article The responsibilities of a HS Head Coach

It’s become a recurring theme these days that HS Head Coaches aren’t doing enough to get kids athletic scholarships. That got me thinking. What exactly are the responsibilities of a HS Head Coach of any sport and where does getting kids athletic scholarships fall in priority of these responsibilities? I think there are some complex answers to this question and I’ll start with some of my answers.

IMO there isn’t a HS Head Coach they won’t help his kids get an athletic scholarship if that kid shows the ability to play at the next level. However, I think the responsibility of getting a kid an athletic scholarship is lower on the list than many many other very important things.

For starters, a very large majority of head coaches are teachers or in administration at the schools they coach at so scratch off 6-8 hours of their workday M-F.

Don’t forget practice. Scratch off another 3-4 hours of the days.

That’s at least 10 hours of the day gone already.

Head coaches are constantly thinking of ways to improve teams and players. That’s a never ending thought process.

A large majority of them have families. That’s a never ending process also.

Before I have even gotten to the meat of my answer I’ve already essentially ended a full day’s work for a HS Head Coach.

Now, in these days an astronomically large part of recruiting takes place in football camps, regional football combines, AAU, travel teams, club teams, etc. If you aren’t starting with these things then you are already behind the 8 ball because this is where it starts. Parents also play a large part in this as it is important to send out as much film, video, full game tapes and whatever information you can send to any and all colleges. It is also on the parents to make sure their kid’s grades are good enough to get them academically eligible and that they have taken and gotten acceptable scores on all entrance exams.

There has to be a good amount of people helping a kid attain an athletic scholarship but too many times if recruiting isn’t going as expected or if a kid doesn’t make it to college I hear people blaming the HS Head Coach and that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Kid needs to do the leg work and use the coach only as a reference. I'm not saying they should not ask the coach for some help or if he has any contacts.

Keep in mind some coaches may not give the reference you really want. If you have a player of questionable character, work ethic or grades, a coach may not want to put his reputation on the line.

I think most coaches do what they can but like you've already said, they can only do so much.

The best recruiter is the athlete. He has to get out and make the college want him through on field play, grades, and intangibles.

Coaches do have a reputation and a program reputation to protect. If an athlete is not getting his HS coaches’ endorsement the athlete may need to look in the mirror.

It is absolutely NOT the responsibility of the coach. Anything a coach can do to help is great, but it is not his/her responsibility.

As a parent, I would ask the coach for any advice they could give on the recruiting process and do the work myself.

It is absolutely NOT the responsibility of the coach. Anything a coach can do to help is great, but it is not his/her responsibility.

 

As a parent, I would ask the coach for any advice they could give on the recruiting process and do the work myself.

I agree with this, though I would say it IS the responsibility of the coaches to make kids aware of the opportunities and gauge interest. From there, conversations with player/parents should be had about options and the coach's appraisal of the player's talent. Lots of parents have no experience with the higher education system or recruiting, and having someone to help along the way goes a long way, even if the coach isn't particularly familiar and they struggle through the process together.

To me, all of that falls under "anything a coach can do to help."

It’s not the coaches responsibility to help a kid get to the next level. To me though it is the coaches responsibility to be looked at as a quality reference in the event that the coach has a player who can play at the next level. That means having relationships with college coaches and those coaches knowing that if this kid comes recommended from this coach that it is a quality player that will be an asset to the team. It’s on the player to put forth the work to get to that level.

If this were when I was in HS, I would say that, yes, the coach should do more. I heard stories of a lot of HS coaches actively scuttling kids' efforts to play in college because they didn't get along with the kid or their parents, or they were just petty jerks. But in those days, HS coaches had all the power as far as exposure goes.

But kids nowadays have so many more avenues for exposure than what it was back then. Sure, coaches have contacts and can put in good words with college coaching connections, but things are different now. I've seen kids sign with colleges and not even play their senior year because they did the legwork in the spring/summer AAU/travel circuits. I've seen homeschooled kids get scholarships who never competed in a varsity competition.

At the end of the day, make the DVD, make sure the kids have their grades in order, and if they're good enough, some coach will find a way to use them.

High school basketball is recreation. They use teachers as coaches. Colleges don’t come to high school basketball games period. If they do come to high school games they already know the kid and they are doing it to show the kid they care. I say aaa year round better coaching better competition. They absolute best players don’t play high school basketball unless it’s at a prep school or aau year round.

I also think there are some high school coaches that simply don't have the same amount of contacts that others do. With the 3 D-1 Colleges in the greater Cincinnati area; coupled with the 7 or 8 smaller schools within an hour and a half, I think coaches in this area have a decent network to work with. I think Varsity coaches should be willing to make contact with College Coaches and write a letter, but the parents and players themselves have the majority of the workload.

I also think there are some high school coaches that simply don't have the same amount of contacts that others do. With the 3 D-1 Colleges in the greater Cincinnati area; coupled with the 7 or 8 smaller schools within an hour and a half, I think coaches in this area have a decent network to work with. I think Varsity coaches should be willing to make contact with College Coaches and write a letter, but the parents and players themselves have the majority of the workload.

You can write all the lettters you want it doesn’t work. The college coaches deal with aau coaches and the scouts. It’s a waste of time paying scouting services also. Your kid needs to be traveling playing real basketball in quality tournaments. Coaches will be at those tournaments and so will quality scouting services. If the kid is good he will be noticed. Quality scouting services don’t charge kids they charge the colleges. So beware before you pay a service. The high school coaches have zero contacts to colleges they may know the local college coaches. The summer time in sports is where kids get noticed. Aau for basketball. Travel baseball and camps for football. High school coaches are politically correct. Teachers make terrible coaches.

Teachers make terrible coaches.

What?

High school basketball is recreation. They use teachers as coaches. Colleges don’t come to high school basketball games period. If they do come to high school games they already know the kid and they are doing it to show the kid they care. I say aaa year round better coaching better competition. They absolute best players don’t play high school basketball unless it’s at a prep school or aau year round.

You can write all the lettters you want it doesn’t work. The college coaches deal with aau coaches and the scouts. It’s a waste of time paying scouting services also. Your kid needs to be traveling playing real basketball in quality tournaments. Coaches will be at those tournaments and so will quality scouting services. If the kid is good he will be noticed. Quality scouting services don’t charge kids they charge the colleges. So beware before you pay a service. The high school coaches have zero contacts to colleges they may know the local college coaches. The summer time in sports is where kids get noticed. Aau for basketball. Travel baseball and camps for football. High school coaches are politically correct. Teachers make terrible coaches.

You may be speaking from something you've experienced personally, but overall, there are a lot of inaccuracies here.

Don Dziagwa is in his 27th year as head coach at Tampa Catholic (Kevin Knox's high school Alma mater). From what I understand he is still actively coaching on the AAU circuit.

@PurplePride92 Why exactly is this in the controversial room?