Our Let's Talk Football discussion, "Coaches Moving up with their Players," concerned the pros and cons of youth coaches moving up with the teams that their sons play on. I really appreciate those of you who have taken the time to share not only your views on the subject, but also your experiences when involved in this situation.
This past Saturday we conducted a USA Football Coaching School at the San Diego Charger Football Complex. We had nearly 300 youth coaches in attendance and as part of the program we discussed this topic.
A large percentage of the coaches have been involved in just this situation. In addition to many of the points covered in the March 20th column, there were some other points that I thought you might be of interested in reading about.
First, was the comment by some of the coaches that while they moved up with their child, they made it a point of always having the responsibility of coaching some other position. They made the point that once they made this decision it seemed to make things much easier for both the player and of course for the Coach/Dad.
The second was that some of the organizations made it a policy of having the same Head Football Coach stay in place for at least two seasons before moving to another level. Their feeling was this policy was a great help in maintaining a consistency in the teaching and development at every level of their program.
The third point was the idea that this policy allowed the Coach/Dad to share real quality time with their child that they might not have if it were not for this opportunity. This was especially important to divorced fathers who wanted to be an important part of their son's life.
There was also a good discussion concerning the ride home following practice or a game. A number of coaches stated that they came to a realization that this was a time when they needed to take off the coaching hat and assume the father role. This was made much easier when they focused on other topics and left the football on the practice or game field.
While a majority agreed that this policy allowed the teams to grow together and become stronger, there was the question of while it might be ideal for the team, was it good preparation for the players in the long run having the experience of playing under one coaching system when ultimately, if they continue their playing career they will have to experience another coach.
Finally, many coaches stated that this situation was made much easier when all the players were instructed at the start of the year to address every coach as "Coach" when they were on the field.
As always, we look forward to hearing your thoughts and receiving your feedback on all the topics we cover in our "Let's Talk Football" column, and good luck to each of you for this football season.