jb9999;1291536 wrote:After reading everyone’s posts I’m pretty sure none of you ever played for coach Z. I did. So here’s my POV. If you’re on the outside looking in coach Z seems like a great guy. He says all the right things to the parents. He talks about team work and that hard work will get you play time. I was lucky and got a lot of playing time, but there were a lot kids who worked their butts off only to find themselves playing behind younger kids who didn’t work as hard and earn the play time but Z figured they would be big time players when they became upper classmen. My point is that the hard work didn’t pay off and a lot of kids, even the ones that got play time lost respect for Z. How would you feel at your job if your boss told you that if you worked hard and did certain things that you would get promoted or make more money and then he gives someone else the promotion that you worked so hard for. Someone that didn’t yet earn the shot or put in the time? Ya, that may be life but it doesn't change how you would feel about your boss. Another thing is that Z would never yell at the QB for throwing an interception or the RB for fumbling but would rip a lineman for missing a block. On defense some kids would get run over and he would just tell them to get in a better stance to make the tackle but yell at other kids for making a tackle with the wrong body position. He has his favorites like it or not. The majority of the kids on all these small school teams are average athletes, me included. Z is not interested in the average athlete. He has very little patience and doesn’t like coaching the average kid. But if you’re going to win games you need all the kids to play their best. If he got on his star athletes for making mistakes like he does the average kids I think you would see a difference in attitude and play on the field. When a lot of kids get a chance to play, the first thing they think about is that if they make a mistake they will be back on the bench. The star athletes don’t have to worry about that no matter how many mistakes they make. You can call it anything you like but that’s what happens on Z’s teams. Also, Z likes to be stroked by the kids and the parents. If you don’t stroke him as a player you’re not going to be one of his favorites. If your parents don’t stroke him then you got a double whammy. Just because you don’t stroke him doesn’t mean you don’t deserve an equal chance to play. It shouldn’t be about that. Z just doesn’t relate to most of the kids and that causes a lot of turmoil. He thinks everybody should be the same and think like he does. He likes kids that scream and yell and draw attention to themselves on the field. Since when does that make a good football player? What’s wrong with making a good tackle for a loss, getting up, and running back to the huddle instead of beating your chest and saying look at how great I am? In any case it doesn’t really matter to me since I’ve graduated, but if any of you think it’s going to get a lot better when the freshmen are juniors and seniors don’t be too surprised if they only have mediocre seasons. Z has already picked his favorites and the rest of the team that he needs will resent him. If any of you are parents of players you’ll see what happens at the awards banquets. Z makes up awards so that certain kids can get them. I know some of you are putting this bad season on the players and parents and not the coaching so keep believing that way, but don’t get upset if the bears don’t get a lot better. You’ll get the same results if you keep doing things the same way. Z might have been a good high school football player but he sucks as a coach. Go ahead and rip me Wcalfan, you're obviously one of the strokers.
I won't argue with this post. You'll find disgruntled "employees" everywhere. If that is how you feel then I am sorry you feel that way.
You are right there are some life lessons in your story. Hopefully you have become a better person because of it.
I've seen some of Z's workouts and I know they are barn burners. So if the kids show up... and consistently... they do put in the work. I know getting a majority of the kids to show up consistently has been an issue in the spring and summer. So if you were one of those guys then no doubt in my mind you worked hard.
There is one thing I would like to highlight of your story. Is there favoritism... Yes. Always is. One poster stated stated that hall of fame coach Souers showed it. (If you're a Waynedale guy, I hope you at least have an idea who he was. I believe that those things are important to a traditionally strong program and he was before my time) Seder showed it. Z shows it. It happens. Coaches always gravitate towards the players who show the characteristics they desire. Just the way it is. Sometimes it hurts a specific team. Sometimes it helps. My college coaches all did the same and when I was an "assistant" during a year long injury, I learned why it was that way as I stated above. IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME IN BUSINESSES! Even school districts... ect...
The QB's getting coddled... Happens everywhere. Lineman getting chewed out for missing a block... Happens everywhere. It is the nature of the beast. I would hope that he does both to both groups kids.
Lastly as someone else has already brought up and I've already stated. I didn't always see eye to eye with a coach.... I wasn't concerned with it because all I cared about was doing things right so we won on Friday night. I think it would surprise you to know which coaches those were. In the end, I learned from that experience and have tried to better myself from it and put that knowledge to use when I can apply it. Hopefully you do the same young man.
