And personally, I invest a lot of myself in my kids. 2 of my returners [once drafted a kid stays with his team until he moves up] were on their list to recruit. You want to take a kid I've poured myself into away from me? And do so without my knowing you were trying to do so? Yea, gets my dander up.
But they can't take a kid that doesn't want to go, can they?
--Dave
"The Greater the Teacher, the More Powerful the Player."
The Mission Statement: "I want to show any young man that he is far tougher than he thinks, that he can accomplish more than what he dreamed and that his work ethic will take him wherever he wants to go."
#BattleReady newhope
And personally, I invest a lot of myself in my kids. 2 of my returners [once drafted a kid stays with his team until he moves up] were on their list to recruit. You want to take a kid I've poured myself into away from me? And do so without my knowing you were trying to do so? Yea, gets my dander up.
But they can't take a kid that doesn't want to go, can they?
--Dave
We've had kids leave us to go to better teams. I'd like to think it was a "parent" thing, but who knows? Some parents want their kid to play on a better team, but not so much better that their kid's playing time suffers. As a coach (not as an administrator where I'm worried about head count and $$$), I believe kids should play where they want to. If they don't want to play for me, I don't want to coach them.
When in doot . . . glass and oot.
Is that what the ill feeling is about?
Deceit. They kept it quiet so they could get commitments from families who were under the impression this was in affliation with the league. They wanted a head-start so they could flatter and lay seeds of discontent among those whom they felt would need some persuasion to come with them, without our being able to present our case for the kid staying. To tear down our league, you're pretty much tearing down the individuals who are in it, Board / Coaches, etc
The tip off came when one of the kids they recruited told another kid at school, whom they were not recruiting, that the new league would 'destroy' our league. Kid didn't even know it wasn't a league, just one team in each age group. About the same time, one of the coaches who coached with these guys learned from a friend that they'd requested use of the friend's facility. The friend showed the coach the letter, the coach felt intensely betrayed that his 'friends' would do this without his knowledge. I'm not sure which came 1st, but the cat was out of the bag.
And personally, I invest a lot of myself in my kids. 2 of my returners [once drafted a kid stays with his team until he moves up] were on their list to recruit. You want to take a kid I've poured myself into away from me? And do so without my knowing you were trying to do so? Yea, gets my dander up. You want to take one of my kids, at least be man enough to be upfront about it, don't skulk around behind my back and not let me make the case for the kid to stay.
FWIW, I contacted the kids' parents let them know they might be contacted by some guys who were trying to cherry-pick the best kids from the league to form a new club, that their sons were on the list to be cherry-picked and whatever they decided, I'd respect their decision, but I hoped they'd still be playing with us next season.
OK, I think I understand what the beef is: that this group of coaches got "commitments" from players and families on false pretenses, using the good name of your existing organization and relationships they'd built up under the assumption they'd stay with it. Do I have the essence of it?
That sort of thing goes on in business. Someone working for a firm builds up a relationship with clients, lays out plans for further business with those clients, then without warning strikes out on hir own, and it's up to clients to decide whether they have a greater loyalty to the breakaway and those plans (which they'd assumed were part of the existing firm's plans), or to the existing firm. Sometimes the initiative is on the part of the firm, getting rid of people or a division while trying to keep their clientele.
We've had kids leave us to go to better teams. I'd like to think it was a "parent" thing, but who knows? Some parents want their kid to play on a better team, but not so much better that their kid's playing time suffers. As a coach (not as an administrator where I'm worried about head count and $$$), I believe kids should play where they want to. If they don't want to play for me, I don't want to coach them.
Agree. When I had my first high school job, we had no facilities, no weight room, not even a home field. We had uniforms and a practice field, that was all. When I tried to get my youth players to see if they would be interested in playing for us (we were a charter high school, and we weren't a member of the NCHSAA, so this was not a violation), practically none of them came because we were a tiny 1A school with no facilities. Despite the fact that one of their dads coached with me, despite one player whose dad was my best friend, despite the excellent relationships that I had not only with these players but their parents, they all wanted to attend 4A high schools with an authentic infrastructure.
Several of these kids went on to play college football. My first high school team could have had in our backfield: a NCAA Division 1 QB (played at Vanderbilt and Rice), a NCAA Division 1 RB (played at UNC), a NCAA Division 1 RB (played at Navy), a NCAA Division 1 FCS RB (played at Howard). I didn't like losing out on them, but I understood their choices and why they made them. That they each got college football scholarships showed me that they'd made the right choice. If kids want to play somewhere else, I can't stop them. I can only wish them well.
--Dave
"The Greater the Teacher, the More Powerful the Player."
The Mission Statement: "I want to show any young man that he is far tougher than he thinks, that he can accomplish more than what he dreamed and that his work ethic will take him wherever he wants to go."
#BattleReady newhope
that this group of coaches got "commitments" from players and families on false pretenses,
Yep... while their own were in the know, some being recruited were not.
Umm.... why does that 6 ft tall 9 yr old have a goatee...?
But they can't take a kid that doesn't want to go, can they?
Professor Harold Hill sold a whole town on a boy's band and knew nothing about teaching music. The professor is alive and well today selling parents and kids on baseball / football / hockey / basketball etc. programs. We had our Professor Hills right here in our county selling an 'elite' football program, this time it failed. Hopefully, there won't be a next time...
Umm.... why does that 6 ft tall 9 yr old have a goatee...?
Professor Harold Hill sold a whole town on a boy's band and knew nothing about teaching music. The professor is alive and well today selling parents and kids on baseball / football / hockey / basketball etc. programs. We had our Professor Hills right here in our county selling an 'elite' football program, this time it failed. Hopefully, there won't be a next time...
I just watched "The Music Man" for the first time (last weekend). Just an awful movie. Putrid.
--Dave
"The Greater the Teacher, the More Powerful the Player."
The Mission Statement: "I want to show any young man that he is far tougher than he thinks, that he can accomplish more than what he dreamed and that his work ethic will take him wherever he wants to go."
#BattleReady newhope
Our league has a real simple solution… We don’t allow teams to recruit from existing teams, by rule. The players are not allowed to jump from team to team. Our feelings were that if this were allowed, then you would wind up having all the kids wanting to play for one super team and all the other kids left over would be at a disadvantage.
A player can leave a team and go back into the open draft, if they are truly unhappy with their current situation. Where this doesn’t work however is when a team from another league comes knocking. They’re certainly not bound to our rules so they can attempt to steal all the players they like. It happens.
My answer is simple… “Be a better coach - be a better experience- be a better league.”
Nobody wants to leave a successful situation, regardless of record. If a parent and player feel they’re getting good solid coaching and fair play time, they are not likely to leave for the unknown.
In our league it is common for coaches to take their team from second grade all the way to sixth grade. Entering my 31st season, I rarely ever lose more than 2-3 boys over the course of that time . And when they do leave it’s usually because the parents have relocated or perhaps the child is decided football is just not for him. it is very rare another team steals a Plano Colt.
Yes I do understand losing players you’ve poured your heart and soul into building may fall for the promise of a fantastic new opportunity… But if the opportunity you’re offering is already fantastic they won’t listen , they will stay!
Football Director at PSAPlano.org), the largest Youth Organization in Texas
Head Coach - Plano Colts
My answer is simple… “Be a better coach - be a better experience- be a better league.”
^ This.
--Dave
"The Greater the Teacher, the More Powerful the Player."
The Mission Statement: "I want to show any young man that he is far tougher than he thinks, that he can accomplish more than what he dreamed and that his work ethic will take him wherever he wants to go."
#BattleReady newhope
Our league has a real simple solution… We don’t allow teams to recruit from existing teams, by rule.
Our league has the same rule. It wasn't enforced before COVID. During COVID, the rule was suspended, so now, it's a free for all. I think this year was a record in that our players played against 4 former teammates (from the previous year). Plus, a 5th who left us to play in his true age group (4th grade vs 5th), only to play against us in a playoff game. The kid actually played in a 9am 4th grade game, then played us (5th) at 1pm on the same day.
I don't feel like I needed to be a better coach for those kids. We provided a fantastic environment. These 5 kids have played for multiple teams since 2nd grade. For some families, the grass is always greener on the other side. For us, the goal is to coach the same team from 2nd through 8th grade. I've had mine since 2nd and they will be going into 6th in the Fall.
When in doot . . . glass and oot.
Our league has a real simple solution… We don’t allow teams to recruit from existing teams, by rule.
They were building a new club, something not part of the league. There is no way we could stop them.
Umm.... why does that 6 ft tall 9 yr old have a goatee...?
The League's Board met this weekend. I'm not on the board, so I don't know the details, but the decision was made that kids of the parents who stirred up the trouble, who want to play in our League are still welcome, the coaches involved will sit out of coaching a year. Basically, its a case of 'don't stir up any more trouble and you're back in if you wish to be'.
Now a couple of the coaches who left are saying that they went along with the leaders of the poachers because the coaches at the upper level have been coaching for several yrs now and won't quit, so there are no openings for them to have a team if they want to move up with their kids. Apparently assisting the coach who drafts their kids is not good enough for them.
Hopefully the drama is over, except to see what impact this has on the the number of kids playing in the league. We'll see how it turns out.
Umm.... why does that 6 ft tall 9 yr old have a goatee...?
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