[Oldtiger]

I'm an old old tiger and back in the day our coaches tried to kill us, I don't mean metaphorically I mean stone cold dead, we ran sprints on hills, just regular flat fields weren't enough. Some teams prided themselves on not having a single blade of grass on their fields, today we got to have turf. If we had knee inures we kept it secret as to not bring shame to the family name (Joke).

Whats the consensus out there? Are kids pushed as hard as they were 25 years ago, or have the coaches had to soften things up. Lets hear some old school football stories about practice and games.

[Leonidas]

The world is feminine, I mean soft. At least our world is.

[Orange Blaze]

The 2001 season at Raceland was one of the most excruciating experiences of my life. We had just came off of a 1-9 season which still stands as the worst season in school history. I think out coaches tried to kill us that summer. We started off the summer by loading up the whole team of about 40 players on a school bus and drive to Valdosta Georgia for camp. We drove all night and once we got there we got straight off the bus for practice in the hot Georgia summer in mid-June. The whole time we were there, we practiced for 8 hours a day for 5 days straight.

When we made it home it was the dead period and we were off for a few weeks. After the dead period we started practice in pads and we stayed outside from 4-10PM with a twenty minute break to go inside at 6:00. In 2001 you didn't have to wait until August to go in pads and you could start in late July. That last month of summer until school started was just terrible. We had guys walk off and quit and one guy even passed out from heat exhaustion. The rules about being in the heat were not as strict then and they could get away with more. Looking back it was not safe what we went through that year and I would never wish that experience on anyone.

[64SUR]

I blame my computer,tv,I-pad,and remote :igiveup: I still love the game :Cheerlead

[The Cross Movement]

Parenting has become soft!

[mysonis55]

I am well over 40 years of age. I hear this stuff coming out and I can't help but think about when I was a kid. I used to hear the same stuff from the adults then. We had it too easy because we didn't have to walk to school up hill both ways in the snow. Guys come on, these kids are stronger and faster than we ever were, by design. They have better things now days, but make no mistake they are bigger, stronger and faster than we were. The doctors are more knowledgable. The sports meds are better from protiens to hydration supplies and everything in between.

[goBIGblue82]

Yes, and we as parents are to blame. Not all, but most of the kids in todays society are babied.

[RoShamBo]

No?

[autopart101]

no the kids are bigger faster stronger. 25 years ago a team might have 1 kids 6'4 240+ now teams have muti kids like this. Oline is 220 and up.

[panther nation]

Physically no they are stronger and faster than we where 25 years ago. I don't think the kids could go through the camps that we did back then.

[KCCFootball]

It's not the kids faults. its the parents, society, coaches, etc.
You got the parents that let the children do whatever.
society that have that attitude that everybody gets award at the end.
and coaches that dont have passion or the care.

[blackcat]

Both parents and coaches are to blame, mostly the parents. If these kids are pushed too hard by their coaches it has become acceptable for them to give up and quit because it's too difficult.

[ataclance]

Mentally Yes.

[TNT-MB1]

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And .........ah.......yes

[Spirit100]

I'm an old old tiger and back in the day our coaches tried to kill us, I don't mean metaphorically I mean stone cold dead, we ran sprints on hills, just regular flat fields weren't enough. Some teams prided themselves on not having a single blade of grass on their fields, today we got to have turf. If we had knee inures we kept it secret as to not bring shame to the family name (Joke).

Whats the consensus out there? Are kids pushed as hard as they were 25 years ago, or have the coaches had to soften things up. Lets hear some old school football stories about practice and games.

Yes soft, yes litigious, and yes vaginitis is at an all time high. Thanks to the stupid butts who didn't water their kids down, provide breaks, and understand boundaries, kids have died and yes the game has changed.

We had two a days back in the mid 80's. Mornings from 8-11, afternoons from 2-4:30. We practiced on hard pan clay. And yes we practiced in temps hovering in the upper 90's and some 100's ( not in full pads though, that made it ok, and we lived nicker: .All of us had shin splints and played with pain. We said yes sir, and no sir. May have thought a coach was a horses arse, but respected him and we all grew together as a team.

Will never forget a pre-season scrimmage against a division 1 school. We were division 4 and the smallest. We had 37 players 9-12 grade. The first team played iron man football. They came out with a 115 plus talking smack, yelling and carrying on. We ran 10 offensive plays. They ran 10 offensive plays. Then played a clock ran half of football. We cut threw them like butter on the offensive 10 plays and by the end of the 1st quarter our second team took the field. We whooped their hind ends up and down the field and did so with class. No yelling and carrying on. We picked them back up after tackling through them. Went 10-0 that season and made it to the regional championship.

By the end of the game they were quite as church mice and in shock. When we scored we act like we had been there before. The game was a lot more team oriented back then. The game today reflects the culture we live in. It's a lot more selfish. Still think football is the greatest game going and has the greatest opportunity to prepare young men for life if led properly.

I'll never forget the lessons I learned on the football field and weight room with my hs brothers and have applied many of them to my life. I've since instilled those into my own son.

Great thread Tiger :Thumbs:!

[goBIGblue82]

Either I have or other posters have misread the thread. Players in todays generation are bigger, stronger, and faster. This creates vicious his and crazy athletic plays. However the question is are they softer? IMO for the majority it is a definite yes. Mentally kids just aren't as tough in todays society. Most aren't willing to play through some pain. There is a difference between being hurt and injured. Most parents don't understand this and baby the kids and it just makes it worst. And mentally we do everything for our children and don't give them responsibilities and make them accountable, and I believe this makes for mental and emotional breakdowns. However, i will say as a parent i dont know if i want my children to sacrifice their body for a sport that might not take them anywhere or a coach who most the times cares more about the scoreboard than the athletes on the field. Im pushing 30 going on 58.

[Real Badman]

yes

[Diogenes]

Absolutely, they have.

All this nonsense about lawsuits, concussions, et cetera. Everything is just a lawsuit looking for a place to happen. You can watch the fourth quarters of games and the losing team, they always get an epidemic of the "Loser's Limp". But that's right in keeping with America today.

I recall back in the early 90s at a certain school, the coach when not happy would take the team over the creek bank to something he referred to as "The Beach", where they would just absolutely slam into and otherwise whale on each other all afternoon in an effort to teach them to man up. America in general could use a giant dose of man-up these days, before we become irrelevant in a global economy.

[rojas]

Most high school football coaches will tell you that boys aren't nearly as tough as they used to be.

[Granny Bear]

I'm an old old tiger and back in the day our coaches tried to kill us, I don't mean metaphorically I mean stone cold dead, we ran sprints on hills, just regular flat fields weren't enough. Some teams prided themselves on not having a single blade of grass on their fields, today we got to have turf. If we had knee inures we kept it secret as to not bring shame to the family name (Joke).

Whats the consensus out there? Are kids pushed as hard as they were 25 years ago, or have the coaches had to soften things up. Lets hear some old school football stories about practice and games.

Well I'm an old BEAR, and personally I don't think anyone under the age of 40 is even close to my life experiences. Football is just one area in which things have changed; some for the bad some for the good. But to answer your question Oldtiger..I agree with your perspective!


Vaginitis???
I don't even know how to respond!!

[FarristownFlyer]

Kids are softer now, and not from the physical side of things because kids are bigger, faster, and stronger. The area where kids are soft is mentally. When I played back in my day coaches could say almost anything and we never mouthed back and if somebody did they were ran into the ground or you quit. Today's kids if the get chewed out they sulk and try to blame the coach for being an asshole and not using that as motivation to get better. We in general are a soft society and think that everyone should have a say so (KIDS). I think kids are overall better at sports, but if they had an older more hard mentality that high school kids had 15 or more years ago then kids would be off the chart better than they are now.

[Coachdad]

Yep

[Fooseball Devil]

Yes they are. I have never seen so many injuries like I have this last couple years. I blame these Michelle Obama lunches.:dontthink

[Objective]

kids are not bigger stronger or fast maybe at your school but not on average.

I remember some pretty spectacular athletes in the 80 and 90.

They are defenitly not tougher that sure kids are soft because of Tech fourwheelers, I had to ride a bike and forget about online gaming

Here is the number one problem since 1965 people have 1 more hour of free time yet parents spend 40 % less time with their kids per Google Facts

[khsgamenight]

Yes they are. I have never seen so many injuries like I have this last couple years. I blame these Michelle Obama lunches.:dontthink

I don't know if you were joking or not about the lunches...but I believe there is some validity in that statement. Athletes are not getting nearly enough calories during the day.

But back on topic. I think players are softer because of the parents. Parents don't want their children to face any adversity. If they are not getting to play, they are not told they need to work harder... They are told the coach doesn't like them. It's not just in sports. This mentality in general is killing our country.

[catsallthetime]

Well I think the biggest problem with kids these days is that there are to many adults around the athletics. When we played a kid took charge on the playground. They organized games worked out problems ect. They developed instincts!. If a kid didn't play well the other guys jumped his butt and they worked harder didn't get picked up or went home. Today kids cant ride anybody or get in their hind end for lack of effort or poor play. When I was a kid if you didn't win you sat down for 4 games.
Now if you see a pick up game there is always an adult trying to mediate every dang thing, sticking there nose in it and trying to over see it. 99% of the time they know nothing and should be at home. These kids look for instruction on every play and figure nothing out on their own. I have also seen that failure today is not acceptable to parents. and working to get better is not an option. If you are not a successful at something then quit and go to some other sport. Don't work and get better just go to a smaller pond( Soccer, Lacrosse , hell even bass fishing now) Sooner or later you will find a pond you are a bigger fish in .There are to many moms around the program telling Jr. its not his fault and telling him he did a good job when he didn't. (Dads need to get off the golf course and get on the ball field with their kids) We are now all seeing the kids of the parents that came up in the beginning of the tech age. These parents today were on the Atari and commodore computers and not the ball field. Us old timers were on the ball field competing every Saturday in some sport. I see experts around these ball fields coaching that were younger than me and they couldn't run a straight line when they were kids.They never played ball other than maybe as a team member. The success they had was a participation trophy. Now they are coaches. Another issue is they broke the public housing section up in Lexington years ago and that has destroyed the black athletes that use to compete against each other on Gtown St and Thomas St. You don't see half the good black ball players anymore. Sports will never come back like they were. It used to be a way of life and social status. Now its what neighborhood you live in and what kind of car you drive that gets you that status. Parents today don't teach their kids to play football they teach them how to tailgate. They don't teach them to dream and work to play basketball at UK they get them a jersey with another guys name on it and a pom pom and say cheer for the cats. Be a worshipper not the worshipped. You may find these comments harsh but ask any successful athlete that has played and they will tell you they had a chip on their shoulder about something. Hard to have a chip when you have everything you want and momma and daddy bail you out of everything. You asked are kids soft? H. E double tooth picks they are soft just like our society

[catsallthetime]

Just my two cents

[Koachshr]

As a coach there is no doubt that kids are softer today. Without going into great detail about the causes I will give a few examples of what I believe to be the causes.

1. The sense of entitlement in society today is well beyond anything I can remember growing up. I was told that if I wanted to be good that I had to either be really talented or work really hard. Kids today expect to play without working during the off season to get better. Rewards come before work. As a parent I have made a rule that I use with my son who is 3. I may reward him for being good at the barber or sitting still in church but never do I reward him before the act that we want. Too many parents say "Ill give you this now, BUT....." this does not work. If reward is given before action then the kid develops entitlement and then the positive action you seek is often completely opposite when they are not "pre rewarded".
Simply put Kids feel that they are owed something besides the respect of coaches and honor that comes with playing this great game.

2. The "Madden syndrome". Why should I workout all summer to be good when I can program myself into a game and play it all summer and dominate on the "field". Too many kids today grow up with a skewed sense of reality. Don't get me wrong I enjoy a video game or two but I realize that I do not get better as a coach simply by playing Madden or NCAA. The work that has to be put in and is not being put in by players is part of that softness. I never was the best player but I took pride in the fact that no one was going to out hustle me in practice. You can beat me but you cant make me like it. Today if you hustle you are (and I quote this from a kid at practice) "Trying to make the rest of us look bad." Its not cool to give 100% anymore its frowned upon by those who are trying to give 60% and just get by.

3. Family life and Drugs- The real problem is that today we see so many single parent families and grandparents raising kids that the "normal" family that so many of us had is the unusual today. In my studies (I only include Eastern Kentucky because I did my research in 12 East KY counties for my Masters project), I found that a large percentage of single parents and grandparents raising grand kids were because of drug issues. The source of the softness becomes when a parent or grandparent blames themselves for the split or because they think they were "bad parents". In return they just try to "easy" love their child and let them get by with everything. Tough love is hard to understand at times. I have tough love for my players at times and sometimes I tell them things that they don't want to hear. But I'm honest with them. I've had issues and made mistakes in my life that I don't want them to make so I am tough on them when I see them developing those same traits.

I know that at times its easy for fans and others to see the results on a scoreboard and say' "This guy is a bad coach or I don't like the way that he does this or that." I do not coach for any reason that can be displayed on a scoreboard. My players will tell you that I am tough on them physically, mentally, and sometimes emotionally. My methods are not always understood by parents and fans but players a few years after football is over... they get it. And I am meek compared to Hoover Niece, my HS coach.
Scoreboards do not have a place for souls led to Christ, # of kids that you would die for, # of kids that would die for you, # of kids who you assume the role of dad, doctor, trainer, and psychologist. One thing that I like on the scoreboard that I use to measure If kids are tough is that When life gets you DOWN are you willing to go the DISTANCE. Quitting has become acceptable. We use to shun quitters and now other players join them so they dont have to be alone.

Sorry such a long post. With this soapbox under me I'm almost 6' tall. I always wondered what this felt like.

Russ Shearer
HC Jackson County

[Crossbones]

Kids today are bigger, faster, and stronger and IMO the reason being is all the foods that they eat from eating out. When I was a kid my family sat at a table eating cornbread, beans and taters. I would be willing to bet 80% of the kids now a days eat out instead of eating at home. Mainly because both parents work. The foods now a days are full of steroids, hence bigger kids. I as a parent accept most of the blame. Giving my daughters all that I can and spoiling them so to speak. These kids are babied terribly and giving a mentality that they are always right and never wrong. So to answer the question, YES. The kids are softer. Kids do not have the same work ethic that my or later generations have. They expect every thing to be givin to them, because we have gave it to them. When I was a kid, the weeds had to be cut and the gardens had to be hoed before we played. That was a fact. So getting to play football or basketball was a treat and was fun. When kids get home from practice now they go lay infront of the tv or computer and expect mom to bring food to them. JMHO.

[Spirit100]

I don't know if you were joking or not about the lunches...but I believe there is some validity in that statement. Athletes are not getting nearly enough calories during the day.

But back on topic. I think players are softer because of the parents. Parents don't want their children to face any adversity. If they are not getting to play, they are not told they need to work harder... They are told the coach doesn't like them. It's not just in sports. This mentality in general is killing our country.

I hear that "favoritism" bs all the time and then to have a Mom and Dad buy into it. It's a load of crap. Their cutting their own kids nuts off versus saying get tough, we're going to help you get better, and then do it.

Has nothing to do of course with a talent or attitude issue. Lil Johnny needs to learn to grow a pair, get stronger, better, and overcome adversity. I couldn't agree more with many of the points that have been mentioned in this thread. Real world is going to bust many of these fragile bubbles when the "softies" get out into it. If my kid is still living with me at 25,nicker: I'll kick his arse!