Outside of professional athletics, most coaches try to live by the simple principle that “coaching is about the kids.” With this in mind, it’s way past time that high school and grassroots coaches learn to work together to serve the kids’ best interests rather than engaging in a non-stop war of petty bickering and jealousy.
Before continuing, it’s important to understand that this article speaks in generalities. The criticisms leveled are by no means applicable in all cases, and the solutions offered have already been implemented by hundreds if not thousands of coaches around the country. Also, in many cases, high school and grassroots coaches get along very well. And, as RCS Sports’s Jimmy Hicks has pointed out many times, quite a few coaches serve in both the high school and the grassroots ranks. However, there is no doubt that a rift between high school and grassroots coaches often does exist, and there is also no doubt that this rift in no way serves the kids’ best interests.
The surface cause of this rift can be largely attributed to respect, or a lack thereof. To clarify, high school coaches feel disrespected when they get left out of the recruiting process, and grassroots coaches feel disrespected as coaches. However, sometimes a perceived slight that feels disrespectful is in fact the predictable result of our own behavior.
To add some specificity, here are some questions that high school coaches should ask themselves:
Do I personally raise tens of thousands of dollars annually to enhance my kids’ experiences?
Is it a normal thing for me to take money out of my own pocket to drive a kid to an elite camp or an unofficial visit (and to make sure my most needy kids have food in their stomachs and lights on at their homes)?
Do I spend weeks at a time away from home taking my kids all over the country in an effort to increase their recruiting exposure and opportunities to earn scholarships?
Do I regularly take time out of my busy life to attend my kids’ games during the season that I’m not coaching them?
Many high school coaches can answer “yes” to some or even all of these questions, but many if not most can not. Grassroots coaches, on the other hand, can truthfully answer “yes” to these 4 questions almost universally. In my experiences, high school coaches who spend time and money to help their kids attract the interest of college coaches and who make time to watch their kids play in the non-scholastic season almost never get left out of the recruiting process. And in my opinion, high school coaches who do not spend time and money to help their kids and do not show an interest in them outside of the high school season have no one but themselves to blame when they get “left out” of the recruiting process. Honestly, if you seem to value little else besides winning games during the high school season, why in the world should kids and parents value your input in an area where your actions indicate you have no interest?
On the other hand, here are some questions that grassroots coaches should ask themselves:
Do I film and review practices and games in order to ensure that my team’s habits continuously improve?
Do I regularly attend coaching clinics in an effort to hone my craft?
When I have a chance to observe a college practice, do I take detailed notes?
Is it standard operating procedure for me to watch future opponents to prepare scouting reports?
A big majority of high school coaches I’ve encountered can answer “yes” to all 4 of those questions, and that is most certainly not the case for a majority of grassroots coaches. It might sound harsh, but why on earth would anybody respect you as a coach when you fail to meet so many of the basic standards of the coaching profession?
The legendary Coach JD Mayo has many axioms, and one of my favorites is, “In life, most people are their own worst enemies.” As is usually the case, he’s completely right, and it’s consequently tough to feel sorry for most of the high school coaches who get left out of the recruiting process and it’s equally tough to feel sorry for most of the grassroots coaches who feel disrespected as coaches.
A solid case can be made that the most productive response to a slight or a disappointment is to look in the mirror and ask yourself what you can do differently moving forward. With that in mind, here are some simple suggestions to help repair the rift between high school and grassroots coaches.
If you’re a high school coach, invite your kids’ grassroots coaches to observe practices and attend games. If you’re a grassroots coach, invite your kids’ high school coaches to observe practices and attend games. The best way to make new friends is to treat people well, and the surest way to make new enemies is to treat people with suspicion and hostility. And when high school and grassroots coaches treat each other well, the kids benefit immeasurably.
If you’re a high school coach, spend time in August and September inviting college coaches to see your kids practice and play. Many high school coaches already do this, but many do not. As a general rule of thumb, it’s better to involve yourself than to wait for an invitation to be involved, and high school coaches who spend the time to make sure college coaches are in their gyms rarely if ever find themselves left out of the recruiting process.
If you’re a grassroots coach, make it a point to attend coaching clinics and take notes. You must take coaching seriously before anyone will take you seriously as a coach.
If you’re a high school coach, do your best to make your gym(s) available to your kids’ grassroots coaches for practices. Many public school districts have policies that make this difficult (I don’t know why parents don’t go ballistic about these policies- it costs them thousands of dollars in gasoline and program fees that go towards gym rentals, and it negatively impacts kids’ academics due to the hours spent driving all over town on week nights), but where there’s a will there’s a way. Plus, by working to help your kids’ grassroots coaches with gym space, you also help your kids and yourself.
If you’re a grassroots coach, keep your kids’ high school coaches in the recruiting loop. Basic courtesy and simple communication can go a long way toward eliminating misunderstandings and fostering positive relationships.
Finally, to both groups of coaches, don’t allow a small number of negative experiences to shape your perceptions and attitudes about a large group of people. Regrettably, this is an all-too-common human trait, but it makes about as much sense as the sewage system in Calcutta, and it smells equally bad. So, moving forward, remember that the vast majority of both high school and grassroots coaches are doing heroes’ work for way less than minimum wage, so there’s just no rational reason to negatively stereotype each other. After all, coaching is about the kids, and when high school and grassroots coaches treat each other well and share resources and ideas, it’s a huge win for kids, high school coaches, grassroots coaches, and the game of basketball.
Thanks very much for reading, and thanks very much to Coach Raveling for providing this forum to share ideas.
