Respect All Fear None

Frequently asked questions about coaching.

Q.  Will my child get to play for free if I am a head coach or assistant coach?

Answer.  In the past Grant Rocket Football would allow the children of coaches to play for free. With the increased cost of running the program and trying not to raise player fees, this year we are requesting that all coaches with children in the program to pay the registration fee.

Q. Why do I have to fill out an application?

Answer.  Grant Rocket football is a non-profit 501c3 organization and we also carry liability insurance.  We are required to have current applications of all coaches on file.

Q.  Do you have to undergo a background check prior to me coaching.? 

Answer.  It is a requirement through our insurance carrier that all coaches working with children have a criminal background check.  It is also the view of the board of directors of Grant Rocket Football that any person wanting to coach our children undergo a criminal background check.

Q.  Do I have to run a certain style of football if I am to coach?

Answer. No.  all coaches undergo off season training to learn to teach and coach football but there is no requirement on which style of football you play as long as it is safe and good sportsmanship is mandatory.  Our obligation is to our kids to treat them with respect and give them the opportunity to win this year.

Same question posed to Hugh Wyatt, one of the most successful well know football coaches in the country at youth and high school level.  Here is his response.

I coach 7th grade football. I have finished watching your "Fine Line" video and started watching your "Dynamics I" tape. My question is "Is it worth it to properly teach the DW to my kids for one year only to have them learn a different offense in 8th grade?" Your offense calls for a different snap, a different stance, a different offensive numbering system, and a different way to pull. I don't doubt my coach's and my ability to teach your system, and I'm not shy about running something different than the 8th grade or our high school. I really want what is best for our kids.

It is a good question, one I get asked all the time, and one I can handle easily. It is the classic "prepare them for the next level" garbage.

I think that the best situation is when there is cooperation among all parties, and it is great when a successful high school program is able to offer its services to its youth coaches and they all run the same thing, but that is the exception.

Many people hear of those exceptional situations, though, and seem to think that the ideal situation in a school system or a community is for youth coaches and middle school coaches to be robots, controlled by the coaches above them. I disagree. I subscribe to the old football philosophy that you can only coach one team at a time.

In high school, of course, all levels of the program should - and normally do - play basically the same offense and defense.

But in most cases, youth coaches and middle school coach are free to coach their own kids as they see fit, without any input from high school coaches. (After all, it is not unusual for several different middle schools to feed one high school, or for kids from one middle school to wind up going to several different high schools.)

Obviously, there are dangers if youth or middle school coaches don't know what they're doing, and high school coaches can be of great help in many areas. But the high school coach who complains that the youth coaches don't run his system is often guilty of not really providing them with proper support and direction, or with a system that they can use. A good example of the latter would be the high school coach who runs an offense that requires skills not yet found in little guys.

(All too often, the high school coach has enough problems of his own without getting involved in other programs.)

Your obligation as a coach of younger kids is to your kids. Period. It is first and foremost to treat them right and to help them to be as successful as they can be - this year. It is a matter of your professional judgment to decide what offense and defense are best suited to your kids to enable them to be successful. (Naturally, you need to do your homework.)

It would be ideal if you and the next guy up the food chain were to run the same system, but if you are not doing so and you can't reach agreement, then assuming that you are doing what is best for your kids, is NOT your obligation to make it easier for him when he gets the kids next year by teaching your kids techniques, terminology, snap count, formations, etc. specific to his system. If he is any coach at all, he can make the necessary changes the first morning of the first practice next year.

It IS your obligation to him - and to everybody else who will ever coach your kids - to teach them teamwork, coachability, good work habits and sound fundamentals (blocking, tackling, block protection, hit position, how to fall and get back up, etc.).

It IS your obligation to him to try to put your kids in a position where they have the best possible chance to win, so they will develop confidence. And it IS your obligation to him to leave your kids liking football and wanting more, so they will turn out for football next year.

As to any arguments that you might be stifling the kids' advancement, that is pure horse manure. In fact, if you are successful and the guy above you is not, isn't it every bit as reasonable for you to insist that the he adopt your system so that your kids will continue to be successful?

Suggestion - if this proves to be a hangup, why not propose staying with the kids for two years - 7th and 8th grade - and then starting over again?  

 Q.  Is it to late to become a coach.

Answer. No.  We are always looking for parents who would like to help the program out.