The coaching business is different than it was. Before, you could be the coach of a school for a long time because it wasn't all about winning and college scholarships. Now, if you aren't winning and giving kids chances to win college scholarships that are not necessarily there, than you are going to have parents on the phone to the superintendent and board members.

 

Before, they gave you time to grow into the job and develop a program and players. Now, you aren't winning after 2 years and you could find yourself out of a job.

 

Why are they insecure and paranoid, because parents are working hard to get them fired when little Johnny/Jenny ain't being recruited by UK or getting enough shot attempts.

 

I had one parent tell me that I need to chart shot attempts and when players reach a certain number they are not allowed to shoot anymore that game. Yep, that parent ended up contacting board members and superintendent pushing for me to be fired.

 

 

It's a thankless job at most programs. You certainly don't do it for money, its a love of the sport, being a part of a team, and the competitive drive that keep most going. Unfortunately, a great many men and women get driven out of the profession, because they start to realize the scrutiny, lack of pay and countless hours, do not balance anymore with the positives that first attracted them to coaching.

 

Obviously there are some more prestigious, schools and some ambitious coaches looking to move up the ladder, but I think most coaches fit the first description.

I haven't read through all your posts. I'll just give my opinion.

 

The increase in kids quitting sports, especially talented athletes stems from two things:

1) Two many of our kids our immersed into sports from the time they are very young. They participate year round going to training camps in between seasons. By the time they get to their upperclassman years, they're fed up with sports.

 

2) If #1 doesn't apply, then its usually a case of coddling our kids and not making them be responsible or follow through on anything.

 

Good assessment. Too many parents think their kids are going to be stars and can't be happy with being a contributor.

 

I hope my son doesn't quit his job the first time it gets crazy...cause it will get crazy. Life has never been, fair or equal. It never will be. So, teach values and consistancy.

"Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food and tyranize their teachers". Quote by Socrates. I guess even way back then adults were saying that Kids thought they knew everything, had no manners and showed no respect. We could probably infer that they were also saying that kids had no character, wouldn't stick things out, etc. etc. Sounds like what we're hearing in this thread doesn't it? Kids are kids and haven't changed much through history. We all tend to remember things through the hazy lens of "The good old days". I doubt kids are really all that much different now as then. Some kids quit and some didn't/don't. These same kids took on life, families and jobs. Some were successful and some weren't.

Good assessment. Too many parents think their kids are going to be stars and can't be happy with being a contributor.

 

I hope my son doesn't quit his job the first time it gets crazy...cause it will get crazy. Life has never been, fair or equal. It never will be. So, teach values and consistancy.

:thumb: That's exactly what I was thinking when I made my second point.

"Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food and tyranize their teachers". Quote by Socrates. I guess even way back then adults were saying that Kids thought they knew everything, had no manners and showed no respect. We could probably infer that they were also saying that kids had no character, wouldn't stick things out, etc. etc. Sounds like what we're hearing in this thread doesn't it? Kids are kids and haven't changed much through history. We all tend to remember things through the hazy lens of "The good old days". I doubt kids are really all that much different now as then. Some kids quit and some didn't/don't. These same kids took on life, families and jobs. Some were successful and some weren't.

 

:thumb:

The coaching business is different than it was. Before, you could be the coach of a school for a long time because it wasn't all about winning and college scholarships. Now, if you aren't winning and giving kids chances to win college scholarships that are not necessarily there, than you are going to have parents on the phone to the superintendent and board members.

 

Before, they gave you time to grow into the job and develop a program and players. Now, you aren't winning after 2 years and you could find yourself out of a job.

 

Why are they insecure and paranoid, because parents are working hard to get them fired when little Johnny/Jenny ain't being recruited by UK or getting enough shot attempts.

 

I had one parent tell me that I need to chart shot attempts and when players reach a certain number they are not allowed to shoot anymore that game. Yep, that parent ended up contacting board members and superintendent pushing for me to be fired.

 

I will agree with some of what you say but I believe you are looking at it purely from a coaches viewpoint and it would be difficult for you to do otherwise since it appears that reading from your previous posts you are or were a coach.

I'm all for giving a person ample time to grow into a position and would be willing to do whatever it takes for the benefit of the kids and program to assist in that maturation process. There are far more good coaches then bad and this is by no means an indictment of all coaches but as they say "A few bad apples can spoil the whole Barrel." They need to work with the kids and parents and community for the betterment of their respective programs and if they wish not to do that then they should find another profession.

I don't know if I agree with the issue of kids quitting. Come on guys, if they don't want to play they don't want to play. Who are we to judge whether a kid should keep on playing. I mean if anyone is familiar with the 15th region then you know Kelsey Friend and Seth Kiser from Shelby Valley a few years back. They were pushed and pushed by their parents and, yes, they played but they hated every minute of it, they barely tried and they just grew out of it. It wasn't fun for them anymore. I think if a kid wants to quit a sport then it's fine, what if they want to get a job? Want to focus on school? What if it's just not fun for them anymore?

 

Here is the problem with letting them quit. It teaches them when things get tough you quit. It will most of the time make them a stonger person. My son to this day may not want to do something he has started but he will finish it and will say I won't do that again. Unless I have to. Which shows me a tough person has been built.

I will agree with some of what you say but I believe you are looking at it purely from a coaches viewpoint and it would be difficult for you to do otherwise since it appears that reading from your previous posts you are or were a coach.

I'm all for giving a person ample time to grow into a position and would be willing to do whatever it takes for the benefit of the kids and program to assist in that maturation process. There are far more good coaches then bad and this is by no means an indictment of all coaches but as they say "A few bad apples can spoil the whole Barrel." They need to work with the kids and parents and community for the betterment of their respective programs and if they wish not to do that then they should find another profession.

 

I am both. A parent and a coach. I have sat in the stands and watched my child sit the bench. And when that child wanted to know why, I told them that the coach was a defensive minded coach. You want to play, pick up your defense. Get loose balls, get steals, get in front of the person you are guarding, don't let your person get offensive rebounds. Improve your play in the areas that the coach is looking or don't expect to play, just because you are on the team.

 

They did that and went from 0 to 2 minutes a game to starting.

 

The problem with that is those coaches have families too. They need time to be a spouse, a parent. They cannot give and give and give to everyone else's kids while neglecting theirs.

Here is the problem with letting them quit. It teaches them when things get tough you quit. It will most of the time make them a stonger person. My son to this day may not want to do something he has started but he will finish it and will say I won't do that again. Unless I have to. Which shows me a tough person has been built.

 

I truly believe the mindset you are alluding to is one of the reasons why divorce rates are so high in this country. Marriage has become something that you can easily quit when it gets too hard. Well, I am hear to tell you I guarantee it will get hard. Will you quit on it or stick with it and stay true to the commitment you made?

I disagree. I have found Chad Simms to be a fine coach and a good young Christian man. You may disagree with his substition patterns but he definitely doesn't treat his players as nobodies.

 

The other thing I have found in my 18 years of coaching, players who don't want to play love to use the coach as the reason. I had a player once that did not want to play. But she played because of her dad. She ended up quitting. The next year, your best friend was in a conversation with the players and they were talking about how I had ran that player off.

 

The best friend chuckled and said that wasn't close to the truth. She quit because she was tired of how her dad treated her after games. She was tired of being ripped on and the pressure from home. To this day, dad still things that it was my fault and blames me. That's okay, that's part of my job as coach. To protect the players.

 

If you are a parent, players don't always tell you the full truth of the situation. As someone aboved mentioned, they don't want to let you down. They don't want you to see them as a quitter or someone who failed. So, the easy person to blame, is the coach. The coach is mean. The coach said this to me. The coach makes it not fun. Etc, etc, etc.

 

I had a parent who stormed into my office one day. He had a daughter crying and wanted to know why I made a certain comment to her. My two assistant coaches were in the meeting with her (coaches protect yourself have an earwitness and an eyewitness to what you say and do) and before I could reply, one stepped up and said, "He never said anything like that. This is what he said." The parent asked me if that was true. I indicated it was and he wondered aloud why his daughter would say that.

 

Later on, we found out but I don't think she ever told her parents, she played because her sister played. She didn't love it and could have done without it. But it was my fault.

 

And to an extent I have fine with it. That happens when you are the coach. You are going to take the blame for things that the 14-15 year old is not going to give their parents the honest truth to.

He is a very religious person and I respect that, but christianity has nothing to do with this. Ask anyone that comes to the Pendelton games and they wonder where the coaches head is. But yes, as a person, he is great, just not much of a coach. But I hear that you coach about the same way. Put your starters in for a couple minutes then bench them when they start making shots. Each for their own I reckon. Its just that the parents and kids put so much money and time in that they expect to see a good game and for it to be coached fairly. Not put in your young ones just to give them experience early on. When we played PC they played us hard and it seemed the coach was doing a fine job, but then come closer to the end he changed his style of coaching, look at what 42 kept doing and he just kept letting it happen. You don't just keep getting caught standing there with the ball in your hand, you put a good ball handler in and they would have won by 10 or more. Then they went to AIT and played FLA. Feeback and Hardin scored 30 pts together, then the next day he played all JV and just a couple of Varsity and lost by 40 what is up with that. Unless you know something we dont' then maybe you could fill us in.....:flame:

Fans and parents make decisions based on what they see in games.

Coaches make decisions on what they see in games and in practice.

I don't know what goes on in practices or some of their games as I have not seen them all and been to only a handful of practices.

 

So, I do not have all the information to make the decision. I am glad for you, though, that you have all of the information from practices and all the games to make the call.:thumb:

I quit playing baseball when I was a kid. I can tell you then and now I still don't regret it. The few sports I played (baseball and basketball), I played because I had fun playing them. It got to a point when it stopped being fun. I had a Baseball Coach who never called me by the right name, he was not interested in trying to help get better and he just screamed. He never told you how do anything right, he just told you were doing it wrong. Loudly. I used to love playing baseball in the front yard, but I started to hate it.

 

My Dad sensed my frustration and wisely came in my room and told me I had his blessing to quit, not because I was a quitter but because this guy was obviously a whack job. The next day we went to practice and I handed in my uniform. And to this day i will never forget what the Coach said, "Andy (that's not my name- not even close) you stunk anyway. Now not only do you stink, but now you're a quitter. A stinky quitter." I was 8. And Dad of course had words with him, but that went nowhere. And complaints to Little League fell on deaf ears. The team was undefeated after all, surely there was nothing wrong! Please. It's not always about wins and losses. Especially with 8 year olds.

 

And people wonder why other than playing basketball for my Dad in Elementary school I never played organized sports again. Kids are kids. You can't always lay it at their feet. It's Coaches and Parents who have taken the fun out of sports. It's become too much about wins and losses and less about teamwork and a bunch of kids having a good time working together to accomplish a goal.

 

I watch my oldest son play Upwards Basketball and they have a blast. They are learning the fundamentals and there's no pressure on them, they just want them to have fun. That's what it's all about.

 

Anyway that's my two cents, although it's probably only worth a penny.

Red, UPWARD BASKETBALL is great. I love it. My kids have played, I coached in it, and helped run the league.

 

If anyone has an upward basketball around their area, get your kids in it.

 

You can go to http://www.upward.org to find a league.

I am both. A parent and a coach. I have sat in the stands and watched my child sit the bench. And when that child wanted to know why, I told them that the coach was a defensive minded coach. You want to play, pick up your defense. Get loose balls, get steals, get in front of the person you are guarding, don't let your person get offensive rebounds. Improve your play in the areas that the coach is looking or don't expect to play, just because you are on the team.

 

They did that and went from 0 to 2 minutes a game to starting.

 

The problem with that is those coaches have families too. They need time to be a spouse, a parent. They cannot give and give and give to everyone else's kids while neglecting theirs.

 

:thumb:Fair enough. I would say most coaches are as you say. Unfortunately a few of the ones I have recently observed have a long way to go before they would even be considered mediocre.

Red, UPWARD BASKETBALL is great. I love it. My kids have played, I coached in it, and helped run the league.

 

If anyone has an upward basketball around their area, get your kids in it.

 

You can go to http://www.upward.org to find a league.

 

:thumb:I agree wholeheartedly and you are to be commended for your involvement with Upward Basketball. Teaching the right things for the right reasons.