PARENTS: There are very few things that you can say from the bleachers that will ever make your child play better.
Just sit back and enjoy the game, cheer for your child, cheer for the team, and take it all in!
It will be much more enjoyable for you and your child.
Bronco Mendenhall may legitimately be the best coach in the nation. Year one at New Mexico started rough. The Lobos opened 0-4 with an FCS loss to kick the season off. But things turned around after a hugely important win over their instate rival. Tonight UNM notched their first victory vs a ranked opponent in 21 years and sit just one win over Hawaii away from going bowling for the first time since 2016. Truly remarkable job being done by Bronco! Also, Devon Dampier is a STAR
It's tradition for us to leave the locker-room "cleaner than we found it." Especially when playing an away game. Why?
Because the little things matter. How we represent our school and team matters
Why should someone else clean up our mess? Winners act like #winners all the time
Players who complain about how much they have to work in the off-season are usually the players who also complain about playing time during the season.
The kids that miss their high school spring break tournament for vacation miraculously have parents that complain about playing time and will ultimately try to get the coach fired if needed.
It's all about their kid and creating the path of least resistance.
They could care a less about the team or the coaches.
In my 20+ years in high school athletics, this is without question, the toughest time to be a High School Coach. With so many outlets (Select Sports, Skill Coaches, Social Media, etc) there are that many more opinions about how people should do their job. There isn’t a more scrutinized job for less money than what a High School Coach is expected to do and deal with every day. And it’s not going to get any better.
They have to manage grades, personalities, fundraising, booster clubs, parents, camps, budgets, and personalities more than most full time jobs do.
My advice to all of you, is fight the fight, because it’s worth it! You are the only ones in the arena, not the naysayers in the bleachers.. As I sit in the stands night after night, it’s becoming a sad experience listening just how easy people think these jobs are. At the same time it’s inspiring because it’s makes guys like me want to continue finding ways to give our coaches what they need when they need it. Most of the time, that’s just love and support! I am so damn thankful for our coaches and what they do every single day.
I see you in the film room when others are in bed, I talk to you when times are tough and expectations are high, and I see you with your arms around our kids even when the parents are convinced you don’t care. You know who you are, and what you’re about.
I remind you to remind yourself to coach for one reason: Love. Love for what you do, love for the kids, love for the process, and love for the lessons. While it’s harder now than ever to realize it, you are changing lives and making the world a better place… Even when others won’t take the time to realize that is what you are doing!
One big wall in my office, has a passage on it, and it’s there for a reason. It is posted below…
Summer AAU/Club sports are great but there is something special about student-athletes competing against rival schools, in front of a crowd of community members, friends, and family, after attending classes all day, while playing alongside teammates who are also their classmates.
Sad part of today's youth bball journey is- rush, rush, rush into travel bball, quit team to join that team, have 2 different skills coaches, get to Senior Year and burn out. Youth bball is to be enjoyed, not overly stressed. Stop treating youth bball like it's professional.
$5,000 to play AAU is insane man smh..unless all the games are played in Abu Dhabi and Phil Jackson is coaching, with an end of season tournament on planet Mars, man it’s getting wild out here. No wonder parents want to be in the huddles and always in the mix, I would too ..
I feel for the public school coaches. The stuff yall have to deal with as far as parents go…foolishness. Kids talk back to coaches, don’t show up to workouts and conditioning, and damn sure don’t put in quality time on their own to get better but you have the nerve to complain.
All you’re asking your kids HS coach to do is:
Get them a scholarship
Keep all players + parents happy
Manage all Frosh/JV/Var teams
Teach them life lessons
Not lose any games
Work with AAU coaches
Scout/Film each game
Develop skill set
Stay on top of their GPA
So that’s all?
We’re losing a lot of great coaches. Maybe before getting mad at your kids’ high school coach, think “Would I want to do all this work for $2 an hour?”. If the answer is no, maybe don’t be a jerk to the coach. If the answer is yes, apply for the job bc we need more coaches. :)