SPRING BREAKS
Everyone in the school should know when it occurs or they wouldnt be making plans to be away---at the same time if the kid is on the team or going out for the team he darn well better know when the action begins for him-- I always knew--my sons always knew and they knew before me.
AS I see it the kid better have a doctors note the day after missing practice or he is gone and that is the only reason and if he was that sick he had better not have been in school that day.
It is the same wherever you go and the lack of dedication begins with the parents as in " son we want to take a trip over the break, Why dont you check and make sure it does impact your baseball'
But then that is all too logical to happen
spring break - whats that? we play everyday. scheduling a vacation during spring break is not even a consideration. glad we dont have those type problems or that type of thinking in that post.thats totally clueless about high school baseball.
Then there is the other side of the coin- the coach that goes on vacation during spring break - and returns to dicipline all that missed any practices while he was gone
Parent Meetings:
Went to my 1st HS parent meeting as Coach Butler indicated. One thing I noticed right away was that most if not all the senior parents were in attendance. You would think that after four years this type of meeting could become "yeah yeah heard this before". Not so! He had everyone's attention at "hello". This spoke volumes about "the program" and "the coach".
Let me just say I have spent many hours around coach over the past 3-4 years, as our daughters play softball together. And I can tell you I didn't have to read (although I am) the eight page handout on being a Baseball KNIGHT. I have heard them daily and seen them applied with a bunch of 12 year old girls. Coach lives by these rules and he expects those in the program to live by them as well. This includes players AND parents.
Many of the topics discussed at this meeting have been discussed here such as: the qualities of a basball KNIGHHT: many of those sayings "Repetition is no fun, but is the reason we have won", spoke volumes on "EXPERTS", even mention rotational vs. linear hitting which was a great hit with the moms.
To often in the past I have seen miscommunication or no communication ruin friendships and team chemistry. Over the past two years my son has been fortunate enough to play for a coach/team that emphasized many of these qualities. Communication is the key. Understanding the process is key.
This meeting answered many questions and in my opinion is a valuable part of the Program. If I am fortunate enough I will be in attendance for three more.
Sorry coach if I rambled on to much I apologize. Just one more thing...where ican I find that bucket of curve balls?
Went to my 1st HS parent meeting as Coach Butler indicated. One thing I noticed right away was that most if not all the senior parents were in attendance. You would think that after four years this type of meeting could become "yeah yeah heard this before". Not so! He had everyone's attention at "hello". This spoke volumes about "the program" and "the coach".
Let me just say I have spent many hours around coach over the past 3-4 years, as our daughters play softball together. And I can tell you I didn't have to read (although I am) the eight page handout on being a Baseball KNIGHT. I have heard them daily and seen them applied with a bunch of 12 year old girls. Coach lives by these rules and he expects those in the program to live by them as well. This includes players AND parents.
Many of the topics discussed at this meeting have been discussed here such as: the qualities of a basball KNIGHHT: many of those sayings "Repetition is no fun, but is the reason we have won", spoke volumes on "EXPERTS", even mention rotational vs. linear hitting which was a great hit with the moms.
To often in the past I have seen miscommunication or no communication ruin friendships and team chemistry. Over the past two years my son has been fortunate enough to play for a coach/team that emphasized many of these qualities. Communication is the key. Understanding the process is key.
This meeting answered many questions and in my opinion is a valuable part of the Program. If I am fortunate enough I will be in attendance for three more.
Sorry coach if I rambled on to much I apologize. Just one more thing...where ican I find that bucket of curve balls?
just learning,
from everything ive read from coachb i have no doubt.looks like he has an awesome program.
ive not argued against parent meetings at all. there has to be communication of expectations. in our situation there is just no need for it. that communication happens before they get here.
from everything ive read from coachb i have no doubt.looks like he has an awesome program.
ive not argued against parent meetings at all. there has to be communication of expectations. in our situation there is just no need for it. that communication happens before they get here.
After reading all the posts, it seems the high school my two sons attend, have a unique way in handling spring vacation. September – march all practices and games for all sports are mandatory under the same rules as most have posted. The exception is the spring vacation, for one week in April there is a black-out period for all sports. Families are told in the beginning of the year plan your vacations for this time. At first it seemed strange to take a week off, but it seems now everyone looks forward to it. With two sons that play Football, Basketball and Baseball it’s nice two have that week without worrying about any ramifications from coaches.
Can't imagine not having an initial parents meeting, whether for a school team or a travel team.
For school, like it or not you are dependent upon the parents and their cooperation. You have players not old enough to drive; their parents need to know what's going on so that they can work with you. And they need advance notice -- most have jobs after all, and some of the obligations will take some planning ahead to get taken care of.
Even moreso with a travel team, most of which involve younger boys. Money is also a factor in both situations, but especially so with travel teams. You need to be clear in communicating what will be required financially if you expect to stay afloat dollar wise.
That being said, the primary thing to accomplish at this meeting is to put out the message that you are in control of the decision making. Your typical "Little League parent" or former youth coach will come to the program expecting to have input. Obviously you cannot run a team with 15-20 second-guessers all asking to have their views considered. Parents of returning players may know the score already; parents of new players may or may not. Coaches benefit from getting this message out right off the bat and, if any problems come up down the road, reminding everyone what the rules are and that the rules were set out from the get-go.
I would neither expect nor recommend multiple or ongoing meetings. That's an invitation to a gripe session and inevitably the coach would find himself on the defensive from those who want more playing time for their sons and stuff like that. But one meeting at the start, held for the primary purpose of establishing yourself as the ultimate authority, is essential.
For school, like it or not you are dependent upon the parents and their cooperation. You have players not old enough to drive; their parents need to know what's going on so that they can work with you. And they need advance notice -- most have jobs after all, and some of the obligations will take some planning ahead to get taken care of.
Even moreso with a travel team, most of which involve younger boys. Money is also a factor in both situations, but especially so with travel teams. You need to be clear in communicating what will be required financially if you expect to stay afloat dollar wise.
That being said, the primary thing to accomplish at this meeting is to put out the message that you are in control of the decision making. Your typical "Little League parent" or former youth coach will come to the program expecting to have input. Obviously you cannot run a team with 15-20 second-guessers all asking to have their views considered. Parents of returning players may know the score already; parents of new players may or may not. Coaches benefit from getting this message out right off the bat and, if any problems come up down the road, reminding everyone what the rules are and that the rules were set out from the get-go.
I would neither expect nor recommend multiple or ongoing meetings. That's an invitation to a gripe session and inevitably the coach would find himself on the defensive from those who want more playing time for their sons and stuff like that. But one meeting at the start, held for the primary purpose of establishing yourself as the ultimate authority, is essential.
in tennessee we have a 2 week dead period for all high school sports. these are the last week of june and first week of july. the athletic programs have to be completely shutdown. no practices, weight workouts, summer league games, camps, etc in any sport. this is vacation time for families. its the same 2 weeks every year so they know when they can go without missing anything.
I have been called alot of things, but insecure was never one of them.....oh well, most of the things you other guys cover in your letter that you send home, I just go over those same things face to face with parents. Not better or worse, just how I do it. It does seem to eliminate the stereo typical parent/coach problems and conflicts. Parents and adm. both seem to like what I do.
As far as playing over spring break, that is what the two weeks off at Christmas are for. We have district games over spring break. So, everyone is expected to be here.
As far as playing over spring break, that is what the two weeks off at Christmas are for. We have district games over spring break. So, everyone is expected to be here.
i dont think its insecure to have a meeting. we just dont because of the contact we have with most of our parents while their kids are in our youth programs. the letter does the job for us.
i agree thats what christmas and and our 2 week dead period in the summer is for. inseason vacations are unheard of. ive never even heard of it in 20 years of coaching.
i agree thats what christmas and and our 2 week dead period in the summer is for. inseason vacations are unheard of. ive never even heard of it in 20 years of coaching.
My sons high school is 2,000 plus kids. It is common knowledge that around the 8th grade you are warned that beginning in grade 9, there is no spring break for the kids. We knew that going into high school. He was three sport athlete plus summer ball and after sophomore year realized something had to give so it was basketball. Now Christmas is when he is able to vacation. I couldn't imagine pulling him for a week to go on vacation.
Both my parents are teachers so I couldn't imagine going on vacation during the school year. Players have 8 weeks to go on vacation during the summer. But I guess that wouldn't get them out of school as well, huh?
