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For those who worry about me agonizing over things, fear not.  Sincerely, I am just making conversation here, picking brains, trying to learn, and killing some time on a cold day in January.  Relax.  I am not worrying about anything here, over-thinking, etc.  Here goes:

My guess is that there’s three types of H.S. coaches in terms of experience on the job.  There’s the coach who has been doing it for a LONG time – something like 20+ years.  And, there’s the coach who is really new, totally green, in his first or second year as a HC.   Lastly, there’s the guy who is somewhere in between the other two.  He’s no rookie.  But, he’s been on the job and through the ropes, has water under his bridge, some pelts on his belt, etc.

I would ASSUME that the last guy is MAYBE the ideal guy who you want as a coach.  Still somewhat hungry.  But, not a rookie.  Knows more than a few things.  But, still willing to learn new things.  In terms of major league comps, say it’s Bob Melvin.  Again, my GUESS is that this is the ideal guy.  (Maybe I am wrong?  That’s fine and possible.  You tell me…)

But, if you can’t have this guy, who do you want between the other two?  Do you want the guy with a million years of experience, seen it all and done it all, twice over.  Probably pretty set in his ways, etc.   In terms of big league comps, say it’s Ron Gardenhire.  Or, do you want the guy who is really new, wide eyed, learning on the job (somewhat) and who just might be in over his head a bit compared to guys who have experience.  In terms of big league comps, say it’s Brandon Hyde

Again, this is for HIGH SCHOOL.  (For the pro's it's a different story - depending on your club, etc.)

What’s the ideal HS coach, the new guy with no experience, the long term vet with tons of experience, or, the guy in the middle?  And, why?

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The facts are you don't get to pick.  You go with who you draw in your community unless you want to go to a private school.  There are pro and cons of all three coaching scenarios.  Your scenarios are devoid of personality, success level of the coach, how often the coach attempts to keep up with the latest trends, ...  I've fit all three categories at some point in my career.  I'm the old coach now.  I wouldn't be your pick for your son.  

The same coach will be viewed differently by various parents. Our high school coach liked my son as a player and person. My son found him difficult when he began his soph season on varsity. But he didn’t have any problems with him. I didn’t have any issues outside of one circumstance I thought he handled wrong soph year (I got over it quickly because my son told me to - told me I was right but not the coach). From a coaching perspective I saw one area he could have improved significantly. Yes, it related to the one incident.

Other parents whose kids lost their positions over the course of the season and never got them back saw the coach as a bastard who needed to be replaced ASAP.

As a parent I wasn’t interested in age or tenure. I was interested in competency.

As a kid I was told I was lucky to have played high school baseball for a legend. When I got older and became a coach I realized how much he didn’t know and how little he actually coached. He wasn’t much more than supervision spitting out a bunch of quaint baseball cliches. I asked former teammates what they learned from him. Nothing. He made head shaking misjudgments in lineups during our tenure. A constant stream of talent made him a legend. Looks can be deceiving. 

Last edited by RJM

There was a post on here years ago that outlined 3 or 4 different types of HS coaches. It wasn’t based on tenured experienced (like your post) but more geared toward being 

1) Coach only - doesnt teach a subject in HS. Is a baseball guy and coaching the game is how he earns a living, 

2) hybrid -  Coach first / (classroom) Teacher 2nd focus for the individual.

3) hybrid - teacher (focused) first / coaching was 2nd focus 

4) non hybrid. Primary skill set is an educator. primary teacher who agreed to coach out of need for additional income or absolute need for the school. These coaches may enjoy the game but we’re not very well equipped to coach the game.

 

 Naturally, I can’t find that post now....but I believe that was the gist of the descriptions that someone provided.

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