Coaches,

 

1st I am leaving KY to coach in another state. So my opinions are probably irrelevant, but here goes. I do not want to offend anyone in any way, form or fashion. So please just consider what I have to say.

 

2nd I was very active at one time in the FB Association. I appreciate what the coaches before me did for our programs, i.e.. Gerald Poynter, Lynn Ray, Sam Harp, Jack Morris, etc. Football has been great for me and my family throughout my life. It truly saved me from being just another poor uneducated person.

 

3rd We did all the 7 on 7 in June, workouts in July, camps in July (actually could go to camp and practice against another team), weight meets, etc.

 

4th The older I become the more I see that because WE didn’t always use good common sense, the more WE lost. Examples are as follows:

 

A. 7 on7 in June. We would go to UofL and play all day. We started at 9 or 10 and finish at 7 pm. It wasn’t very smart. Our kids were worn down with blisters and aches. We were not in shape to do that and I put our kids at risk for injury. I saw Henderson lose an all-state LB due to a torn ACL another year. I like a little 7 on7, but after 2 games, I am done. I like teaching concepts but do we really have to play to win a trophy? Playing 4-7 games in one day, is it really worth it?

 

B. We have heat index charts now because we lost some KIDS due to death. WE needed the heat index. Not everyone has the capacity to make judgement calls like heat. It takes the call off of us and that is good. Just like lightening, I have seen where people keep playing or practicing when they see it “FAR AWAY”. I know someone that was knocked off his feet in practice by lightening. Ask him what he thinks about “far away” lightening. He runs for cover.

 

C. We give our players 1 month off in the summer. I just believe that kids need to have some time to be kids. When I grew up in Mayfield we did not see the coaches for summer workouts. It was understood we had to report in shape.

 

D. This past year was a lot of fun for me personally. I enjoyed every minute except losing in the final game. But the one thing that I look back on and came to realize is that in was long! We started conditioning July 15 and ended Dec. 7. That is 1 week from being 5 months. We play too long. I personally thing if we want to do what is right, we need to cut out the bye week AND have only 2 teams from each district make the playoffs. Start a week later, July 22 and end on Thanksgiving weekend. We lose in long seasons. I believe we could get more kids to play if we shortened our season. Would you want to encourage your players to play another sport if they might not report until you have already played some games? I know that basketball is also a long sport, but I will leave that up to them to do what is right by their players.

 

5th I see some things that concern me about our sport’s health. I have never seen this many openings in head coaching positions. We need to address the sudden changes. It is getting scarce getting quality assistant coaches, much less head coaches. We need to start getting more prospective coaches into education. To do this, there needs to be pay increases, less time working on football in down time (ask how many coaches have been divorced due to football time), more assistants in programs, better facilities, etc. I have witnessed schools with 3 coaches on staff and none where in the building. Some schools facilities are terrible. I haven’t even mentioned fundraising. It is a necessary evil.

 

6th Coaches need to coach! I haven’t had to do any field work since I have been at OHS, but I used too. I have mowed, fertilized, aerated, painted, and any anything else that needed to be done. This is not a coaches job. We are trained to do that and frankly don’t have the time to concentrate on our players and program to worry about those things. I wonder how many times Urban Meyer painted the fields this past year?

 

7th For every idea that I have or you have, we must realize that it is bad for someone else. The June issue was due to schools that had a conflict of when teams could have access to athletes. We never had that conflict at OHS, but others did. Mike Holcomb is a friend of mine. His problems at Letcher County is totally different that what we experience at OHS. When we make rules to help solve our problems, we may be adversely affecting his program. When making proposals, we need to concentrate on the whole of football, not just our problems. If we concentrate on what is best for the kids, we usually win. I know that if my family had to go through the process of recruiting, I would do it differently. That is the hindsight that I have now. I also know that I am a better coach after having a son play for me. I realize that some of the things I thought were important before, really aren’t that important. So I now have a different view on things like 7 on 7, weight meets, dead period, family, and such.

 

Finally, remember I am not bashing anyone or their ideas. I hope that you guys can solve the problems of the state of football in KY. Just always keep in mind to do what is right by your players. Hopefully you will make a positive difference in a kid’s life like ALL my coaches did.

 

Sorry I am not as eloquent in my ramblings as others. I hope you will be able to decipher my messages.

 

Thanks,

Joe Prince

Nailed it.

Lots of good stuff in here and very even handed. Much respect for a coach who "gets it".

I really appreciate having a guy like Coach Prince do this. It's like an exit-interview of a coach leaving the KHSAA. If the KHSAA was smart...and if other coaches (particularly younger ones) were smart, they'd listen to him.

When I read this email, I was looking for a "like" button to click.

I really appreciate having a guy like Coach Prince do this. It's like an exit-interview of a coach leaving the KHSAA. If the KHSAA was smart...and if other coaches (particularly younger ones) were smart, they'd listen to him.

 

Agree CWB. Agree. There is a reason he and some of these others have been able to this gig for 30 years or more, along with having much success.

This is one of those times I wish I could like my own post.

 

Well said Coach, well said.

 

And hopefully we can follow your new team on BGP this year, I know I am interested.

Joe has been very successful and speaks for a lot of guys who have been doing this a while when he says what we do should be driven first by "what's best for our kids and their families."

 

Shorten the season -- 10 week season (no "open week"), top 2 in each district to playoffs only, push practice start back to 4th Monday before Week 1--helmets 5 days/uppers 3 days/full after that, Scrimm One 2 weeks before Week 1, Scrimm Two 1 week before Week 1.

 

Thanksgiving week for Finals: Joe knows this is okay...he played in championship games on Turkey Day back in the 70s and I'm sure made the holiday even more special. Heck, I'd even be for a 9-game regular season (let teams not making playoffs play an extra game vs. another non-playoff team if they want) if it means we'd have a champion the week BEFORE Thanksgiving.

 

7on7 -- I'm all for compressing this into single WEEKS in each month--and make them WEEKDAYS: 1 week in June and 1 week in July. Get away from the "all-day Saturday" tournaments and instead allow 'work-days' between 2, 3, or 4 schools at one site. Limit of 2 hours of work 3 days of those 7on7 work weeks. Rest of June/July prior to practice start spent with your own team how you want to spend it (lift, run, install, etc.).

 

If we're honest, I think football coaches want to give our kids some time to be kids and be with their families in the early summer, but when we do that and see kids still being asked virtually daily by coaches in other sports (mainly non-school affiliated) to practice or play all June it makes it tough to feel like you're making a difference for kids.

 

While I'm at it, I'm for 2 or even 3 weeks 'dead' prior to 1st practice, but could we make the weeks non-consecutive? A kid losing 2 straight weeks of conditioning and heat acclimatization (assuming they stay inside in AC most of the time--a safe assumption I think) I think is a bad thing.

I think Indiana has a 9 game season - may be wrong. Thanks to Coach Prince.

That's pretty impressive commentary Coach. Thanks for sharing, and best wishes wherever you go!

I'd even go for how Connecticut does things. Check out these start times for practice and season.

 

http://ciacsports.com/site/?page_id=952

 

Have spring practice. Matter of fact, make it a late spring-early summer deal. May/June...end with a spring game..mix in 7v7. Let it ride for a full month. Ten practices. 5 nights of 7v7 (one of those being a tourney) and a full scrimmage against another school. See ya the 2nd week of August for the start of practice. Open the season the 2nd week of September.

 

My only disagreement (and, wouldn't even call it that) w/ Coach Jackson and Coach Prince...let's keep the finals on that first weekend of December. I don't know about everybody else, but my better half..I out kicked my coverage in more ways than I can count. One of those is that she is a mother to our kids, and not to me if you know what I mean. However, unless a school I was connected with in some way was playing for the State Title, I'm not so sure how well, "I'm not going to be around Thursday-Saturday" would go over during Thanksgiving weekend.

I've known Joe along time and I respect what he has to say and he has some good ideas but I like the season just as it is. There could be some adjustments on the off seasons schedule somewhat. All the coaches have gotten smarter about the heat and lightning. I know Mayfield doesn't do 7 0n 7 like some programs. Good luck , Joe on your new job.

Interesting... Wouldn't this count as a scrimmage if you go against teams in camps?

 

3rd- We did all the 7 on 7 in June, workouts in July, camps in July (actually could go to camp and practice against another team), weight meets, etc.

As a coach, not football, I think he has it right. I do a lot of the same thing in my sport. Time off is a must for all kids.

Here's the real question though folks. That while Coach Prince brings up a lot of valid points, are those who are in charge listening or in this case reading?