Email Campaign Archive

On the SoapBox: Keeping the Kids First

-By Tom Houser

In Virginia,(and probably many other states),
some school softball and school soccer coaches are
just now giving their athletes the team's playing
and practice schedule. And the season is already
two weeks old. 

You may say, "So?" Well, these girls have also
been playing travel volleyball for the past 3
months. They assumed that their school practice
schedule was the same as the year before and they
could play both school ball and club volleyball at
the same time.

You're saying, "They assumed? That's risky" Well,
they tried to avoid the risk. The girls and the
parents had asked the coaches before tryouts to
please share the team's game and practice schedule
with them. The coaches said, "We'll give you all
that info later. It's no big deal." 

So the girls tried out for the team. They made the
team trusting the coaches' word. Then, 10 days in,
they learned the truth. Now, heck yeah, it is a
big deal!! 

They were told yesterday that their school team
would have practices any Saturday that the coach
whimmed. They were also told that their school
team was having three Saturday tournaments,
knocking the girls out of 2 of their club
volleyball tournaments. And their weekday
practices would be 5pm to 7pm -- not 3pm to 5pm
like last year -- which conflicted seriously with
their club volleyball 6pm to 8pm practices. 

What has fired me up is that why should the
families have to guess? These school coaches
didn't given their players and parents any idea of
their plans until the families were "hooked". 

Now, do the kids just quit their school teams and
be labeled quitters? Or do they miss half of the
rest of their club volleyball activities, which
they had no intention of doing, thus wasting a
thousand dollars? 

I'm just the opposite type of coach. Whether I'm
coaching school ball or travel ball, I want to be
upfront and open. I want to avoid putting the
families through what they're experiencing
tonight. These parents encouraged their children
to go for softball and soccer assuming that the
coaches would create reasonable conflicts. They
encouraged their children even without any help
from the school coach.   

If they'd have known beforehand that there are
dozens of conflicts, then the families could have
made a more informed decision.  The email that I
got from one dad was full of guilt and pain. I
felt sorry for him. 

I can't tell if these school coaches have executed
a calculated "I've got cha," or maybe it's just
laziness, or maybe it's incompetence or laziness
from the school Athletic Director. Regardless, I
have very little patience with it. 

I like my players and their parents. And it makes
me angry when coaches force them to wrestle with
avoidable pain!  The situation that I've described
isn't good for the kids or the parents; thus,
it's not good for their teams.  These parents
told me that they didn't even know the high school
team's game schedule before tryouts. I was like,
"What?" Then I checked on the school's website.
Wasn't there either.

Heck, if I'm a school coach, and my Athletic
Director gives me our schedule for next fall, I
send it out to the parents and players that same
day!! Not only am I excited to share it, but I
want them to be excited as well. But, more
importantly, I want the families of my players to
be able to plan ahead. I want them to avoid
conflicts that hurt the children and hurt our
team.

I also want them to make informed decisions:  "Do
I play travel soccer this coming fall?  or school
volleyball?  Can I do both?  Let me look at the
match and practice schedule one more time. I wonder
if Coach Houser will work with me some?"  It's
insane for players to be expected to make these
decisions AFTER they've been selected to a team. 

Coaches, if your players learn of your
practice/match schedule after you've chosen them
for your team, and then they quit your team, then
you are partially to blame.   And you better not
call them quitters either; because, if you had
done your job, this could have all been avoided.
Yeah, I'm fired up. 

Coaches: Please be more considerate -- or at least
more "team" -- and be open with your players and
help them make the decisions that are best for their
families and, ultimately, for your team. 

-Tom Houser
Head Coach, 2008 and 2007 Roanoke Juniors 15's Open
Director, STAR Volleyball Camps
Author, "I Can't Wait" Drill Collection and Ebooks
www.coachhouser.com