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Coaches Rant: Who Is To Blame For Losing?

By
Darrin Sheffer

If you have read any of my older posts you will know that last season I was the HC of a winless freshman team.  However, that is only the tip of the iceberg of the issues that litter our schools athletic programs.  To protect our school and players I will not name the school or the school district.  Since I have been a teacher at our school we have had ONE athletic team with a winning record at the end of the year (2017 Varsity Baseball).  I asked around and it turns out that our school has struggled to be competitive in any athletics for the past decade.  The last time that the Varsity Football team made the playoffs was in the early 2000's and only had one winning record since that time.  So what's going on?  

Image result for bad sports team
http://sportschump.net/2014/02/13/bad-teams-bad/13290/

We have a new Head Coach and mostly new coaching staff for our football team this year.  So far the JV is 1-4 and the Varsity is 0-5 just losing to a team that they should have beaten based on talent alone.  Many of the players I coached on the freshman team last season are on JV or Varsity, and the fact that winning still seams nearly impossible for our school makes me think that perhaps our losing season last year might not have been all my fault.  

I spoke with one of my former players and they told me that most of the Varsity team was frustrated and angry with the new HC because they were still losing.  It seems that the players blamed the former HC for the loses in the past and now they blame the new HC for the current losing.  This got me thinking: Is losing always the fault of the HC?

Image result for bad coach
http://www.youthletic.com/cincinnati-oh/articles/8-warning-signs-your-kid-has-a-bad-coach/

I know that many coaches will always take the blame for losing, and many others never take any blame.  But, should someone be to blame for a loss?  If you look at certain situations, many losses may not be the fault of anyone in the program but of circumstances that are outside of their control.  So what about our school?  What's going on?

Just some facts: our school is in an urban area with a very diverse population of students.  We have a student population where 65%+ are on free or reduced lunch.  We have a reputation for being a school with gang/drug issues (not so much in the last few years but in the past yes).  We also have issues with school attendance and competing with nearby schools in standardized testing passing rates.  Those are some of the issues we face school wide, what about athletically?

Image result for bad coach
http://zelsh.com/how-to-identify-a-bad-bodybuilding-coach/

Because our school has many academic issues we have very little parent or booster support for athletics.  Our athletic facilities are archaic, I wish I could show you pictures but I can't.  Athletic equipment is old and falling apart.  Most teachers in the building who could coach refuse to do so.  Parents of student athletes who have any talent tend to transfer their kids to other schools in the area.

There is a school nearby which is relatively new and when the county built it they pooled kids from our school.  I looked at the record books and saw that the year that school opened that was also the year that our athletic records plummeted.  So there is the fact that true athletic talent has left the building.  

Those are all things that affect our athletics in which we as teachers and coaches have zero control over. In my opinion it is a daunting task and I am not sure that with the way things are and the direction things are going if there will be much change in the future.  I don't believe that any changes in X's and O's is going to make up for the lack of Jimmys and Joes.

Image result for selfish player
http://soldiers.dodlive.mil/tag/army-values/

Speaking of Jimmys and Joes, I know it is like a coaching taboo to place any blame on players, but it seems like our school is filled with players who do nothing but brag about themselves and blame others for their failures.  I'm not sure if it's a product of their upbringing at home or a product of the current toxic situation in athletic department.  You would think that a population of students who are obsessed with sports like Basketball and Soccer and who play on travel teams and talk about how good they are would be better.  We had over 100 kids try out for the soccer team last year.  They won two games.  When kids refuse to be coached or refuse personal sacrifices that would benefit the team then I guess there is no wonder we suck at sports in general.

Is it fair for me to place blame on the kids, I don't know.  Is it fair for me to place blame on anyone in particular, probably not.  We need help.  If you have dealt with similar situations and made positive impacts please share your story.  

Stay Obsessed  

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