Incorrect. There is no failure that belongs on the shoulders of the kids. Do teachers tell kids who get a D in Math 'that's your fault' or do they try to teach them a better way to understand? Doing something the same way for 15 years doesn't necessarily make it the right way. Coaches need to constantly learn, adapt, and apply (as teachers do). John Wooden never called himself a Coach. He called himself a Teacher.
I don't disagree with you but we have now become a society of parents/communities that do not like to place blame on ourselves or our kids. I have never seen a coach make a pass/catch a pass/hit a ball/make a shot etc. Players do those things but coaches for the most part take the high road and place blame on themselves so the kids don't have to. However, it's ok for kids to fail and know they failed. That's life and part of growing up. It's not warm and fuzzy out here in the "real game of life". I grew up at a time that if I badmouthed my coach, I better have my head on a swivel b/c my dad was coming in to make sure I never said it again. Or my mom was chucking something at me from across the room. Nor did my parents or friends critique every move the coaches made. I'm pretty sure most of us were raised that way for the most part......For some reason these days it's much easier to place blame on the coach/teacher/administrator for our own kids shortcomings and/or mistakes. Without starting a brand new thread, I do believe a lot of this began with the start of travel sports in regards to how high school coaches etc. begin to get treated.
I firmly believe that coaches need to adapt to their talent and teams yearly as the dynamic of each changes with new kids coming and going with each year. The excellent ones can and will do that. However, It's harder to coach now than it has ever been before for all coaches and here is just a couple reasons:
1-practices can be year round other than the VHSL dead periods (if coaches don't do this they are considered lazy etc but there is no extra pay for coaches)(absolutely draining coaches as they have families/commitments as well)
2-kids specializing in 1 sport due to travel (this is getting worse each year and not good for smaller schools)
3-parents feel travel is more important than the high school sport in some cases in which the student begins to feel the same way (i.e. my travel team or my travel coach.....)
4-social media (for example what are we doing right now...)
5-kids have so much more to do now than ever before outside of athletics. Wasn't like this when most of us grew up
6-and last but not least....Coaches/Teachers aren't looked at or thought of with the same "luster" as they once were for whatever reasons. Yes, I know some are way better than others etc. I know this but I'm talking overall
Lastly and then I will bow out of the conversation but kids haven't changed in my opinion over the past 20 years or so. Parents have and I can say that as I'm a parent and I have to catch myself constantly so I don't act like many others. Kids want to be coached/directed/taught just like they have forever. It's how they are handled outside the boundaries of school/sports that has changed.
Good luck to all tomorrow if their games are getting moved up and/or Friday night.
