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OT: Youth football (rant)

BleedCrimsonandGray

Hall Of Fame
Oct 2, 2007
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I had the occasion to watch a High School JV football game yesterday.

The level of entitlement was nauseating, and the coaches allowed it. Both teams. All game.

No hustle to and from the sideline, kids taking their hats off and walking around like they're the next 4 star (they aren't...). Shit, even the water people sauntered over during a time out.

I just don't get it: if you're not excited to be playing football, wtf are you doing on the field? And why aren't the coaches molding young men instead of spoiled babies? Most of these kids will never sniff a college field, and a fraction of a percentage of them will make the NFL - these are your best days.

It seems like the coaches are too busy patting themselves on the back with complex schemes to pay attention to what matters at this level - hard work and hustle. One team has a reverse sweep (I think they're trying for a Chip Kelly thing) as a regular play - not a trick play - a regular play. You're asking kids who show no effort or enthusiasm on the field during a game to execute two hand offs at full speed 1 yard behind the OL. They fumbled once and got 12 yards once. That juice isn't worth the squeeze, but hey - LOOK HOW FREAKING SMART THE JV COACH IS!

Why? They're kids. KISS. Maximize their biggest attribute - youth and endless energy. And for Christ's sake, instill at least a little bit of discipline.
 
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Coaching high schoolers is tricky. You don't want coaches that don't instill discipline, but my son had a coaching staff who was the other end of the spectrum that made football a bad experience in ways that weren't necessary.

I was watching a practice when my son was a sophomore and the ones were running plays with the rest of the team watching. It was 105° outside. After about 10 minutes, my son knelt on one knee while watching. After a minute or so, one of the coaches saw him and yelled, "Goddammit Malibu....get off the ground and support your goddamned teammates!". He was called Malibu because he was a white kid with really long hair. Another 10 minutes goes by and my son decides to take his helmet off.....because it's 105° outside. After about 30 seconds, a coach yelled, "Goddammit Malibu, put your f'ing lid on.....football players wear helmets!".

I went to the coach and told him that if he had a problem with my son kneeling and taking off his helmet in the heat, to come and take it up with me and I'd have his ass in a sling before he knew what hit him. I also told him that maybe they shouldn't have kids just standing around and maybe they should get off their asses and start doing a little teaching instead of just being assholes.

Needless to say, my son didn't have much inspiration for football after dealing with insecure dickheads for coaches and didn't come back for his junior year. Too bad, because he ended up being 6'-3" and decently athletic but he didn't feel the need to take crap off a 35 year old man child pretending to be a big time football coach. You want coaches who know how to talk to players and sometimes it's not going to be polite, but being an asshole just to prove that you are the boss isn't needed.
 
Coaching high schoolers is tricky. You don't want coaches that don't instill discipline, but my son had a coaching staff who was the other end of the spectrum that made football a bad experience in ways that weren't necessary.

I was watching a practice when my son was a sophomore and the ones were running plays with the rest of the team watching. It was 105° outside. After about 10 minutes, my son knelt on one knee while watching. After a minute or so, one of the coaches saw him and yelled, "Goddammit Malibu....get off the ground and support your goddamned teammates!". He was called Malibu because he was a white kid with really long hair. Another 10 minutes goes by and my son decides to take his helmet off.....because it's 105° outside. After about 30 seconds, a coach yelled, "Goddammit Malibu, put your f'ing lid on.....football players wear helmets!".

I went to the coach and told him that if he had a problem with my son kneeling and taking off his helmet in the heat, to come and take it up with me and I'd have his ass in a sling before he knew what hit him. I also told him that maybe they shouldn't have kids just standing around and maybe they should get off their asses and start doing a little teaching instead of just being assholes.

Needless to say, my son didn't have much inspiration for football after dealing with insecure dickheads for coaches and didn't come back for his junior year. Too bad, because he ended up being 6'-3" and decently athletic but he didn't feel the need to take crap off a 35 year old man child pretending to be a big time football coach. You want coaches who know how to talk to players and sometimes it's not going to be polite, but being an asshole just to prove that you are the boss isn't needed.
Won't try to convince you you're wrong. I have boys and would get defensive too. It's a fine line I guess, and it depends on how hardcore you think football should be.

In the military, it'd be -3 with snow and you're genuinely worried about frostbite. Putting your hands in your armpits isn't enough. If you put them in your pockets, some SNCO would scream at you, "Marines don't put their hands in their pockets!" If junior enlisted huddled together, they'd be told to break it up and were called things I can't repost here. And during armor training at Fort Knox, it was a 105 day like yours, but with Kentucky humidity, and it's 10 degrees hotter in the tank. You can't stay cool or hydrated enough with just water and shade. I remember taking my CVCs (tanker jumper) down during a break to air out my torso, and my platoon sergeant screamed at me about going "half-mast" and made me zip all the way back up in the heat.

But Marines have (had?) a pretty good fighting reputation. IMO that's not possible without the awful , and absurd, experiences above. I know that's not what HS football players today think they're signing up for, but I think Bleed is right that the culture is changing, and we're going to be seeing a different type of person and character as more and more kids get to skip these experiences - absurd as they seem (and are) sometimes. Privation to the point of absurdity makes the 99% of real life experiences that aren't that absurd easy, and the 1% that are manageable.

If it's encouraging to Bleed, I just watched a HS game in 110 heat in Havasu. Full contact, full speed, no quit. Those kids are tough.
 
Won't try to convince you you're wrong. I have boys and would get defensive too. It's a fine line I guess, and it depends on how hardcore you think football should be.

In the military, it'd be -3 with snow and you're genuinely worried about frostbite. Putting your hands in your armpits isn't enough. If you put them in your pockets, some SNCO would scream at you, "Marines don't put their hands in their pockets!" If junior enlisted huddled together, they'd be told to break it up and were called things I can't repost here. And during armor training at Fort Knox, it was a 105 day like yours, but with Kentucky humidity, and it's 10 degrees hotter in the tank. You can't stay cool or hydrated enough with just water and shade. I remember taking my CVCs (tanker jumper) down during a break to air out my torso, and my platoon sergeant screamed at me about going "half-mast" and made me zip all the way back up in the heat.

But Marines have (had?) a pretty good fighting reputation. IMO that's not possible without the awful , and absurd, experiences above. I know that's not what HS football players today think they're signing up for, but I think Bleed is right that the culture is changing, and we're going to be seeing a different type of person and character as more and more kids get to skip these experiences - absurd as they seem (and are) sometimes. Privation to the point of absurdity makes the 99% of real life experiences that aren't that absurd easy, and the 1% that are manageable.

If it's encouraging to Bleed, I just watched a HS game in 110 heat in Havasu. Full contact, full speed, no quit. Those kids are tough.

I didn't mind the coaches yelling at players. I didn't mind that they had them practicing in 100°+ heat. I took exception to them going off on kids that they aren't actively engaging who are being asked to stand at attention with their helmets on for no reason other than making them feeling like drill instructors.

FWIW, I didn't mind when they told my son to stand up. He was the only one who knelt down so I was fine with them laying into him on that. The helmet comment is what led me to go say something. As hot as it was, it's not worth putting kids' lives in danger just to prove that they are disciplined and tough. Every summer, there are stories about football players dying in the heat. Disciplined is one thing. Tyrannical and dumb is something else.
 
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Won't try to convince you you're wrong. I have boys and would get defensive too. It's a fine line I guess, and it depends on how hardcore you think football should be.

In the military, it'd be -3 with snow and you're genuinely worried about frostbite. Putting your hands in your armpits isn't enough. If you put them in your pockets, some SNCO would scream at you, "Marines don't put their hands in their pockets!" If junior enlisted huddled together, they'd be told to break it up and were called things I can't repost here. And during armor training at Fort Knox, it was a 105 day like yours, but with Kentucky humidity, and it's 10 degrees hotter in the tank. You can't stay cool or hydrated enough with just water and shade. I remember taking my CVCs (tanker jumper) down during a break to air out my torso, and my platoon sergeant screamed at me about going "half-mast" and made me zip all the way back up in the heat.

But Marines have (had?) a pretty good fighting reputation. IMO that's not possible without the awful , and absurd, experiences above. I know that's not what HS football players today think they're signing up for, but I think Bleed is right that the culture is changing, and we're going to be seeing a different type of person and character as more and more kids get to skip these experiences - absurd as they seem (and are) sometimes. Privation to the point of absurdity makes the 99% of real life experiences that aren't that absurd easy, and the 1% that are manageable.

If it's encouraging to Bleed, I just watched a HS game in 110 heat in Havasu. Full contact, full speed, no quit. Those kids are tough.
Good to hear.

Our district is a mess. They don't have AD's who aren't coaches, which creates a HUGE conflict of interest that I've experienced first hand as my time as a coach and witness now as I watch my kid play football. For example, the football team received all new gear this year, to replace the all new gear they got last year (and the previous year, etc.) The varsity cheerleaders came out in t-shirts and booty shorts for their first home game 2 weeks ago. Not only that, they were just not good at all - horribly practiced and completely uncoordinated. If I had to guess, they don't have a coach/ advisor. Do I even need to mention that the AD is also the head football coach?

I know I can't compare my experience to very many peoples, but our HS was very squared away. We had an AD who's only job was to ensure that every team had what it needed within reason and represented the school in the best way possible. There was, for the most part, pride in the name of the shirt you wore, and it was instilled in you through pep rallys, coaching, etc. I witnessed this at most of the high schools we visited as well.

Our district, and I'm sure many like ours, need to purge the narcissists and sycophants.
 
I had the occasion to watch a High School JV football game yesterday.

The level of entitlement was nauseating, and the coaches allowed it. Both teams. All game.

No hustle to and from the sideline, kids taking their hats off and walking around like they're the next 4 star (they aren't...). Shit, even the water people sauntered over during a time out.

I just don't get it: if you're not excited to be playing football, wtf are you doing on the field? And why aren't the coaches molding young men instead of spoiled babies? Most of these kids will never sniff a college field, and a fraction of a percentage of them will make the NFL - these are your best days.

It seems like the coaches are too busy patting themselves on the back with complex schemes to pay attention to what matters at this level - hard work and hustle. One team has a reverse sweep (I think they're trying for a Chip Kelly thing) as a regular play - not a trick play - a regular play. You're asking kids who show no effort or enthusiasm on the field during a game to execute two hand offs at full speed 1 yard behind the OL. They fumbled once and got 12 yards once. That juice isn't worth the squeeze, but hey - LOOK HOW FREAKING SMART THE JV COACH IS!

Why? They're kids. KISS. Maximize their biggest attribute - youth and endless energy. And for Christ's sake, instill at least a little bit of discipline.
I think there’s a lot of pussyfooting with coaching nowadays. You can’t get in a kids grill anymore without worrying you’re going to be meeting with the AD because some mom on the sideline thought it was borderline assault.
I think with that, people who would be good coaches decide it’s not worth it, so there’s not as many good coaches available to build a staff.
kids have to motivate themselves more today because their coaches are handcuffed on what they can do to motivate. And most kids nowadays are only motivated by whos commenting on their Facebook or Snapchat wall.
Things will never be as they were. It’s not even about participation trophy’s anymore it’s much worse than that now with all of the BS that parents, coaches, and players are exposed to. I mentioned a while back I saw 3-4 fights break out at a jamboree. Evidently the kids thought it was an NFL training camp!
 
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Won't try to convince you you're wrong. I have boys and would get defensive too. It's a fine line I guess, and it depends on how hardcore you think football should be.

In the military, it'd be -3 with snow and you're genuinely worried about frostbite. Putting your hands in your armpits isn't enough. If you put them in your pockets, some SNCO would scream at you, "Marines don't put their hands in their pockets!" If junior enlisted huddled together, they'd be told to break it up and were called things I can't repost here. And during armor training at Fort Knox, it was a 105 day like yours, but with Kentucky humidity, and it's 10 degrees hotter in the tank. You can't stay cool or hydrated enough with just water and shade. I remember taking my CVCs (tanker jumper) down during a break to air out my torso, and my platoon sergeant screamed at me about going "half-mast" and made me zip all the way back up in the heat.

But Marines have (had?) a pretty good fighting reputation. IMO that's not possible without the awful , and absurd, experiences above. I know that's not what HS football players today think they're signing up for, but I think Bleed is right that the culture is changing, and we're going to be seeing a different type of person and character as more and more kids get to skip these experiences - absurd as they seem (and are) sometimes. Privation to the point of absurdity makes the 99% of real life experiences that aren't that absurd easy, and the 1% that are manageable.

If it's encouraging to Bleed, I just watched a HS game in 110 heat in Havasu. Full contact, full speed, no quit. Those kids are tough.
Comparing the marines to high school football is beyond stupid. Get a grip dude.
 
Coaches that view themselves as teachers first usually use pretty good judgement. Those who view themselves in some other role often do not consistently use good judgement. I had many examples of each.

Either way, the kids learn. Often not what the coach intended to teach them, but they draw conclusions. I know that I did, and I suspect that you did, too.
 
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anyone who compares football to war has never been in a war before
I have - twice. So, weird quote for this context.

Whether you accept the comparison, the question is, whether every 13-year-old peacocking around like he's Deion Sanders before accomplishing anything, or ever being put through his paces, is going to produce a different and worse quality/character athlete than 50 years ago. I'm suggesting yes.
 
I have - twice. So, weird quote for this context.

Whether you accept the comparison, the question is, whether every 13-year-old peacocking around like he's Deion Sanders before accomplishing anything, or ever being put through his paces, is going to produce a different and worse quality/character athlete than 50 years ago. I'm suggesting yes.
I like how you cherry picked what I put down. I've never served. I believe its an Art Donovan quote meant to support what you were saying. As far as these kids are concerned...life will bring a great deal of reality to their present perspective. It's like a Madden game for them now. The coaches, parents and kids are a little different for sure.
 
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