Happy new year, let’s discuss

[CoachMatlock]

First off, Happy New Year. I hope 2023 is a great year for you and your families.

I have seen several posts about who is an underrated coach. Who is the best coach to not win one… our coach is overrated… it’s time for a new coach and so on and so forth.

So I would like to know what do you guys judge coaches on? What makes a great coach or a terrible coach? I have been blessed in my career to call some amazing coaches, friends.

We have a crazy profession where our job is judged every Friday night. So now for discussions sake, let’s discuss the most important important (in your opinion) skills a coach should have.

 

[Tigerfan85]

Teaching these young kids how to be young men and women. Playin football or any high school sport is an ink dot in time. It’s a great time but it’s still just a brief moment. What the kids learn from coaches will carry them throughout their life and that’s the coaches greatest achievements. Not the titles or the rings or anything even close. It’s having that kid grow up to be a good man or woman. I’ve seen great examples of this through the years. I’ve also seen the complete opposite. A great athlete with a bad character is sad to see. Unfortunately one look the coach of a kid like that and it becomes crystal clear where the influence came from.
For the record and I’ve said this before I know May coaches are invested in the growth of the kids to adults and there are more like that than there are the bad ones thank God for good coaches

 

[CoachMatlock]

While I agree with what you just said, I’ve never seen an athlete act badly and win a game and people call for new coaches. However I have seen a team lose a game ( and maybe their kids acted amazingly) and people call for new coaches. I feel that most people judge coaches on wins and losses, because it’s easy to measure.

 

[Tigerfan85]

While I agree with what you just said, I’ve never seen an athlete act badly and win a game and people call for new coaches. However I have seen a team lose a game ( and maybe their kids acted amazingly) and people call for new coaches. I feel that most people judge coaches on wins and losses, because it’s easy to measure.

Yes sir and that’s the sad part.

 

[VI-MAN]

Winning definitely creates pressure on a coaching staff. It’s crazy how in small 1A schools basically everyone in the community have at least a small amount of influence on program, and the entitled ones full of negativity are usually the ones with the least amount of positive involvement.

 

[CoachMatlock]

Winning definitely creates pressure on a coaching staff. It’s crazy how in small 1A schools basically everyone in the community have at least a small amount of influence on program, and the entitled ones full of negativity are usually the ones with the least amount of positive involvement.

I totally agree with this. I think it’s amazing how small communities rally around the programs, but that can turn ugly as well.
Some of the best people I know are coaches. They give of their time, money, and energy and then get blasted on social media or coffee shops.

 

[VI-MAN]

I totally agree with this. I think it’s amazing how small communities rally around the programs, but that can turn ugly as well.
Some of the best people I know are coaches. They give of their time, money, and energy and then get blasted on social media or coffee shops.

Its a tough profession no doubt!!!! And it is horrible to see coaches forced out and jostled around for wrong reasons. And the kids usually suffer just as bad.

 

[Tigerfan85]

I know our little community is Blessed to have our Coaches. Especially after witnessing some of the coaches from other schools at our basketball tournament last week. We witnessed girls and boys coaches being ejected from games and some of their players reflected that coaches attitude and character. Complete disrespect for ref’s was unreal by those coaches and players. I’m by no means saying our kids are perfect because they are not. I can guarantee that if they were to act in the manner of some of these other kids did that our kids would have at the bare minimum been on the bench the remainder of the game. No matter who it was.

 

[FenceLineGuy]

From the Fence:

Coaches are a rare breed, especially the good ones. Not the ones who always win but the ones who care about the kids. Coaching youth programs was hard enough so I can only imagine the weight on the shoulders of our coaches at the Varsity level. Expectations are way up there and high school sports in small towns can be the literal backbone of a community. They can make or break the spirit of a town on a weekly basis.
Everyone has an opinion on every single thing a coach does or doesn't do in a game and that spotlight is definitely not for the weak.
I will say that Westbrook has been blessed over the past few years. We have some amazing Coaches that have stepped up, moved in, and even moved back to help our kids and our programs grow. We have also lost a couple of amazing coaches that moved to better themselves and their family life. And to answer the question I'd say the 4 biggest things a Coach at any level needs is Integrity, Leadership and Love. I left one out on purpose, keep reading.

Integrity to be who they were meant to be and to stand tall, even in the face of adversity and know that they have done everything they can to help their programs grow, their athletes grow, and themselves grow to be true to themselves and their families and their communities.

Leadership is something that can't be faked. Leadership means standing right up front every single day no matter what and leading the way. Setting the example that everyone looks to for guidance and walking head long into the storm before anyone else to lead the players and guide a program to success. Coaches should be a beacon in the darkness, a guiding light to every student athlete that walks behind them.

Love. A coach has to love what they do day in and day out. Not the wins and the pats on the back. A coach has to wake up every single morning and love themselves, their families, their players, their fellow coaches, their fans and the game. When a coach truly loves all these things it shows on and off the field.
I can't say this for everyone else, but I believe Coach Matlock and each and every coach at Westbrook has all 3 of these qualities but they won't boast or brag or anything like that because out of every great quality we could talk about on here they have one of the best qualities of all.

Each and every one of our coaches are Humble.

 

[Pdevitt13]

So I would like to know what do you guys judge coaches on? What makes a great coach or a terrible coach? I have been blessed in my career to call some amazing coaches, friends.

I think you six man coaches have arguably the most difficult jobs in Texas. The constant struggle for numbers. Wearing multiple hats for the school district. I cant imagine how many things you coaches are doing for not only your school but your community!

 

[T-boneisGood]

Good character and morality. I don't need to always agree with their perspective but we all know some things are wrong. I like a coach who can turn into a normal human and make a mistake but then can turn around and say that was a mistake and I shouldn't have done it. It sets me side ways when people make excuses for their bad choices. I dont need my kids to like the coach. I do need the coach to be a person that is respectable.

For the coaching part, I like a coach who will commit to making time in the weight room and get them taking that time serious and do this all year long. I like a coach who obviously puts in the time (and its crazy how much most of them do put in). I like a coach who is looking to find a community to call home and stay for years, who will work hard when he has talented kids and who will work hard when he doesnt. Granted not many communities have the wisdom to allow this anymore. I think its right because when I look around the 6 man community there are generally (with a few exceptions) two kinds of coaches winning at a high level. Those that have been in that community for years and have become part of it and those that shop around their own kids for better paying jobs or better athletes for their kids to play with. I much prefer the community builders, but us knuckleheads in the bleachers often times get in the way of that.

 

[CoachMatlock]

Good character and morality. I don't need to always agree with their perspective but we all know some things are wrong. I like a coach who can turn into a normal human and make a mistake but then can turn around and say that was a mistake and I shouldn't have done it. It sets me side ways when people make excuses for their bad choices. I dont need my kids to like the coach. I do need the coach to be a person that is respectable.

For the coaching part, I like a coach who will commit to making time in the weight room and get them taking that time serious and do this all year long. I like a coach who obviously puts in the time (and its crazy how much most of them do put in). I like a coach who is looking to find a community to call home and stay for years, who will work hard when he has talented kids and who will work hard when he doesnt. Granted not many communities have the wisdom to allow this anymore. I think its right because when I look around the 6 man community there are generally (with a few exceptions) two kinds of coaches winning at a high level. Those that have been in that community for years and have become part of it and those that shop around their own kids for better paying jobs or better athletes for their kids to play with. I much prefer the community builders, but us knuckleheads in the bleachers often times get in the way of that.

Very well said. My coaching career is kind of like my Christian walk- it has mountain tops and valleys. In both situations when we are on the mountain top, people love to support us, but it’s in the valley that we need true friends and support.
I hate it when people get after a successful coach after a loss, they are already going to take it harder than anyone else.
I judge my kids coaches on do they have my kids best interest at heart. Do they care about my kids?
Obviously a love for the sport they are coaching and knowledge of the game is a huge plus.
What is crazy is if you had ten coaches coaching the same team, they are going to all do it differently. I know enough coaches to know they are going to do it differently, but they are all going to do what they think is best for the team. As long as that is the attitude of my coach, I will support them.
Coaches aren’t perfect, they are learning and getting better every year too. If your community is blessed enough to have a good coach, you better try hard to keep them. Every other community isn’t as lucky and they will happily take your coach that you are griping about. If you support your coaches then thank you, it means more to your coach than you know.