Teachers as high school coaches

How many different ways can we beat the same horse?

In the wise words of LBlues, how many different ways can we ???

There are two posters that despise school ball. GOT IT. Obviously it is not a miserable experience at those schools for ALL players or no one would play and there would be no program. Bitching here is not going to change that - not even when you find twenty different ways to slide in a bitch fest about it. Put up or shut up. Find a way to be proactive and make changes if they are necessary.... or.. l-e-t....i-t....g-o... so those of us who can appreciate all the positives about the game and work with the negative to turn it into a growth experience can ENJOY our discussions.

Title IX requires equal access to sports...it does not, by any means, guaranteed equal funding - see the NCAA DI Sports and funding for, oh, football vs funding for, oh, softball.

A teacher needs to be the "head" coach. Many high school programs are run by an assistant coach who volunteers their time (i.e. my daughter's school).

But, geeeeeeeeeeeeez, enough already.

 

I know for an absolute fact, that's not true. But I dont disagree with your other points. If you have a problem with a coach then direct that towards a productive solution and not complaining on a message board.

 

I am a non teacher Coach. This is my 7th year coaching at this school. In our School District, if there is a coaching vacancy, it MUST be offered to a qualified (to coach) teacher first. Then if a qualified teacher isn't available, it may be given to a non teacher. I do get paid for coaching. I have fall workouts 3 nights per week every Sep and Oct,( you can only work with 8 players per day) Pitcher/Catcher workouts Dec and Jan. I get to the field at least an hour before the girls get out of school for practice, I do all the field maintenance on the softball field. I drive the bus to away games. I do the ooc schedule. Sometimes when I have a little extra time, I will go and mow the baseball field to help them. I don't know if I'm a good coach but I sure do love my players and their families. Oh and did I mention, I really LOVE the game of Fastpitch!!

 

Thanks for sharing, Coach!

Heart!!

 

The problem is:

In our School District, if there is a coaching vacancy, it MUST be offered to a qualified (to coach) teacher first!

In solving any problem - you must look at the root cause and focus on what's in the best interest of the kid.

The root cause in this case is "MUST" be offered to a teacher!

If a school district can hire an experienced coach for less than a teacher and the outside coach has more to offer, then why must a teacher be offered the position first?

Answer -

1) Potential Law suits (many of today's parents are nuts)
2) Teachers are trained in working with students / parents - college degrees.
3) But more importantly, the teachers unions protect teachers.

Private schools hire and fire teachers / coaches based on fit and performance, not union policy.

I was a non teacher Jr / HS school coach. The head coach never played the sport he was coaching. I worked for free and enjoyed helping the kids. Additionally, I did not have a child on the team and it worked. The head coach was a nice guy, but added no value and caused the parents concern.

 

Our school had five girls who made varsity last year not come back this year...not one senior. Even the girls who had never had a thought about playing college ball were embarrassed. This is a good thing for our track a soccer team. Obviously I'm not the only one who feels this way. Unless you have been there and actually know what you are talking about, you don't have any right to question our opinions. I don't think you do get it and yes, I will continue to complain ( I choose not to break the rules and curse by using the b**** word) about it. A teacher who knows nothing about softball should NEVER be the "head" coach. When it is ok for a teacher to be Head coach we are not even talking about glorified rec ball anymore, at least the dad's coaching rec ball know a little something. When your daughter is on a team when every player on the team, college bound or not, know more about the game than the coach does let us know how that works out for you.

 

There are no unions for teachers in NC

 

Another key word would be "qualified". Who determines if a teacher is qualified and what are the requirements to be deemed "qualified".

 

I'm sorry, I misquoted what MUST happen. The way it worked when I was hired was, they announced the vacancy, teachers and non teachers applied for the position. Current teachers were all interviewed. The AD and Principal selected any non teachers that would be interviewed. They interviewed those (of which I was one). They then made their decision about who was most qualified from the entire group of interviewees. I actually got the job over a then Elementary teacher who was coaching at the MS. I misspoke when I said a qualified teacher must be hired. The way it works is a teacher MUST be allowed to interview and the Principal and AD have to justify hiring a non teacher over a teacher. If the qualifications are compatible, then the teacher must be hired. I would also like to say this, 3 years ago I wanted to stop coaching. I announced it at the end of my season. I was very frustrated with some parents. Anyway, by October the school still hadn't been able to find a coach, teacher or non teacher. The school was at the point that they were going to have to find a 'babysitter' (my word not theirs). I felt the girls had worked too hard and the program had gone too far to let that happen, so, I continued to coach.
I also see both sides. It can be hard to find a non teacher whose job flexibility gives them the hours needed to coach. It can be hard to find a teacher who is willing to give more time away from their family than they already do. Believe it or not, a teacher's work day doesn't end at 3:30. Like HS ball or not, and some actually do, if the school can't find a coach, teacher or non teacher, there is no team. Rumor has it right now that a neighboring HS will not have a baseball team this year because the School Board is requiring the coach to be a teacher and no one will do it. In the end who will suffer from that? We've all had bad coaches, bad teachers, bad bosses, etc. How did we handle it? Did we do the best we could because we had to be there, or wanted to be there, or enjoyed the other people around us? Did we make ourselves and everyone around us miserable by complaining and only giving the amount of effort we felt like they deserved? Did we quit and move on to something else? Which of those do we tell our children is right? Which of those has our children told us would be best for them? I'll get off my soapbox now. Sorry. But I'll end with this. A bad (or unknowledgable) coach doesn't make someone a bad player. They may not be as organized in practice, they may not put the players in their strongest position, they may not challenge the players as much. I will guarantee one thing though, during games, the coach will not be allowed to catch the ball, throw the ball, or hit the ball. The players get to do that.