Head Football Coach Turnover Rate in Ky HS Football

[DevilMayCare]

In this hyper competitive sports culture that exists today, schools seem less and less willing to allow a coach the opportunity to build. Cases of a coach being allowed to endure some early struggles in order to tailor a program to their specifications and implement their culture/philosophies on winning are growing fewer by the year, it seems. Everybody wants to win and win now, but that's simply not realistic.

 

In regards to coaching - especially at the high school level - patience is a virtue, but we live in an increasingly impatient society.

[futurecoach]

In this hyper competitive sports culture that exists today, schools seem less and less willing to allow a coach the opportunity to build. Cases of a coach being allowed to endure some early struggles in order to tailor a program to their specifications and implement their culture/philosophies on winning are growing fewer by the year, it seems. Everybody wants to win and win now, but that's simply not realistic.

 

In regards to coaching - especially at the high school level - patience is a virtue, but we live in an increasingly impatient society.

 

I don’t think it is the schools being less willingly to let a coach build it. The biggest problem today I think for coaches are parents. Then with social media and all these different avenues these days for people to complain about coaches. Parents make it to where many people just don’t want to coach anymore.

[DevilMayCare]

I don’t think it is the schools being less willingly to let a coach build it. The biggest problem today I think for coaches are parents. Then with social media and all these different avenues these days for people to complain about coaches. Parents make it to where many people just don’t want to coach anymore.

 

Very true. The combination of disgruntled parents and social media is definitely a coaching deterrent in today's landscape.

[wrn1979]

Is the issue of “lack of continuity” between middle school programs and high school programs state wide?

[9068]

Is the issue of “lack of continuity” between middle school programs and high school programs state wide?

 

It will get worse every season. People live in the ESPN culture. Everybody is a star, everybody expects every team to be champions, coaches are to blame, and the officials always err. If a coach wins 60 percent of his games people perceive him ( or her) as a failure. I bet if most sales persons closed on 60 percent of their calls they would be considered successful. Been a teacher, coach, official, PARENT, and fan. Sad to see it going this way. To all those men and women who gave countless hours and their best efforts, THANK YOU. At the end of the year only one team is happy....think about that. It's about the JOURNEY more than the results!!

[wrn1979]

It's about the JOURNEY more than the results!!

 

This is great wisdom, and words I live by.

[Footballfan5]

1 out 7 head coaches resign every year in ohio. Sad state of affairs. Social media, entitlement, parents, liberal administrators, etc make life very difficult.

 

Who will want to coach in 2025?

 

Coaches used to be put on pedestals, now they are under criticism for everything they say or do.

[Fake Tom Brady]

I would like to speak from my personal experience and hopefully some other coaches can relate. I believe there are 2 main factors that school administration should look into to help keep coaches. I'm not going to discuss in detail about coaches salary but I will say this, coaches most definitely deserve better stipends for their time.

From my personal experience there are two major issues that make life difficult for coaches in today's HS football landscape:

1. Too much power resides in the "booster club" and coaches are forced to lean on a group of people who are supposed to be there to "help" the program but in reality, most of the time they have their own personal agendas and do not want what's best for the program. They want what’s best for their son or a small group of players. These people want the "flash" and "show" for their kid to have a great HS experience but what they don't understand is that most of the flashy stuff they want to spend money on doesn't help the team win and usually causes dissension between players. It is true that the head coach should keep the booster club in check but when they control the majority of the money needed to help the program it can be difficult. Some of the most frustrating issues I had were related to our booster club not getting along and not being on the same page.

2. Parents. In my time as a HC I have had no short of 10 individual parent meetings from everything regarding playing time, "touches", "why is my son playing this position", to "my son got yelled at by a coach during the game". One parent who threw a fit after a game because one of my assistant coaches redirected her son for slapping the opposing team on the helmet during the post-game handshake line. To be honest, it has been insane. In my time I have had parents physically threaten me, blast me on social media, and have had players quit because their parents made them due to "not playing the position they want or not getting enough touches". A few years ago we won against our biggest rival for the first time in a 20 years and the next morning I had a parent call me complaining because their son only got to play a few snaps after being injured all week in practice. These are the things we deal with. I'm sure this issue is worse some places than others, but my point is, no coach is going to put up with this for long. I’m not sure what the answer is but I would love to hear some opinions on what can be done to fix this.

Lastly, I want to say that this is not ALL parents. There are alot of great parents out there that support the TEAM and hold their kids accountable to do the right thing and be a good teammate. We need more parents like this.

[Kentucky9]

As with all other aspects of culture, recreation reflects society not vice versa. In today’s America self interest trumps morality, and teamwork is irrelevant.

 

In most cases coaches enter the profession for the right reasons, but eventually burn out or sell out to the conditions of their communities.

[gchs_uk9]

We make a lot of comments without any data from the 1950s, 1960s, etc. I've been involved with Garrard County High School my entire life. Small to medium sized school, almost always competitive, never really a state contender. Fifty-five years of football, thirteen coaches - average of 4.2 years per coach.

 

Bottom line: many of our expectations are that coaches will stay for 20 years and parents will leave them alone and everything will be fine, when in reality, most every school has been looking for a coach every 3-5 years since the beginning of high school football. It is the rule, not the exception.

[ChiefSmoke]

We make a lot of comments without any data from the 1950s, 1960s, etc. I've been involved with Garrard County High School my entire life. Small to medium sized school, almost always competitive, never really a state contender. Fifty-five years of football, thirteen coaches - average of 4.2 years per coach.

 

Bottom line: many of our expectations are that coaches will stay for 20 years and parents will leave them alone and everything will be fine, when in reality, most every school has been looking for a coach every 3-5 years since the beginning of high school football. It is the rule, not the exception.

 

That's a good point. So which is more true....

 

1- Programs have success because they have a coach for an extended period of time.

 

2-Coaches stay in one place because they are having success.

 

Regardless, wouldn't it be in the best interest of a school and program to try to keep a coach for an extended period of time?

[9068]

That's a good point. So which is more true....

 

1- Programs have success because they have a coach for an extended period of time.

 

2-Coaches stay in one place because they are having success.

 

Regardless, wouldn't it be in the best interest of a school and program to try to keep a coach for an extended period of time?

 

Agree with entire post. 1&2 are equal in my opinion. Continuity and PATIENCE are important. HS coaches(in most places) only have the players they have. It runs in cycles (at most places). If a coach goes 10-3 one season, but 6-5 the next year did they suddenly forget what they knew? NO... different year, different kids, different circumstances!

[wrn1979]

Agree with entire post. 1&2 are equal in my opinion. Continuity and PATIENCE are important. HS coaches(in most places) only have the players they have. It runs in cycles (at most places). If a coach goes 10-3 one season, but 6-5 the next year did they suddenly forget what they knew? NO... different year, different kids, different circumstances!

 

This can be mitigated a great deal by having elementary and feeder systems that buy into the high school philosophy and develop players to play multiple positions. Nothing more frustrating than to have a kid with wheels who, for whatever reason, never learned to run a route.

[ChiefSmoke]

It's not even February..... 29 changes.

 

A few questions....

 

1- how important is Friday night HS football to a small town/community in KY?

 

2- Most of the time, when a program gets a new coach, money is spent on what the new coach wants. The stuff the old coaches wanted, is no longer used or wanted.

Financially, wouldn't be worth it to invest in your program and try to keep the same coach for an extended period?

 

 

Sure... I am biased FOR KY HS Football! That is why I want to see what others think and get their perspective.

[CoachKing2014]

I think every situation is different. I think that different regions have different issues as well. I worked at three schools that typically struggle in football and we were able to be successful, but doing the following things does not always guarantee success, but it was things necessary to just field a team, especially the last two years.

 

My summer routine was as follows from July 10 on. Had to start on the 10th so that by the time we were in pads we had everyone and their days in.

10am-1pm Get things ready for practice, water, pads, schedule, restripe practice field.

1pm-2:30 Each lunch with my wife/kids

3pm-5pm On Activity Bus to pick up players

5:00-5:45 Weight Room Open for Players

6:00-8:30 on Field

8:30-9:00pm Snacks

9-11pm back on bus to take kids home

Get home about 11:30pm.

Get up the next day and repeat. All this just to field a team.

Not to mention paying out of pocket for physicals and insurance money

I never have complained about this and I never will, it was just what had/has to be done. I am just speaking from my side of the reasons.