard, the level of discipline and sportsmanship remains high. These coaches are doing this so the students have an opportunity to participate. There have been many coaches who fit this bill. One very prominent ex-football coach whose knowledge of soccer was learned on the job, but his teams were always organized, disciplined and in the end were very good. These coaches are the true spirit of what high school soccer is all about. Sacrificing for the interest of the common group. If high school jobs were so valued and important, more qualified people would be applying in droves. It is not.
I would rather play for a coach who cared about the quality of what he was teaching, that a coach who was more concerned with the quality of his win / loss record.
If a coach knows his win / loss record by heart, you can bet where his intentions are invested, and it is not in the quality of character he / she is producing.
There are also the examples of #3's who are/were ego driven, had no interest in sportsmanship, but in results and this is the same behavior that many of the #2's exude. The only difference is some are more 'soccer knowledgable' than others, but the behavior is often masked as 'well he is a respected coach' or 'he has great teams' etc. If one will remember, two of these coaches either are currently in jail or served time for various offenses while coaching. But still, they fall into the category of #2, in my opinion. Just some are better soccer coaches, but also some just have better players. But in the end, are the same type of person, one who is all about himself.
So yes there is the coach who does it to fill the slot, but they still will fall into one of two categories.
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December 19, 2013
10:54:37 AM
Entry #: 4108667
| It has been my experience throughout high school, college, and professional sports, that those athletes who are recognized for their abilities at the end of their careers always seem to recognize and thank the coaches that have helped them become better people by their (coaches) teaching/lessons on and off the playing fields. Coaching on the high school level is more than winning and losing, it is about teaching sportsmanship,teamwork,and character. Winning is a lot of fun, but to be a true winner, you have to learn how to lose knowing you did your best and competing within the rules of the game.
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December 19, 2013
11:21:20 AM
Entry #: 4108670
| It has been my experience throughout high school, college, and professional sports, that those athletes who are recognized for their abilities at the end of their careers always seem to recognize and thank the coaches that have helped them become better people by their (coaches) teaching/lessons on and off the playing fields. Coaching on the high school level is more than winning and losing, it is about teaching sportsmanship,teamwork,and building character. Winning is a lot of fun, but to be a true winner, you have to learn how to lose knowing you did your best and competing within the rules of the game. Also, never losing focus that it is ONLY a game.
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