My coach says he can't care more than the team and if fed up. Told team to set practice routine and times…

If your experienced coach is telling you you're a bunch of wussies and whiners, then the most likely reason is that your team is full of wussies and whiners. Sorry. Sometimes groups like this come along.

So here's what you do:

Show up on time to practice, whether the coach is there or not. Tell the other guys on the team that you're going to practice, and then show up whether they come or not. Do the warm-up routine that your coach usually gives you. Do the workouts each day that you were supposed to do on the same days last week. Finish every last inch of every workout and put in an honest effort, even if it's not as fast as you wish it were.

Do this for the next three weeks. Don't miss a day, no matter how busy your schedule is or how sick you feel or whatever other events come up.

The guys who show up with you? That's your team next year, even if they're a bunch of JV scrubs right now. Your coach can work with them. The guys who don't show up? Screw them. They'll just drag you down.

Your coach is an adult, and he'll probably calm down a bit after a day or two. If you don't see him for a week, see if you can talk to him and tell him you're sorry, that you've been working hard every day, and that you want to get better for next season. Tell him the workouts you've been doing, and see if he recommends any changes.

Someone on the team has to step forward and start doing the work, whatever the other guys think. If you do it, others will follow. Good luck.

Confusius wrote:

For the record I like our coach. He has been there for a long time and has done a good job getting kids to states and even footlocker. But after about 3 talks about running for the team and showing up every day he flipped today when only half of the varsity guys showed up. He said he has sacrificed weekends and his summers and there is not one once of sacrifice from this team. He said we need to make our own schedule the last three weeks because he's done and no one comes to practice anyways. So what do we do. I care and want to finish strong but the guys on our team.

As a high school coach, I totally empathize with your coach! It's a pretty terrible gig when the kids on the team don't care. (The hours are long. The pay is awful. The only thing that keeps you going is good kids...except when you don't have good kids.)

You should TALK to your coach one-on-one. He'll respect you. He'll respond. He'll coach you.

(Meanwhile, he should have created an attendance policy a long time ago.)

Talk to the guys, see if they have heart?

If not, then screw them because you don't actually have a "Team"

Hit your workouts and races and rebuild next year.

+1

This happened to our team not too long ago. Most of the lead runners were head cases and did not do what the coach asked for most of the year. Things came to a head similar to what the OP is describing. The guys that stayed are the ones that really wanted to be there. Although the end of that season was not competitive, they were a much happier group having purged the cancers. A new group of runners have joined and the team has been engaged and happy. Oh and since they actually stick with the running plan, they are pretty darn good.

I understand your coach's point. However, your English teacher is a complete nitwit and an utter failure.

Your coach didn't just lose it out of nowhere. It's been brewing for a while. Also, realize that he probably doesn't want to disappear for the next three weeks. He'll take a few days to make his point and see how the team responds. That's where you (or another team leader) follow the advice of "colder and wiser". Get out there and show him you care.

Team dynamic can be shaped as much by the kids as the coach. Peer pressure is a powerful thing. A team full of committed guys with a common goal can whip a few stragglers into shape pretty quick. Showing up and working hard becomes just what you do, and anyone who won't fall in line is outcast because they are jeopardizing the team's goals. They either get it together or quit, but it's not tolerated.

However, if the team has eroded to a point where half of them are slacking, then it becomes a cancer like "purge" said. That mentality starts to seep into everyone. All of a sudden a little ache or a cold becomes a good enough reason to skip practice, and they justify it to themselves because "i needed the rest coach". Your team has to decide which it's gonna be moving forward.

Amazing post

My son's former baseball coach took this approach a few times. He'd get frustrated with the results on the field, throw a little tantrum and then tell the kids to make their own lineup and coach themselves on the base paths.

Basically, this approach means that the coach can't...well...coach, and he is displaying a defense mechanism rather than accept the fact that he's incompetent for the position.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, a time to reap that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Are you asking for a workout schedule as well?

The final three weeks are mostly about pace work, sharpening, and taper workouts. So maybe do a workout to adjust to race pace each of the next two weeks (not to failure). For a second workout, 400s, any kind of miler workout, ... to focus on finishing speed. You could replace this with a tempo or longer interval, but I'd add 200s or 300s at the end in that case. The final week, do 50-60% of your typical mileage along with a taper workout.

This as far as I know outlines routine end-of-season practice.

This coach is done. Even if he doesn't officially resign, he has clearly lost the team. Not a good situation for anyone.

All you can do is look out for #1. Show up and run, practice hard, do the best you can in the meets. The good thing about XC is that you compete as an individual and a team, sounds like your "team" let you down.

There must be a few kids other than yourself yourself who care about the team? Your coach should have finished the season before quitting.

I talked to my coach today, he was there at practice. 5 of the 7 varsity guys showed up today and we did the workout that was on the schedule. Warm-ups were good but we did 4 x mile and guys dropped out before getting to #4. me and another guy made it tho. Me and the other guy who did the run stayed after and talked to coach and told him we are going to follow his workouts. He told the athletes they know what to do and let them run the workouts. He said he is staying through the end of the season and said that he will enter varsity those who are here every day. So if someone isn't here they go down to JV so right now. But as for day to day he turned the team outcome to them because he has done all he can. I plan on working hard. We have 2.5 weeks left and guys are still going out motorcycling and doing stuff instead of practice. I tried to get them to take it seriously but they won't listen to me.

Assuming, this is a legit post, coach is definitely out of a job. Coaches job is to coach kids who show up and appropriately discipline/motivate those that don't. The coach is as much a quitter as his no show athletes. Unfortunately, he is an adult and should know better-pack

Well sometimes the team just doesn't care about getting better, and there's not much you can do about it. Our team had some real potential to get to states in CA, but even our fastest runner kind of stopped caring and only half of the varsity squad actually improved from last year. Our coach honestly did all that he could do, but some of the people just cut workouts regularly or just don't put in the miles. it all boils down to a good core within the team.

Just get your core of 5 guys together and put in the hard work. You might not make it as far as you should, but hopefully the younger fellas will look up to you guys and perhaps a better team culture will develop for future runners.

Bludo wrote:

I understand your coach's point. However, your English teacher is a complete nitwit and an utter failure.

He got his message across very clearly, didn't he?

How about contributing in a constructive way to the thread or not posting at all?

Thanks.

OP, I'm with colder and wiser here.

If he doesn't see them himself, the coach will get word of your workouts. I believe he will be the one approaching you but if not, as a couple of posters said, go talk to him and let him know what you have been doing and how you are willing to keep on working hard.

HIgh school athletes are like the leaves in the fall. One day they are there, the next they are gone.

A coach needs to set some standards. If they don't respect the sport, or the coach, and can't be bothered turning up, then drop them from the team. Like buses there will be more athletes along eventually who wish to run and grow form the experience.

No high school athlete is worth the effort, if they don't respect the sport or their team mates.

Confusius wrote:

For the record I like our coach. He has been there for a long time and has done a good job getting kids to states and even footlocker. But after about 3 talks about running for the team and showing up every day he flipped today when only half of the varsity guys showed up. He said he has sacrificed weekends and his summers and there is not one once of sacrifice from this team. He said we need to make our own schedule the last three weeks because he's done and no one comes to practice anyways. So what do we do. I care and want to finish strong but the guys on our team.

Umm...how is it that the kids don't show up to practice? Being able to run in a meet that weekend should require that you attend all practices or have a valid reason for missing one. On my son's team, if you have an unexcused absence from practice, you are not running in the meet on Saturday. If it happens a second time, parents are contacted and a third time, there's a meeting with the AD and a possible suspension from the team is in order.