New Coach (maybe) - need advice

Depends completely on the state and type of school.

In Texas, to coach at a public HS (we don't have MS baseball) you have to be a full time district employee. 

However, in private schools, you don't need to be certified or even employed by the district (private schools vary widely, but this is a fairly common setup).

So that's the first big question to tackle. After that, if you really want to do it the rest will work itself out. Just keep asking questions and learning.

A few years ago our local BOD removed MS sports (as a temporary measure) due to budget issues. Our PAL stepped up to furnish temporary volunteer coaches (the teachers that were generally the coaches would not do it for free) and fund bussing to sports events. It was a huge undertaking, so I am commenting from my perspective. 

Your state's school sports association will most likely have a website that details all the prerequisites you will need. In NJ here is the link:

http://www.njsiaa.org/coaches-accreditation

As you can see you will need a teaching certificate of some type, as well as complete specific classes and certifications mandated by the state (first aid, AED/CPR, CDC concussion protocols, etc.). 

Beyond that you will typically need to set forth a practice plan for tryouts and the season. Depending on who the AD is at the MS you coach at, this may have as little or as much detail as they require. 

Game schedules are done (in general) by athletic conference, then the games need to be confirmed between schools. This may be done by AD but most likely coach, so you will need to be aware of all special school events and blackout dates. Transportation is school responsibility.

It's a bit of work, time and effort, so that is why teachers get a stipend. You didn't mention if it was a paid position, so be prepared to do a lot fo work for less than minimum wage. But the impact on kids makes it worth every minute IMO. 

Good luck.

First make sure you're fully committed. Dealing with 7/8th graders and their parents is not easy.  Then figure out what level are these kids playing at. Are they (kids/parents) serious about baseball or is it just something to past time with? That will determine how much time and work you have to put in.   I tried it once and realized quickly I had no patience in dealing with goofy kids. Middle school coaches are usually volunteer fathers. No big deal, don't sweat it. If the opportunity sounds good to you and have patience take it.    

One last thing I just re-read your post. Seems to me she expects you to come up all the answers. So if you decide to do it take ownership of it.  Make it your baby.  

Soul, thanks for link I never saw that, it pretty much spells it all out, also I have no idea about pay, that was one of the questions I asked and havent received an answer yet. As of yesterday son said there were 17 names on signup, do you typically have tryouts? How many to carry? I know for rec and TB its usually 12-13.

2ndmarine, I know most of the kids, some are rec kids and some are rec and TB teammates of kids and I have a decent knowledge of their abilities already. There are a few on list who have never played before.

I was offered a coaching job with the middle school team. My son asked me not to do it. His reasoning was I coached his travel team. School was freedom time. It was also an opportunity to be the shortstop without the whispers, "it's because his father is the coach."

RJM posted:

I was offered a coaching job with the middle school team. My son asked me not to do it. His reasoning was I coached his travel team. School was freedom time. It was also an opportunity to be the shortstop without the whispers, "it's because his father is the coach."

My son is begging me to do it and honestly id rather not, as with any parent im the "unofficial" coach, asst rec coach and for TB im not officially a coach but I dont miss a practice, always helping however im needed. He's had the same HC for all his teams his whole life, I was kinda hoping maybe this would be an opportunity for him to get coached by someone else for a change, to see what they did with him. If I was him I would be sick of me already! And yes, the whispers, I could do without. VERY small town...

I will share my experiences on this subject for sure! It's ALL about the parents!! You have a good group of parents you know and have coaches for before, possibly ok. My son went to a middle school that was fed by 2 little leagues. His 6th grade year the assistant coaches were from the little league he played for, whereas the prior year the other leagues dads were in control. It was so bad I saw a parent challenging the head coach and an assistant to a fight while the game was going on and the head coach was a teacher at the school. The factions were terrible!! My son was a 6th grader and started the county championship game..it was the only game he was the starting pitcher for that season, pitched a 5 inning 11-0 mercy rule shutout and as I was taking pictures of him throwing, a large group of dads even quit talking while I was around them! It was amazing and petty. We didn't play MS the next 2 years but moved to a higher level travel ball team because of the parental garbage. Now that he's a freshman in HS, we hope some of those parents have grown up.....good luck to you! 

2019Lefty21, those crappy parents will follow you through high school as well. No change there. Although it is better. HS coaches will usually not put up with nasty parents.  Although politics as usual.   What I do is to find my happy corner and enjoy the game. Try never to gossip with parents whether good or bad. Focus on your kid.

Johnnysako, I would have a tryout. This way you can take the most athletic of the group. Even if they're not going to win a championship you'll at least have athletic kids on the team. Who knows some may turn out to be very good some day. Kids will surprise you from year to year.  Usually a roster of 13 kids is what most teams carry.  You may take more to give some kids a sense of belonging, team.    

2019Lefty21 posted:

I will share my experiences on this subject for sure! It's ALL about the parents!! You have a good group of parents you know and have coaches for before, possibly ok. My son went to a middle school that was fed by 2 little leagues. His 6th grade year the assistant coaches were from the little league he played for, whereas the prior year the other leagues dads were in control. It was so bad I saw a parent challenging the head coach and an assistant to a fight while the game was going on and the head coach was a teacher at the school. The factions were terrible!! My son was a 6th grader and started the county championship game..it was the only game he was the starting pitcher for that season, pitched a 5 inning 11-0 mercy rule shutout and as I was taking pictures of him throwing, a large group of dads even quit talking while I was around them! It was amazing and petty. We didn't play MS the next 2 years but moved to a higher level travel ball team because of the parental garbage. Now that he's a freshman in HS, we hope some of those parents have grown up.....good luck to you! 

Parents...yeah...they're no picnic. I know LL is bad and ive heard HS is even worse but I dont know from experience yet. You cant make everyone happy, their are a few kids on signup that I know have parents that will be a problem. One thing is for sure, IF i do it I will do it fair so at least I would have that on my side, like it or not.

JOHNNYSAKO, as for roster size...and this may sound funny but I'm not trying to be, at our MS, it really depended on the # of uniforms they had. Obviously this sounds odd I realize. 

The goal of the MS team was to get as many kids to participate as possible. If no cuts had to be made, then nobody gets cut. At our MS the team usually carried about 16-19 players. A few of those boys may have seen an inning or two the whole season. We allow 6-8 graders to participate...so that plays a lot into roster as well. 

When my 2016 was an 8th grader, they had a pretty good team, mainly because they had a group of 8th graders that could play (and all have gone on to play varsity in HS for the most part). The next year, when 2019 was eligible to play, all of the incoming 8th graders decided not to play for whatever reason, so his team actually had 5 little 6th graders starting and playing almost every game (with 2 decent 7th graders)...that was one long season, but those boys also played the next two years and had a great season as 8th graders. Point is, it's MS baseball...talent will vary widely and your patience may be tested. But if your up to the task it says a lot about you IMO. 

On a personal note, since both my sons are now in HS, I have basically (been) retired from coaching. There's always the possibility of coaching legion or fall ball, but for the most part I'm done (baseball and basketball). And I miss every minute of it. So if you have a chance to coach your son and his friends (which won't last forever) you should do what your heart tells you. I wish you all the luck in the world whatever you decide. 

Sounds like your son wants you to do it . I say go for it, hubby has coached middle school ball the last three years. He enjoyed it. Huge time commitment and all voluntary. Don't let a few nasty parents ruin the experience for the kiddos.  

2019Lefty21 posted:

I will share my experiences on this subject for sure! It's ALL about the parents!! You have a good group of parents you know and have coaches for before, possibly ok. My son went to a middle school that was fed by 2 little leagues. His 6th grade year the assistant coaches were from the little league he played for, whereas the prior year the other leagues dads were in control. It was so bad I saw a parent challenging the head coach and an assistant to a fight while the game was going on and the head coach was a teacher at the school. The factions were terrible!! My son was a 6th grader and started the county championship game..it was the only game he was the starting pitcher for that season, pitched a 5 inning 11-0 mercy rule shutout and as I was taking pictures of him throwing, a large group of dads even quit talking while I was around them! It was amazing and petty. We didn't play MS the next 2 years but moved to a higher level travel ball team because of the parental garbage. Now that he's a freshman in HS, we hope some of those parents have grown up.....good luck to you! 

Our school district was fed by a LL and a Ripken league. There was a parental divide from middle school through high school. Several from each side hoped their side's player won the starting position. 

I became the anti Christ by starting a full time travel team at 13u. None of the former Ripken players were selected. Then again I only took three of the LL all stars.

Mothers of our middle school team would run to the principal if their kids weren't getting enough playing time. The coach cured the problem the next year by cutting the four kids and only rostering thirteen.

Sorry but I have to share this. About never counting kids out. One of our hs players as a freshman and frosh barely ever got any playing time because he just wasn't good enough.    His fielding, hitting and pitching was substandard. Over the spring and summer of his frosh year he practiced and re-invented himself. He came back his jr year with a submariner side armed thing whatchamacallit. During his jr year he became our school's closer. He's unhittable. He got himself some money and committed to play college ball in a local d3.  

Coaching a team affiliated with a school (vs. rec/ BR/ etc.) generally involves additional administrative/safety/legal/ red tape issues and duties.  It is still all worth it, IMO, if you have reasonable support of the school administration.  It seems a bit of a red flag that you feel you are not getting that support and information you need now.  What is going to happen when things like parent issues come up? 

It could very well just be a matter of the principal being very busy with his/her many other duties but I would be asking a lot of questions along those lines before accepting.

I think it's obvious that off-campus (non-teaching) coaching is not an issue at that school since they are asking you to coach.