A Coach's Diary- Year One

Sorry for the loss of your friend and I look forward to reading this each week.  

One bit of advice that took me a couple of years to figure out is never expect your team to love the game as much as you do but they will respect it.  I think what you're trying to instill is that respect but I've seen a lot of younger coaches (myself many moons ago when I was young) who slowly turn that respect for the game into you need to love the game as much as I do.  Then you're setting yourself up for disappointment.  Hustle, focusing, learning the game are all aspects where you respect the game.  

You will have guys out there who love football or basketball or soccer or golf or whatever but they like baseball.  They can still perform at a high level and help the team win but they may not show up to voluntary workouts.  At the end of the day if they are the best alternative to help the team win then go with it as long as they respect the game.

Another thing is (and I mean this with the deepest respect) don't use your friend too much as inspiration to get the guys to work harder.  It can be a powerful tool and probably needs to be used right now but the more you use it to try and motivate the more they will tune it out - especially if you got a bunch who have lazy attitudes that you will need to phase out.  It will end up with them thinking / saying "Aw man here he comes again with that story of that guy again." To them 13 years ago is ancient history - the seniors were only 5 years old at this time.

One last bit of advice is to always remember you are working for the head coach.  Don't overstep your authority and try to do too much.  I read a lot of "I want to do this" statements in your post because the attitude isn't the same as when you were there.  I don't know the whole story so I could be completely wrong but they got that way because they were allowed to get that way.  Is the head coach the same one who coached you?  If not then don't try to put things in place the head coach will just undermine because at the end of the day he has the final say.  This is where you need to create change by being the role model and example for the kids.  You'll create change without undermining the HC.  If it's the same guy who coached you maybe he allowed it to get that way because he's lost the fire.  Help him get the fire back.  Or maybe it's coming from the admin and there's nothing you can do because they stink.  Absolutely nothing you can do there to make things better.

Good luck this year and keep posting this.  I think it will be a great read and hopefully the awesome posters on here can provide their knowledge / perspective to help you grow as a coach.

Sage advice right there!

Coach S,

Congrats on getting back to the field and grabbing this readers attention with a very personal story from your playing days.  Dave's story is incredibly tragic and sad. Wow.

I recently attended my youngest son's varsity coaches/parent meeting.   His coach has been doing this a long time...I think he said 28 years.  He is a legend and the guy just knows how to coach.  He's not a warm and fuzzy guy to parents but his players love playing for him.  He joked that he has some of the best parent stories and baseball stories over his career and he should write a book when it is over.  We've been a part of some of those baseball stories as my two oldest son's competed against his teams.  It is much better to be behind his dugout than behind the opponents dugout if you like to win and win the right way.  Here is my suggestion.....write a book about your experiences.   Don't wait 28 years.   You can use some of the threads you post here.  Coaches have the best stories, and you have a knack for writing things that are meaningful.   JMO.

What a great thread!  Great story and great advice from coach2709.

Maybe you cannot expect them to love the game like you do but you can sure make them try.  I think it is great that a young coach would try and encourage kids that way.  Someday, maybe one or more of the kids you coach will post here and tell us how much they love the game for many of the same reasons you do.  I am sure there will be frustrating times but always try and encourage them with a positive attitude.

I know, right?  Like this guy.

Drives me crazy! 

coach Sam, I think it has a lot to do with the old staff vs. new staff.  People have a tendency to do what they can get away with.  If the old coach wasn't a stickler for certain things, the players won't be, just out of habit.  There is a new sheriff in town.  You need to set your expectations.  It is setting up a new culture.  Our new football coach had to do a lot to rid the team of the old culture, even getting rid of seniors.  Good luck. 

Great thread that I too will enjoy.

JCG, don't go too hard against Maddon's hat here, it was a tribute parodying Alan Iverson:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGDBR2L5kzI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdDPVtVNP_s 

I wouldn't judge a kids love for the game by the type of equipment they have.

In my experience, a lot of times coaches assume that players know how to be hard chargers and so when they exhibit something less, these players are somehow labeled as lazy or players who "don't want it."  As hard as it might be to believe, some players need to be shown the way and have it explained what constitutes being a "hard charger."  I know, I had to do that myself when I came to my present school. 

Losing begets losing and winning begets winning.  You have to change the mindset of a team and sometimes, even a school.  Winners do certain things at all times where as losers actually practice being losers.  In order to win, you have to have "hard chargers."  In order to have "hard chargers," the coach has to lead by example.  In order for the coach to lead by example, they have to know the difference between building a team and building a program.  JMHO!

Maddon is my favorite manager.His daily quotes he posts for his players are excellent  and puts some great stuff on twitter.

coach2709, wow.  Wise advice.

Yeah, I know. Just going for a cheap laugh there. (but it's ironic isn't it that Maddon happens to be the one MLB manager who allows a guy on his club  to disrespect the game by wearing  his cap like a wannabe gansta)

Remember that this is a public forum.  Since you appear to be using your real name, you might not want to post some things.  You need to assume that everything you post will get back to your players, parents, coaches, administrators, etc.

good stuff here y'all. Coach Sampson, i look forward to your weekly updates.

Coach Sampson brought up a topic I always took for granted, love of the game. I was fortunate to play with high school and Legion teammates where all the players loved the game. All the multi sport athletes were baseball first. 

In the three years of teammates my son had in high school only two kids didn't see baseball as their primary sport. But one of them got to the walk off winning runner from the bullpen before any teammate except the on deck batter. He was a winner. He had a passion for winning. When he didn't start he told the other player, "Be better than me." The other kid was me first. I don't think he had a friend on the team. With today's 17u travel all the kids are committed to the game.

Coach one bit of advice in your first year you have to lay down the law and stick to it.  If you have kids that need to be run off you are much better to do it now.  Set an expectation for the type of players and behaviors you want on your team and don't waiver from it. If you don't you will continue to deal with problems each year.

Just a suggestion, your blog will get lost here, why not go to the skills section and post under coaches tips.

Have a good season.

 I crossed linked this into the coach's section.  Thus, it will be updated in this section and the coach's section when you update your blog or someone replies to this topic.

I totally understand what you mean by not trying to make the kids love the game, because it is quite obvious that they don't. From the type of equipment that they have to how they wear their hats and pants show that.

Sampson......When I say this I am not chastising you, I am giving advice from a veteran coach to a younger coach.  We were coaches that grew up watching old school guys play the game.  They were a generation that watched Griffey wear his hat backwards with earrings in the homerun derby.  You can not say they do not love the game because of how someone where their pants or hat because at this point you are making a huge assumption that someone has taught them the right way to do it and they have chosen to ignore it.  Do they know????  Being in So Cal I have kids see Hanley Ramirez wear a do rag when he plays.  Does that mean if a kid came out with a do rag on he doesn't, "love the game."  Be careful making judgments about these kids until you know what lies in their heart.  You can apply the same thing to hustle.  I take my so to minor league and major league games monthly.  I have seen very few players jog from the dugout to the outfield or visa versa before the game and I see not 1 sprint on and off the field.  So what does he see?  Does this mean they don't love the game?  Does this mean my son doesn't love the game?  No, it is what he sees and I have to instill a different attitude.  He is being raised in a culture of cool as is all of the baseball world now.  Don't criticize open their eyes!

Coach Sampson after reading your last post I hope you guys are successful in turning things around based on how disrespectful your kids sound towards you guys.  But that being said I think what you posted still goes into what IESBL said about they don't know any better.  When it comes to doing things the right way I suggest some patience and light punishments and they will come around.  The disrespectful attitude and demeanor towards you coaches should never be tolerated.

In the example of the kid who wore pants like shorts.  Just explain it to him like you did us.  It's not about fashion but about being functional and protection.  If he complies let it go.  If you look back around 10 minutes later and he's like that again then make him run poles or something similar.  I'm not a big fan of make the team run for one guy except for in extreme situations - this will cause more dissension than anything else usually.  This is a case where you teach versus punish.

Now if he mouths off while complying or flat our refuses then this is a situation bigger than playing the game the right way.  You have a cancer on the team.  What I would do is if a kid disrespects me or another coach I'm sending him home for practice.  I'm not kicking him off the team.  What this does is send a message to the rest of the team that practice is a time to get work done and any obstacle distraction will not be tolerated.  By just kicking him out of practice this allows the kid to learn as well it's not a time to play around.  Each day he shows up I would tell him he's now behind everyone else in terms of preparation and he has an even shorter leash now.  Soon as he doe something else then send him home again.  Eventually he will get the message or he will quit.  But what you've done is created a situation where if the parent wants to complain you can now show a patter of behavior not acceptable for the team.

I rarely kick people off my teams because I want them leaving to be their choice.  When you kick someone off they can now use that as a reason to be a victim and play to the school / community.  Let them be the bad guy instead of you.  

If the disrespect is a team wide problem find two or three guys who seem to be the "leaders" of the cancer group and make their life heck until they quit.  Every little thing they do is worthy of getting yelled at, kicked out of practice or at this point make the whole team run for what they do.  They will either quit or the rest of the team will turn on them.

Others will probably come on here and give their advice about just pulling the trigger and kicking them off.  There is nothing wrong with that method either. I have had success in the past with what I do.  Because at the end of the day you have to protect the team.

Back when I had a rule. When you were on the field in the dugout leaving the locker room getting off of the bus  you wore the uniform properly. Shirt tucked in buttoned up. Hat never I mean never backwards or sideways. Look like a ball player not a clown in the circus. 

No problem but it will be later in the day before I can get to it though.  Look forward to continuing the discussion.

I agree 100% and have the same rule.

I have a lot of respect for Coach2709 and his advice is sound.  However, I'm that other guy.  I lay out the expectation for what it takes to be in my program and then let it be known that if those expectations are not met, then whomever violates those expectations will be thrown off the team.  I have never cared what might happen in the community or about mom and dad.  When I came to my school, I had a prima donna who didn't want to listen, was last in all of the drills, and who was late.  He was "All Conference First Team" and so, didn't think he had to compete for a job.  I expected the team to be on the field at 2:55.  That is 25 minutes after school got out.  If I could make it from the other side of school, get to the locker room, change and be on the field, then everyone should be able to make it.  3 days after tryouts were done, he had not made it to practice on time once and yet the entire V and JV had.  So, I waited that fourth day but told him the 3rd day that if he can't be to practice on time, he can't play.  I waited up by the school and there he was walking his girlfriend out to her car, talking to friends and having a grand old time.  On that day, he would not have made the field by 3:10 or at least 15 minutes late.  I waited by our tennis courts and stopped him on the way to practice.  He told me his locker jammed which was a lie.  I told him I watched him walk the girlfriend out to the car, joke with his friends and now he lied to me.  We didn't need him and I booted him.  I replaced him with a freshman who became 1st Team All Conference for 4 years and was All State 1st Team his senior year. 

Coach Sampson, I really don't know how I would have responded when the player said that they were not going to do what I said.  I'm positive it would have involved him leaving practice.  That is disrespectful.  I am also positive that it would have involved calling the team together to model what is acceptable and what is not.   A few years ago, I was asked by the Regional Superintendent of Schools to give a coaching presentation to all of the coaches in my county regardless of sport that they coached.  I made several handouts.  Some were used as examples of what I give to students and some were examples of what I distributed to my coaching staff and posted in the coaching office.  I have one of each  attached.  Also, I have a handout for players that is an edited version of what other coaches posted either on this website or others but one I changed to fit my team.  I hope these handouts give you some ideas. 

Coach Sampson,

It really sounds to me like you are having to deal with issues left over from the previous staff.  That's why I really beleive that you have to lay down the law.  If they don't want to comply then boot em.  Kids today (I have two) need to learn nothing is handed to you.  We have created a generation of spoiled entitled kids and you are seeing first hand the consequences.  Good Luck to you.

Prior to reading these posts, I would have been on the kick them off/lay down the law side, but after reading Coach 2709's posts, I believe he has the right idea.  Sending a player home should elicit a response from the player, and send a message to the other players that the coach means business. I would probably set my expectations at the beginning of the season, which I am sure the OP has done, but I would also probably set-up some sort of points system.  After a player reaches a certain amount of points, he would be either suspended for a period of time, or removed from the team entirely.

CoachB25 - that situation sucks but you did the only thing you could have done. The only worse was if the boy never learned from it. What ever happened to him?? I'm glad we dont seem to have any of those type of players on our HS team but I've sure witness a few from travel ball(ie not running balls out).

As someone posted the players may never have been shown how to carry themselves and respect the game. When my daughter was twelve the high school baseball and softball teams were country clubs rostered by spoiled, undisciplined losers.

As my daughter's class hit middle school the new high school softball coach started attending middle school games when he could. He started building a rapport with his future players. One thing he emphasized to the middle school coach was teaching respect for the game. It wasn't hard given four of the future five high school stars had dads who played college ball. My daughter's class was very talented. As freshman the high school varsity went from last to first and won four straight conference titles. By the next year the five soph leaders of the team told any new player who was out of line "that's not how we do things here." The middle school grooming created an environment that lasted.

The baseball team finally hired a new coach when my son (five years younger than sister) was in 8th grade. He was a middle school teacher. He sometimes had lunch with his future high school players. He created a practice uniform. The players were instructed. YOU WILL wear it. THIS IS HOW you will wear it. The country club loser baseball team has now won three conference titles in six years after the previous coach had seventeen losing seasons in twenty years. My son's view on his baseball coach: He intimidated the hell out of me soph year. But we started winning.

In HS, when you are selected for a team and wear the uniform you are representing more than just yourself.  You're representing the game, your teamates, your coaches, the school, and the community. Members of the community want to look at you as being fine scholar/athletes who represent them. They want to be proud of you and by implication themselves.  Wearing the complete uniform properly, being well groomed, taking care of your grades,  and being a good sportsman on an off the field is how you go about being a good ambasador for your community and your school - it's not how many games you win or titles you obtain.  It's very different than playing for your club team.  Coach, maybe your kids don't understand this yet. If not, then tell them why your requirements are important and let them know what will befall them if they choose not to follow your requirements.  Then boot them if they mess up again.

Just because you have the power to kick a kid off a team, doesn't mean you have to exercise it.

Every kid is redeemable.  Don't give up on him.

Of course, they don't have to start, or even play until redemption.

I don't usually read the Huffington Post but this article directly relates to anyone in a turnaround situation.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...t-cha_b_4933838.html

You hear a lot about rules. If you have them then enforce them. selective enforcement will only make things bad. Start from day 1. 

When John Wooden ran the legendary dynasty at UCLA the first practice was how to wear your socks and sneakers. Talk about disciple and consistanty, when Bill Walton told Wooden he wanted to keep his off season beard Wooden responded, "That's fine. We'll miss you." Walton shaved.

Sultan, I used to believe that.  Here is a tale of two kids.  One that demonstrates your point and one that does not.

In fact, that is not always the case.  One year I coached a young man (Player 1) in two sports and tried everything I could do to turn him around.  At the same time, I coached another (Player 2) on those two sports teams who I was told to cut because he was, "foul."  Both spent time with me including at my house and my wife and I spent considerable money trying to buy them better clothing etc.  Player 2 actually had a twin brother who refused to try at all to act right. 

Player 2 was the toughest kid in school regardless of grade level.  Player 2 did try to change and in fact, did change.  He tore his ACL and so, the wife and I paid his doctor bill and for him to get a CTI Brace.  In fact, when he acted bad at home which was easy because his twin brother was there, his mom would call me to come over to make him act right.  I can't tell you how proud I became of this young man.  He went on to demonstrate much of what you suggest in that every player can be redeemed.  In fact, this young man went on to play MLB and tried to give me his signing bonus which was substantial. 

Then, there was Player 1 who remained a problem and to the point that I kept a list of everything he had done wrong on the inside of my locker in the coaching office.  The school that I coached at during this time did not have a sophomore basketball team and I was the JV coach.  Still, to get some of these players playing time and help them out, I created a sophomore schedule and we took that team on the road for every game.  Remember, the school didn't have a sophomore team and so, they could never play at home.  In this time, this young man needed arc supports and so, my wife and I paid for him to go to a podiatrist and get fitted.  They cost us a substantial amount of money then.  When Player 1 reached 44 times on the list where he caused trouble etc. I threw him off of the team.  For that 44th time, he received a Technical for his bad behavior in the championship game of a tournament that I had to pay the entire bill for us to enter.  In fact, he was ejected from the game as he tried to fight the Referee and another player.  I realized that no matter what, he could not be saved! 

Player 1 made the local St. Louis news the other night as he was armed and tried to rob an apartment in his community.  Back in the day, I had a poster made which is up in my classroom right now.  It say, "You can't Feed a Rock."  It states that you can't teach someone who doesn't want to learn.  You can't help someone who doesn't want help.  You can't coach someone who refuses to be disciplined.  I am sad to say this but this is my experience. 

Edited to add:

I forgot to mention that Player 2's twin brother is in prison. 

Sampson,

  Are you and the head coach on the same page?  The issues that you are discussing are truly going to fall in the lap of the HC.  If the HC doesn't follow through then it won't happen.  In our program, in the fall, we split the days up into different things we want accomplished.  There is always 2 days of defense and that is the only day they are required to wear pants.  The first day this year a group forgot and they spent some time running.  Didn't have that problem again.

Great post coach and I also have a lot of respect for you as well.  In fact I don't even see this as a disagreement between he and I.  It's just two paths people take to get to the same destination in having a good and disciplined team.  I have no problem with a coach who kicks off players for not acting right.  I've done it myself.

I do completely agree with coach about not every player is redeemable.  There are some who just won't realize how much people try to help them and end up burning many bridges.  I used to think everyone was redeemable but now I think every one deserves the chance to be redeemed but the actual redemption is left up to them.  

I don't believe in a lot of rules because that means I have to remember all of them in order to enforce them.  Way too much effort required for this.  I like keeping it simple.

This has been a great thread and I can't wait to read Coach Sampson's updates.