Coaching – A View From the Sidelines

Where do I start on this one?  Low Test Scores = No Sports for a school.

I moan and complain about how the attitude of my athletes is towards academics, BUT they understand that they have to pass to play.  They understand that they have to make a certain grade to be promoted.  Why are they going to punish the athletes, when they are the ones that are doing everything they are supposed to be doing to be eligible?  The athletes have always understood that they are held to a higher standard than others.  They haven’t always liked it, but they understand and accept it.

In my school their are 530 students.  We will have 125 returning athletes in the fall of 2009.  If the person behind this bill gets what they want, it will punish the quarter of the students that work hard all the time to maintain their eligibility.  What about the 405 non-athletes?  They are not losing anything, except the chance to watch the athletic events.

What are we telling our kids then?  Spend more time studying!  Make sure you go to tutoring when it is offered!  Like I have said before, I am all for high standards…But if you tell a set of kids that they are unable to play a sport, there are some that would no longer be in high school.  Is that what this bill is trying to accomplish?  Get the kids out of school that can’t hack it?  Isn’t that going against anything and everything that we have ever taught our kids?  We tell our kids that if they want something bad enough they are going to have to fight for it.  What is going to happen if this goes through?  Those kids will be out doing things they aren’t supposed to be doing.  That seems sort of counter productive doesn’t it?

I preach to my athletes all the time….GET YOUR GRADES RIGHT!  For both graduating and athletic purposes.  They hear it and believe it.  They understand now after hearing Harold Robinson talk.  He hit some nerves and made some kids feel uncomfortable.  I was so happy that they felt that way.  It means that they do care.   Isn’t that why we push them?  Isn’t that how we want them to feel?

What are your thoughts?  How would you feel if this bill was brought forth in your state?

Would love to see your comments.

What an outstanding Job Harold Robinson did talking to our athletes about what they should be doing now to get ready for their future in both school and athletics.  He shot straight with them.  He didn’t mince words.  Exactly what they needed to hear.  THE SAME THINGS WE AT THE SCHOOL SAY EVERYDAY!  I guess the old philosophy is true, it takes someone outside of the situation to get the point across?

Each student was given a packet on their way out of the meeting that the title of is, “IS MY SON/DAUGHTER A LEGITIMATE RECRUIT?”  It is a great piece of literature for anyone that is going through the recruiting policy, or someone that may be going through it soon.  It details MONTH by MONTH what needs to be done from the day those kids get on a high school campus.  As a coach I am glad that I was able to hear him talk.  It makes me feel like I have been teaching and telling my athletes the correct things. 

It is also full of the academic information that each student needs to have before they get to college.  Test Scores, GPA, and so on, and so on… They were shocked that the coaching staff knew what we were talking about.  Will they listen and follow through on promises?  Only time will tell.

I will be better for my athletes, and my sons in the future for sitting through this meeting.  I video taped it, and I hope that came out well.  Will check it out later on today when I get a chance. 

My principal, athletic director, and fellow coaches were very supportive of this meeting.  They came up to me afterwards and said again, what a good idea it was. 

After this meeting we decided, and it was Coach Robinsons’ idea, to have him and the ECU Staff to come and be a part of our Fall Parent Meeting.  We didn’t even have to think twice about that one.  The parents will them walk out of this meeting with enough information to know what it is going to take for them to go to ANY college, not just a D-I school. 

I think the girls were as shocked as any to hear about the comittment to the weight room.  They didn’t understand what they needed to be doing while still in high school.  Now they know.  Comittment to a sport has to change now at our school if we are going to continue to make gains in our athletic programs.

The final question is…What will the student-athletes do?

This Friday we will have a guest speaker from East Carolina University here at school to talk to our underclassmen about the commitment it takes to be an athlete at the next level.  Harold Robinson, the former Head Football Coach at Williamston High school, will be representing ECU as their football department liaison.  He has a lot of experience in dealing with what it takes to get athletes into each of the different levels of collegiate athletics.

Why do I think this is important?

I think this talk is important on many levels.  As a high school coach, I am interested in what he has to say so I can help my STUDENT-athletes get to the next level.  I think it is important for them to be a well-rounded human being, not just an “athletic machine.”  Their is a reason these kids are not called ATHLETIC-STUDENTS.  Student comes first.  It always has, and it always will.  I make my kids go to tutoring.  Even if they have A’s, they are to go and see if they can make a higher A.  I want them to strive for perfection.  Why is that so wrong of me?  I have seen decent results, but I want more.  I want 100% of my kids in A’s and B’s.  I know that is a high goal, but if I don’t have that outlook for them, WHO WILL? What is wrong with striving for perfection?  I have been taught by many others, kids will try their best to reach the goals that you set for them.  I have seen this as true, but I want more than just a majority of the athletes to strive for this.  The old saying goes….

Reach for the Moon,

Even if you fail to reach it,

You land among the stars.

Isn’t that the way it should be…Set the goals high, and see how high they will take them?

Also, I want them to hear this speech from the mouth of someone who has lived each aspect of high school and college athletics.  This man has given 40 years of his life to a game he loves, and now he is in a position to help out others that are in the position that he once held.  That is someone I admire. 

Students today do not put enough emphasis on COMMITMENT!!!  This is commitment on the field AND in the classroom.  They feel that their talents on the field will still get them what they need, and as long as they maintain a C average they are ok.  THEY ARE WRONG!  Maybe they need to hear it from someone other than their own parents, teachers, and coaches?  Maybe hearing that from someone outside of the situation will help it sink in.  I am not sure. 

Also, their commitment to their sport, both in and out of season needs to be better.  They don’t understand that just playing that sport during the season from 4-6pm everyday doesn’t make you a superstar.  They don’t understand that if they put in just an extra hour or two a week that they could greatly enhance their chances of success.  They don’t understand that if they hit the weightroom HARD in the off-season it would be beneficial to them.  They picture it as EXTRA work that isn’t useful.  EVEN WHEN THEY ARE SEEING POSITIVE RESULTS!!! They think that an hour of lifting every day in their weight training class is enough.   It is just not that important to them until they are a senior and don’t have anyone looking at them.  THEN they want me to come in and let them lift three times a day, and work on their speed and agility.  I am always happy to help, but it is hard to find schools to look at someone that has waited until their senior year to do anything.  They just don’t want to believe this.  Then they find out it is too late.

When you combine the lackadaisical attitude in the classroom and on the field, it is like combining vinegar and baking soda.  You are going to have an explosion…and that isn’t a good thing! 

Hopefully Coach Robinson will be able to hit a nerve and force these kids to look at themselves in the mirror, and make them face their commitment issues head on. 

The question is,

HOW BAD DO THEY WANT IT???

—-I will also post AFTER the meeting on Friday….Will let you all know how it goes.