Charlie wrote:
Do you in any way feel that you have failed this kid?
]
Of course he failed that kid. All he had to do to turn the kid into a model citizen and athlete was poop on a baby squirrel.
Charlie wrote:
Do you in any way feel that you have failed this kid?
]
Of course he failed that kid. All he had to do to turn the kid into a model citizen and athlete was poop on a baby squirrel.
coach minters wrote:
Earlier this month I dismissed an athlete from the high school program for persistent infringment (documented) of team rules, and for final straw of back-talking and ignoring all direction in this one practice session, delaying everyone else's training that day until he just left the area.
This Monday I get call from the athlete's parent, calling me every name under the sun for embarrassing his son, and basically stating I am an embarrassment to coaching high school sports, and that he is filing a grievance.
Now I have meeting with the AD and Principal, probably more with the Superintendant if I hold my line. Should be interesting.
No offense, but you sound like kind of an unreasonable a**hoole. Yeah...I want to punch you.
this is why I heard a friend say that the only way he will ever go back to coaching if it is at an orphanage
coach minters wrote:
Well, long day, but everything seems to have taken a turn for the better.
I thank you all for the feedback. Sorry, I guess the term "backsass" is more of a Southern dialect thing, but I'm sure you get the gist.
The past rules violations this student had, and I don't want to get too specific, because it is a student privacy matter, primarily involved missing practices, showing up late for and missing the bus for multiple meets, and not bringing a complete uniform to 2 meets. He was written up for all the matters, and actually sat out one meet, and ran JV for 3 others, until he made some headway in the practice attendance area.
So he and his parents have been duly noted and warned that the contract and rules we have the kids sign are real life contracts, with real consequences.
The final incident actually appeared pretty innocent at first, as he brought a meal to indoor practice and began eating during our warm up and drills. I asked him if he was going to be able to complete the workout, with a meal in his stomach, and he took a sub and large soda and dumped it on the track, and then smeared it into the track with his foot. I asked him to clean it up and leave, as we would not be needing his presence today, and he told me to do it myself and to f--- myself.
So the meeting with my AD and principal went great, presented my background, explained the incident, and told them I will work with anyone who is willing to be part of the team, but cannot work with athletes who persistenetly violate our rules, appear dead set to tear the team apart, and set a bad tone for others in our program.
They backed me on the dismissal, and said they are meeting with the father tomorrow, and I am to be "on call" if more explanation is needed for why the athlete is no longer allowed in the track program.
Actually I take my previous statement back. The last incident you mentioned with the soda and the sub was kind of ridiculous.
coach minters wrote:
missing practices, showing up late for and missing the bus for multiple meets, and not bringing a complete uniform to 2 meets. He was written up for all the matters, and actually sat out one meet, and ran JV for 3 others, until he made some headway in the practice attendance area.
The final incident actually appeared pretty innocent at first, as he brought a meal to indoor practice and began eating during our warm up and drills. I asked him if he was going to be able to complete the workout, with a meal in his stomach, and he took a sub and large soda and dumped it on the track, and then smeared it into the track with his foot. I asked him to clean it up and leave, as we would not be needing his presence today, and he told me to do it myself and to f--- myself.
is a failure... to communicate.
Are you sure you're not an overbearing coach? Or is the dad overbearing, and he kid is trying to take his frustration out on you? In any case, there is something major that is bothering this kid.
i dont get it. i played football and basketball for years, in addition to running. in track, kids would show up late all the time, pull stupid shit in practice, and get away with it because everytime the coach tried to dismiss them, the parents, AD, etc. would get in his face. however, on the basketball team, if we showed up late for practice, we werent allowed to play in the next game, and if we missed practice without prior notification, we were automatically kicked off the team (not counting extreme circumstances). nobody ever challenged the basketball or football coaches on these policies, but when it came to track and cross country, everyone made the coach look like an arsehole. it was stupid. made me mad as an athlete that worked hard and always showed up on time and was respectful to coaches and other athletes. i feel like the fun atmosphere of the sport causes people to not take it seriously like they do for football.
damn those backsassin assgrabbin fastlashin sad snappers but that's exactly what happens when sick kids get caught up in image n' actin 'n watchin bad accidents happen. but fck em. sick kids n bitches take care of business or end up on da hitlist (what is this)
yeah...idk. the fact that you used the term "backsass" basically made me lose all respect for you from the get-go. but it did inspire some sweet rhymes. Thanks bro!
errryep wrote:
i dont get it. i played football and basketball for years, in addition to running. in track, kids would show up late all the time, pull stupid shit in practice, and get away with it because everytime the coach tried to dismiss them, the parents, AD, etc. would get in his face. however, on the basketball team, if we showed up late for practice, we werent allowed to play in the next game, and if we missed practice without prior notification, we were automatically kicked off the team (not counting extreme circumstances). nobody ever challenged the basketball or football coaches on these policies, but when it came to track and cross country, everyone made the coach look like an arsehole. it was stupid. made me mad as an athlete that worked hard and always showed up on time and was respectful to coaches and other athletes. i feel like the fun atmosphere of the sport causes people to not take it seriously like they do for football.
Well no kidding track and x-cross are for nerds.
break it up wrote:
You are a high school coach. There a ways of dealing with this type of kid.
What you do is make him so miserable he quits. Make him run with the girls. Ignore him. Extra push-ups or hills. He won't be back next year.
You just have to do your best without kicking him off to make being on your team not worth it for him.
If you had a good group the upperclassmen would take care of this for you.
NO WAY! That's all passive aggressive BS. That's no way to be a leader or to be a coach.
If the coach had rules in place and written down along with consequences of not following the rules, then if this kid did in fact break the rules, there is no argument. If these rules and consequences are NOT written down, then the coach doesn't really have a leg to stand on (unless there are some SCHOOL rules that the kid broke that are clear along with punishment).
It's pretty simple...all athletes should be given a "code of conduct" handout of some sort that the parents are to read and perhaps even sign and return. Team rules and what happens if you break the rules should be part of that.
Up front, direct, fact-based decisions are the way to run an operation...not girlie passive aggressive crap.
King Ghidora wrote:
Actually I take my previous statement back.
You do? That's great. We were worried
just because you used the word "back-sassing" I'm assuming your the jerk.
I had to take over a program that was full of kids like this (low morale because of bad coaching, the coach used to leave practice and not come back while the kids were on distance runs). There were three methods I used to fix this:
Clear rules at the beginning of the season (short and succinct, no more than 5 rules total). Have a parents meeting at the beginning of the season and give them the same talk about rules that you give the kids. If the kid is major rule breaker, make him/her sign a contract delineating expectations and the consequence of dismissal from the team if his/her side is not fulfilled. Send a copy of the contract home to mom and dad.
Talk to parents! Call them the first time their kid acts up and call them when the kid does something good. Hang around after practice and talk
To parents when they pick up their kids. Know the kids, know what times they have run, rattle off information. Kids don't tell their parents crap, let parents know how things are going, good or bad.
Be as positive as possible. I know it's tough but don't ever tell a kid they have failed (the kid is not stupid, they already know and your body language will say it for you anyway). Let them know you care and they will follow you anywhere.
Following these tips has helped my wife and I turn around the team and I've only had to kick one kid off the team in five years.
If the coach did the things I suggested above, then he is good as gold.
Mr. Obvious wrote:
Hope you notified your AD and Principal when it occured. Hope you crossed your "t"s and dotted your "i"s.
That's key. I have very few problems but notifying those above you is important.
Also, in our school we have a "policy" (practice is a better term) that you don't dismiss someone until you talk to the AD and meet with the AD and kid at the same time. Or, at least let the AD know you're going to dismiss him.
I've told a kid to take a day off while I talk to the AD. That usually straightens him out.
The parents sound like the jerks here. Typical defend your child no matter what. I mean, I'm sure he told the whole truth when he went home.
adult wrote:
just because you used the word "back-sassing" I'm assuming your the jerk.
he was responding to my forward-sashaying.
marine corps recruit depot wrote:
coach, the next time something like that happens, have a team meeting, describe what happened and point out the culprit. then explain that the entire team will be punished for his behavior. that it is the team's responsibility to get each person to pull together with the rest of the team. choose a severe punishment for the entire team. then do it. your team will then take care of the problem child for you. he'll either shape up or may not be on campus for the rest of the school term after wards.
I had an intense basketball coach in high school who would do this, punishing the culprit by making everyone on the team do suicides or push-ups while the ne're-do-well watched.
I don't know if it was the right thing to do, but I feel it was fairly effective since you didn't want your teammates to be mad at you...but I wouldn't really suggest it for running sports
You are a highschool coach. If cutting the kid makes you feel like a big shot and gives you the opinion that you have a ton of authority then go for it. Be aware of consequences if the kids argument is decent.
My daughter's coach (not track) makes the team do pushups for every minute each kid is late for practice. I think they relax the rule when it snows etc. as she does not want unsafe driving etc. The punishment is constructive in that it is conditioning, just not of a very desired nature by the kids.
Why the heck would a kid go out for the track team and smear his food into the track surface and tell his coach to F off?
Unrelated thought - Why don't HS kids participate in what genuinely interests them instead of doing something just because it looks good on a college application? We see this soccer mom-type overly competitive syndrome in the good (usually suburban) elitist high schools, where parents push them to get into good colleges so the kids go out for a sport or join a club they really don't give a crap about. Then, to rebel, they just do things like this kid did and smear a sub sandwich into the track surface lol
Dr. Dip Shitton(MI), DDS wrote:
Then, to rebel, they just do things like this kid did and smear a sub sandwich into the track surface lol
Maybe he just wanted to eat on the track?