[Possum Bait]

gish,

Based on your statement, I am guessing that you are a young coach with little public experience or a bitter old coach that has been battered to the point of frustration.

Coaches that do not cooperate in a cordually manner with parents have very little chance of long term success. You need the parents.

Coaches that do not work cordually with the school administration and coworkers soon find themselves packing up. You need the support of the faculty and administration.

Coaches that do not maintain good relationships with his kids are doomed to failure. You have to have the kids.


Contrary to what most coaches seem to believe recruiting and marketing are critical to the success of a high school program. Good coaches relentlessly recruit the hall ways of their own school. When a kid quits, he goes and gets the kid and talks him into coming back out. When reguired to get a kid out or keep a kid out, a good coach will go to the players house and have supper with mom and dad. A good coach consistently markets himself and his program with elementary students and their parents.

A guy like Bob Knight would last about one season here in the mountains before his house was burned, his car was vandalized or he was assaulted. High school students are children. If you want to get a good ole redneck family stirred up, disrespect their child. You can easily make 100 lifelong enemies (uncles, aunts, cousins, the whole clan) with one off color remark. I guarantee you that when you alienate one big family, it will cost you two or three good players in a 10 year period.

For that matter every one you PO will most likely cost you down the road.

Those two or three players often mean the difference between winning and losing. You never know when you are going to need a donation for one item or another. (POed people do not donate).