What's more important to you?

Good question.
HS coaches job is to coach and try to win as many games as he can.  Everything else is secondary.
JMO

Coach well and win. There are other resources to get to college ball. Chances are if he coaches well and wins he's developing players and creating rapport with college coaches.

Agree with TPM.  A HS coach's primary focus is to win.  Secondary to that is refining the player's skills so they can achieve the primary goal (winning).

 

Placing kids in college/pro program is not his goal.  That's just something that he may or may not help with.

I think a HS Coach's Goal is to :

 

1A) Develop skills, win games and championships

1B) Placing kids for the next level

 

I think if he does 1A reasonably well, then 1B will take of it self through the hs school coach or through good summer travel or legion programs.  The more high school games I watch the more I understand how important (and rare) a great high school coach can be. 

With the limited time HS coaches have to develop talent, their main focus is to write in the best line up, and coach games.  If you get any skill development, or promoting to coaches beyond HS that's a bonus.  Primarily they are there to win games.

Hmm... does it have to be one or the other? I would say that the HS coach's job is to use his passion for baseball to teach the value of maximum effort and attitude every minute of every day, to establish a culture of leadership, teamwork, communication, responsibility,  reliability, and support, individually and as a team, to promote academic as well as athletic excellence, and to teach players how to play, win, and lose with class.  And of course win as many games as possible.

Do parents really rely on the HS coach to help with the process.  I would imagine a coach from a top HS program has connections and that is definetly a plus.  But I ceftainly wouldnt be upset if that didnt happen.  We actually relied more on the travel coach to help son with process.  I guess thats why we paid tbe fees we did.

Interesting answer.  I know HS coaches who think they have WAY more time to develop skills for their players than the summer coaches.  These HS coaches believe that they get 3 hours, 6 times a week for 4 months to develop skills and if they teach at the HS, they believe they've got even more time to work on the whole enchilada (player) so to speak.  

 

Anyways, through 2 sons who play(ed) college/pro ball with 2 very different HS coaches...one of them was GREAT at developing skills while the other (really the assistant position coach) did a lotta work, but didn't enhance development all that much.

 

BTW, both tried very hard to help with the college ball placement.  

 

But you make me realize the answer to my question may depend on the experience?

 

Jr.s coach - about as good as one could ask for.  All American at U of Texas, drafted twice, pitched with A's,  owns a baseball academy, only coaches HS baseball (does not teach any classes or coach any other HS sport)....public school In TX.   He is great at teaching individual skills, however the majority of his time during Jan - May is focused on teaching game related baseball skills.  His team is routinely the best base running, hit n run, bunting, holding base runners, cut offs, and defensive positioning.  Team just completed their season winning 20 in a row, and 14-0 in conference.  Back pick...not working against his team....how about 1st and 3rd and getting runner on first in run down to sneak in a run....not against his team....they work on those things, plus a whole lot more.

 

He makes a fortune giving one on one lessons at his academy, but does not have the luxury of time during team practice to make much more than minor adjustments to skills / mechanics development.  He is well connected to colleges, and area scouts, so if you are a "real" prospect, he will help there.  I think in our case, winning is most appreciated, and most are fine with the club summer teams doing the development, and promoting.  

Ok, so lets stipulate for the sake of staying on track that both kinds of coaches are GREAT at developing skills.  That is, the 'win everything' coach and the 'get your son placed in college' coach.  Both, if given 1-on-1 time, are really great hitting/pitching/skills instructors.

I will stick to your question and not define what a coach should be and resist the temptation to say both.

 

I would choose the coach that would help my son get placed in college.

There are lot's of way's for a player to be seen these days. Travel ball, Showcases, and information all over the internet. So I would prefer the very good coach. Anytime one of my kid's has the luxury to share the dirt with a good coach, I am all in. The most important thing for a young player is development.

Coach A would keep a pitcher in for the complete game win.

 

Coach B would use a pitcher for 2-4 innings and let him throw as hard as he could.

It's really not important to get the opportunity to play college baseball if your not prepared to survive once your there. If I had to choose I want the coach that is going to help my son be the best player he can be. The coach that is going to prepare him the best to have success at the next level as well as the one he is at. The coach that is going to teach him what it takes to win championships.

 

I can take my son to a showcase. Get him on a good showcase team. Put him in front of the decision makers and let him perform. His HS coach I want him coaching him. Teaching him the game. Pushing him and developing him. And teaching him how to win at that level. The rest will take care of itself.

 

Personally I have never known a HS coach that worked hard for his players to get to the next level that didn't work just as hard to prepare them for the next level. Usually the one's that don't work for their players don't work for the team either. But that's just my experience.

 

It's hard to answer as we all are going to answer through our own lens. In our case the Travel options are plentiful and there are many good programs.

The High School experience is so dependent on many variables, you basically play the hand you have been dealt. Small school\ large school; good competition\ weak competition; powerhouse where you may have to wait your turn until Jr or even Sr year vs playing right away. Great coaching vs Football coaches coaching JV etc etc

I believe all of them would say they are there to develop players and win games.

For us our Travel team's mission is to place players and we selected that program over others because of that. So we rely on our travel program for that aspect , and for development we take the best from both programs.

Since my sons v HC does neither, I will just say that I agree with what JCG and

Coach_May have stated

Just saw this topic, it is a good one.

 

Because of my age I have seen every type of coach imaginable.  My favorite HS coach ever had a knack for getting the very most out of his players.  He had a way to make practices and games enjoyable.  He really didn't teach his players a lot, but he was big on repetitions.  Every player that he coached left the program with a stronger love of the game.  Players would do anything for him, but yet he never really pushed them.  He once took a bunch of average to below average players and one a BIG School state championship.

 

I have seen a lot of outstanding HS coaches.  The best ones are not identical to the other good ones. With my own kids I really never cared if the coach was going to teach them how to play.  They already knew how to play, the coach needed to teach them what he wanted out of them.  

 

I think winning is very important, but I don't think it is the most important thing.  Most HS coaches don't recruit their own players.  A good coach might be able to help develop players and he might win a few, but winning big is most often dependent on the players you can put out there.  However, win or lose, good coaches put a team out there that knows how to act.  

 

Bottom line... A young person's HS baseball experience is no different than anything else.  It is a learning experience!  They are suppose to learn something.  If that isn't happening, you have a bad coach.

 

I think it is hard for coaches to get overly involved in recruiting.  You might have a dozen kids that want to play at the next level.  As much as you might love all those kids, you know some of them can't play at the next level or they can't play at the next level they want to play at.  It's easy to talk to the Big DI program about your star player, but what do you say about the kid that wants DI but you the coach don't think he can play DIII?  Those parents want, sometimes expect, you to help!  It is a tough situation.  I agree with others here, don't depend on your HS coach to find you a college.  If you happen to be lucky enough to have a coach who does this, consider yourself very lucky. Just remember he can't perform miracles! He has his reputation at stake.

I, and everyone on my HS team, received a state championship medal.  I would not want the coach to sacrifice that achievement for the entire team, school, and community for the betterment of a small subset of the players.  There are other ways to achieve the college scholarship, but only one to win the state championship...