Youth Coaching - Disagreement with Head Coach

Mate i don't think your head coach is in it for the right reason. I would really reconsider what you are doing and realise that you are dealing with someone who is in it to be about him and not about the athletes.

Develop your own squad! I had 45 athletes training with me on Monday in the southern Hemisphere with age range from 9-50'ish.

Good luck!

The answer to these questions is nearly always “communication”. Copy and paste this post and send it to him. Better yet, schedule a time for a face to face meeting with him.

Obviously, you seem to be in the right, here, but we are only getting one side of the story.

Thanks for your response.

I agree with you that it is about communication, at least partially.

When I have approached the HC with these concerns, it is met with “not now”, “later”, or even just walking away without acknowledgement.

I’m working right now to have a specified meeting to have a time to go through these concerns, so hopefully that will be sooner than later.

Youth Sports Rules

1. have fun

2. learn something about the sport

3. move on to the next sport next season

Just get the kids active and don't try to create 2024 medalist or duplicate AAU basketball.

Twiggy123 wrote:

Thanks for your response.

I agree with you that it is about communication, at least partially.

When I have approached the HC with these concerns, it is met with “not now”, “later”, or even just walking away without acknowledgement.

I’m working right now to have a specified meeting to have a time to go through these concerns, so hopefully that will be sooner than later.

Frustrating situation and I've been in your shoes. The HC doesn't sound like he has the baseline knowledge to do what he is doing. You don't need to be an astrophysicist to coach youth distance but you do need the fundamentals (ie, USATF Level I) or whatever the equivalent is in your country.

I would, as someone else suggests, talk to him and see what improvements can be arranged and, failing that, bring your concerns to the association, a parents board, etc. If this doesn't solve it then, take your time and effort elsewhere and talk shxt about this dude on LRC.

4-5 workouts a week does not in any way sound right, nor does running through pain. (Running through discomfort, yes, but not pain.)

Good luck!

So does the head coach actually have a legit track background? Or is he a football coach that just got into track to get kids into shape for football?

Oof. When I coached, I would have an outline plan for about 3 months of work for a 6 month cycle. I mean, there was plenty of editing throughout the cycle; especially when I sketched out a plan for the 2nd half of a cycle that dealt with a competition phase. But ad hoc planning is not good. Random training just produces randomized results.

For kids 5 through 13 or 14, it should be about fun and getting engaged with the sport. Developing the basic fundamentals and techniques. Hard training is just looking to burn out kids and push them away from the sport. I can see being more serious when they are high school age, but the number of workouts sound insane.

Personally, I wouldn't coach. I wouldn't want to associate with a head coach who pushes kids around like that and is indifferent to workout planning. The way I see it, whatever contribution I could make would be thrown away by the incompetence of the head coach. Not worth my time.

Your other option is either to confront the issue with the head coach. Or just do your own thing while the head coach is working with another group.

I guess if I were in your shoes, I would see if the person who started the organization had my back and seek to have some intervention with the head coach. If nothing can be worked out, I would walk.

So, I spoke with the head of the association about my concerns and he schedules a meeting today for all the coaches. He made sure it was a day and time that everyone could meet.

On Thursday (last day of practice for the week), I confirmed with the head track coach I would see him for the meeting.

Myself, and another assistant coach that also had voiced concerns) show up, and literally no one else does. We waited for 45 minutes, no one. We texted the others to confirm time and place. No response at all. In fact, I haven’t gotten a response now 4 hours later.

I am more than frustrated at this point.

If the head of the association doesn't back you, move on.

Don't even say anything to them.

Just keep moving on and do your own thing.