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How Does a Young Coach Breakthrough?


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With coaching changes coming and many young coaches are looking to land that interview, What advice would the more seasoned coaches give to young coaches that are trying to breakthrough into a Head Coaching role? or even a Coordinator role? Many times I see schools bringing in more experience coaches or cycling through the same type of coaches. What must a first year head coach show an Athletic Director for them to be willing to take a chance on a young coach or someone who does not have head coaching experience? 

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The first and most important thing any new coach must do is to determine the correct ratio of water to ice in all of the drinking bottles 

This can best be done by consulting directly with CoachJunctionBoy.  I would also advise prospective young new coaches that they receive admin assurance that end zone cameras will be installed on the varsity football field.  Tanka Jakari is here and available to assist 

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2 hours ago, Urban_Legend said:

With coaching changes coming and many young coaches are looking to land that interview, What advice would the more seasoned coaches give to young coaches that are trying to breakthrough into a Head Coaching role? or even a Coordinator role? Many times I see schools bringing in more experience coaches or cycling through the same type of coaches. What must a first year head coach show an Athletic Director for them to be willing to take a chance on a young coach or someone who does not have head coaching experience? 

Great question for Al Cooper,  the New Pal AD who gave Coach Ralph his 1st ever head coaching job. 

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2 hours ago, dmizers3 said:

Great question for Al Cooper,  the New Pal AD who gave Coach Ralph his 1st ever head coaching job. 

Another one would be John Adams the AD for Gibson Southern who hired Nick Hart at age 26 to take over.  
 

Hart obviously had the resume of being John Harts son, being the OC for numerous top offenses year in and year out for Warren and being a successful player. 
 

what’s interesting is both Coach Hart and Coach Ralph have been the two winningest coaches as of late. Although still young into their careers, they own respectively the 1st and 3rd best win % of coaches in Indiana currently with at least 50 career wins. #2 is the Pioneer HC ( 0.945 at 52-3) #4 is West Lafayette ( 0.837 at 77-15)FB3029F0-96CF-4177-9FA4-EF84A34D0DC0.jpeg.fe8eb75ebdb5d431918b5ba41529b9c9.jpeg

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1. Be patient...your time will come

2. Don't be afraid to work your way up the ladder

3. Make connections and don't be afraid to pick the brains of established coaches

4. Go to clinics....some of my best memories are sitting in a hotel room  while Al Harants, Frank Amato and Rex Bowser schemed X's & O's

5. Establish a support system...wife, family, friends, assistants

6. Hire good people that are great teachers....good assistants make a good head coach

7. Don't jump at the first job...there is a reason it is open....will admin have your back?  will school board give you time? community buy in? How will you be evaluated? is there a job description?

8. If you are married, your wife must understand what she is getting herself into....time, commitment, fans in the stands, etc

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I think #6 and #7 are difficult for a young coach to control......

#6 Hire good assistants.......

The job probably opened because things weren't going well.  The current assistants were part of things not going well, even if they didn't always agree with the Head Coach.  There is also the potential sticky situation that if your an outside hire, you probably beat 1 or more of the current assistants out for the job.  Then their is the issue that in 2019, you also fight the following: less young people entering the teaching profession, more requirements on teachers make them feel like they can't coach,  crazy parents that have in one way or another run potential coaches out of coaching all together, etc.  Non-teachers come with their own set of issues.  They might know the sport but aren't around kids at their job so they don't communicate as well or have as close of relationship to the kids as a teacher would.  Their dad's that are only interested in being on staff while their kid is coming through, etc.  A lot of these new coaches are "stuck" with whatever they can get for assistants.  People like to say "Hire Good Assistants" like its something that everyone should be able to do.  

#7 Don't jump at the first job

I agree with this, but only to a point.  The jobs that are open usually aren't premium situations.  If they are a great set up, their is likely a long term assistant that helped build that program waiting in line for the job.  A young coach is almost going to have to go make a poor situation better, or wait their turn in line at great program. 


Which leads me to my next point.  The public often heaps praise on the Coach when things go well, and kills the Coach when things go poorly.   Is it the COACH that makes the JOB or the other way around? 

 

Their is no doubt that Kyle Ralph, Nick Hart, and others like them are "dial movers" but also couldn't one argue that a very average coach could have landed at NP or GS  and posted winning records during the time periods where Coach Ralph and Coach Hart have posted their wild success. 

Lots of moving parts do into building a top tier football program, and many of them (unfortunately) are in the hands of Administration rather than the Head Coach.   

 

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12 hours ago, DumfriesYMCA said:

Another one would be John Adams the AD for Gibson Southern who hired Nick Hart at age 26 to take over.  
 

Hart obviously had the resume of being John Harts son, being the OC for numerous top offenses year in and year out for Warren and being a successful player. 
 

what’s interesting is both Coach Hart and Coach Ralph have been the two winningest coaches as of late. Although still young into their careers, they own respectively the 1st and 3rd best win % of coaches in Indiana currently with at least 50 career wins. #2 is the Pioneer HC ( 0.945 at 52-3) #4 is West Lafayette ( 0.837 at 77-15)FB3029F0-96CF-4177-9FA4-EF84A34D0DC0.jpeg.fe8eb75ebdb5d431918b5ba41529b9c9.jpeg

Where did you find this Stat would be interested in seeing it

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57 minutes ago, Wedgebuster said:

#7 Don't jump at the first job

I agree with this, but only to a point.  The jobs that are open usually aren't premium situations.  If they are a great set up, their is likely a long term assistant that helped build that program waiting in line for the job.  A young coach is almost going to have to go make a poor situation better, or wait their turn in line at great program. 


Which leads me to my next point.  The public often heaps praise on the Coach when things go well, and kills the Coach when things go poorly.   Is it the COACH that makes the JOB or the other way around? 

 

I know that as a young offensive coordinator (going into 3rd year), I see a "rebuilding" situation as the only real path to follow as someone trying to get into their first head coaching position. I look at a place like Connersville, and think, If someone young (not unlike myself) could help get that program to a 4 or 5 win season, from 0-10, then I think that would be a great start and an opportunity to grow as a head coach. Whenever the time came, the profile of helping improve a struggling program, would help when going to find that next BIG job.

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2 hours ago, LAKER54 said:

1. Be patient...your time will come

2. Don't be afraid to work your way up the ladder

3. Make connections and don't be afraid to pick the brains of established coaches

4. Go to clinics....some of my best memories are sitting in a hotel room  while Al Harants, Frank Amato and Rex Bowser schemed X's & O's

5. Establish a support system...wife, family, friends, assistants

6. Hire good people that are great teachers....good assistants make a good head coach

7. Don't jump at the first job...there is a reason it is open....will admin have your back?  will school board give you time? community buy in? How will you be evaluated? is there a job description?

8. If you are married, your wife must understand what she is getting herself into....time, commitment, fans in the stands, etc

#1 is not true.  Being patient does not guarantee anything.  If you really want be a head coach and do not have a pedigree, you should probably be willing to take on a head coaching position that is not real desirable.  Many of the points still need to be done.  You need networking to have connections to assistant coaches, and you need to continue to grow through professional development.  You cannot have a prepared wife.  She will not be ready for what she experiences.  She just needs to be committed to you as a support system.  If you are young and unmarried, stay that way.  

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