He must still be lurking, so I'll try and lure him out into the open. AirZona is a buddy of mine that I met a few months ago. It didn't take very long to figure out that he was a huge sports fan, and wasn't just focused or knowledgeable on just Arizona sports. So I invited him to take a look at our little Island. Bear Down Rick should enjoy his company.
I believe that Tom has got him registered by now so when he's ready he'll be a welcome addition. bTW your referral check is in the mail, just admire it don't try to cash it!!
Why is this Cat being such a pus... BTW BDR, I just found out he's a BoSox fan....this should make Nutter Butter happy....
Hey this is AirZona...Huskerman, Huskerfan told me i have to give y'all a bio so here's a bit about me...I'm a program counselor at Sierra Tucson...I'm a high school head softball coach at a school in Tucson...My teams are any and all U of A sports, I'll admit I'm a huge homer for the Arizona pro sports teams (suns, cards, d'backs) which typically means disappointment each season...I'd tell you what i think about ASU but I'll save that for a later time...I'm a KC Chiefs and BoSox fan at heart so I'll tell you what I think about the Raiders and Yankees at some point I'm sure...thats enough for now...Thanks for having me!!!
Welcome Airzona. We're a pretty eclectic bunch here with all kinds of loyalties to all kinds of teams, college and pro. You are in good company. Please stick around and see for yourself.
I've been out of high school since 1976 but I remember back then that high school coaches, at least in Tennessee, had to teach a class or two as well. To you teach any classes? I ask this because you have several types of teachers/instructors here on the Skybox. Bill retired from teaching in a Community College. JO'Co teaches History, as I recall, in High School. I am an instructor in the semiconductor industry teaching classes all over the world. Welcome and enjoy the board.
Nope...i don't teach any classes, in arizona they offer a coaching certificate through the state so you can coach w/o having to teach...thats awesome that many of you have or do teach once i finish my schooling i may try and teach at some point, but as of now its not necessary.
AZ <t>If you ever have designs on coaching in other states, you would have to become a teacher first. There are exceptions, but not many.<br/> <br/> I've coached both HS and college baseball and respective summer leagues for both levels. You have my admiration and respect for doing what you do. Dealing with teenage girls would be rough, dealing with their parents even rougher.<br/> <br/> I've been going out of my mind in AL since there simply are not many opportunities to coach collegiately here. For giggles, I may coach one of the historically bad HS programs in the area just to see how fast it can be turned around.<br/> <br/> Things work a little different here in the South then my previous stops... Are you born/raised Zona?</t>
Yeah...once i finish up my schooling my plan is to coach collegiately but if i ever planned on going back to coach high school following that then i would have issues in different states, any pointers on the challenges of coaching in college since you've been there???...to answer your question, yes i was born and raised in Arizona.
they are a world apart <t>coaching HS and College baseball are totally different animals. like all things coaching, organization and preparation are everything but the college game requires so much more because you are your own franchise within the company.<br/> <br/> In HS you have some budgetary concerns, you can address most of those with modest fund raising programs. You have a LOT of interaction with the kid's parents at the HS level. Without them, or more important, their support.. you are nothing. They are a wonderful resource. They can be used to raise the money and provide both infrastructure and cash flow for your program. You are 'teaching' a lot at the HS level. I didn't use to believe that but JOCO and a wise man by the name of Bob Beck showed me my ignorance and how kids at that level MUST be dealt with. For the most part, the school provides the money, uniforms and the kids. I liked coaching HS kids well enough and I have had a ton of success in dealing with that age group. My problem is that I hate parents.. by that, I mean I hate good parents. Bad parents aren't even worth my consideration, but the good ones are too involved and there is a fine line you have to dance without hurting feelings or burning bridges. The roads you build early on in coaching will lead to bridges that will last you for 50 years. Any connection that you lose, or leave on bad terms will come back to bite you in the arse so you better make plans as to how to deal with it when the time comes.<br/> <br/> College is different. You aren't handed as much, especially in baseball, as you are in high school.<br/> <br/> You are given a bare bones operating budget, and it is VERY important that you know exactly what your MINIMUM budget should be at all times. If you do not, someone else will steal it. I believe administrators call it 'appropriating' but basically, they will jack your cash if you can't justify holding onto it. Before you even start applying for jobs, do some brain picking with guys who run programs. Get to know them, play some golf or some poker. Get details from them about what it costs to run their program. You will need to get, at a minimum, figures for:<br/> <br/> -Equipment<br/> -Transportation<br/> -Field maintenance fees<br/> -Umpires<br/> -Travel Cost including food and hotels<br/> -Coaching staff salaries<br/> -Scholarships<br/> <br/> Remember, that is a minimum and most likely, you won't get enough from the school to cover it. Now you've got two choices: Budget and cut, OR go out and raise money. (hint, always choose the latter). Attend every booster function you can, spend time with the other coaches.. listen to them, don't speak. If you open your mouth, it better be a question or leading to one. The more info you betray about your ideas may well lead them to taking one of your boosters or sponsors. Get to know the local Chamber of Commerce, see if you can have a sit down with them as well as the local city and county politicians. You should exhaust any and all means that could create a visible, upward image of you and your program. A visible and upward image is a marketable one..and you are marketing your program, your school and yourself. Meet with the schools journalism dept and see if they can assist you with a program. BE PICKY. If they are going to give you a half-assed, printer-paper program then don't be afraid to solicit advertisement in trade for product from a local printing company. Give the school the first crack though. You can make $$ thru your program to cover your equipment costs at least. Also, institute off-season 'camps' for kids in the local community. This increases familiarity with the program in the local communities eyes (even if its a poor resource of talent), it places your name on the tips of the tongues of high school coaches (and players) in your state.. Almost as important, its an opportunity for you to supplement the income of your assistant coaches who will run the camp. You will have better things to do other than making an appearance or two. (eg recruiting and fund raising).<br/> <br/> In HS the kids are brought to you, in college, you have to go get them. Get to know the history of the region. Where has the talent come from in the past? Are there talent pools in your area that have kids going elsewhere? etc? Attend every major HS and club/summer team tournament that you can. Tournaments are great because they bring lots of kids together in a concentrated area for short periods of time. The more kids you see, the greater the database you are drawing from becomes. Glad hand the HS coaches and sit over in the crowd of fellow college coaches. Introduce yourself..remember, building roads... Avoid sitting with the parents if you can. Too much can be said about you that you can't 'disprove.' If you hate parents like I do (and that group of college coaches do) this won't be a problem anyway.<br/> <br/> Your practice time is limited, it must be maximized. Organization is everything. Practices must be efficient. If people are standing around, you are failing. Everything is for a reason. You start with your ethos.. Who you are. What YOU want to do as a team. You begin with those basic building blocks and go from there. You will spend a lot of time teaching fundamentals to HS kids. There is a misconception that even in advanced HS programs, these kids are taught (and learn) a lot. They aren't and they don't. Fundamentals are huge.<br/> <br/> Your direct practice time is limited by the NCAA. Their conditioning time is not. Meet with the SnC guy on campus. Meet with him and discuss what you are looking for with your athletes.. Have him build a program for your players. Those guys live for this stuff if they are any good and few coaches truly turn this aspect over to them. They will love you for it AND it will put you in good graces with the guy who controls the student trainers. That's a VERY good thing. Figure out which student-trainer will be yours and put his arse in charge of monitoring progress and attendance in the weightroom/track. Have that kid report it to your assistant. Come down hard, early and often on those not in compliance to set the tone for the year.<br/> <br/> Have a pre-season alumni game. Bribe a local ump with $50 or a case of beer. or a dinner to cover it. You don't make money on this. You don't even care if you break even. You are creating a family atmosphere and bond between your program and those who played in the past who don't know you from Adam. Tell all the alumni that the ump is a volunteer. Its a lie but they won't bust his balls and you will be building a relationship with local officials who may well be calling your game one day. All good things.<br/> <br/> Pay close attention to the booster donations. Learn the past history of your program. See if any of those guys contributing big $$ blindly to your athletic dept played the sport you are coaching. You can, if the school will allow, create a booster club specific for your sport. Find the guy on campus who is paid to set these things up (it isn't you) and have him get on it. You can meet with the booster though. Explain to him your concerns.. pitch your program, play a round of golf with the guy whatever..Get his money OUT of everyone's pocket and into your program.<br/> <br/> Now I believe I read that you coach women's softball. Your monetary concerns in college are much different than they are in HS. Universities are afraid of Title IX lawsuits and will be throwing money at you. The problem with money is much greater for men's sports that aren't football, basketball or hockey in the ice regions.<br/> <br/> Still, even with women's sports... you can do those things listed above and you will be well ahead of the game. There are a lot of lazy administrative types that come up thru women's sports because they love to play the political game to get what they want and no component of the athletic department swings the stick (aside from football) like women's sports.<br/> <br/> At the HS level, there are all types of coaches...teachers, administrators, community based people, former local heroes, psycho parents who somehow got hired by the school...and the occasional pirate.<br/> <br/> In college, there are administrators and pirates. You better know which one you are before you get in over your head. There are good and bad of each...no one is truly better than the other. I can extrapolate more on that at another time..if you want.</t>
Arizona, I went into teaching math at a Community College after an early retirement from a major Electrical Utility. It revived me mentally and I loved every minute of my time there. I ended up teaching until I was 70 and it would have been longer except that we decided to move to North Carolina from Florida and at this stage in my life I don't feel like breaking in a new administration. I didn't coach except at an intramural level. The whole experience was rewarding beyond believe. I know JO'Co has turned to teaching as 2nd career and been able to keep his coaching going also. Again welcome aboard.
Corey, that was a very interesting read for me. I hope you are able to get back to coaching soon the kids would benefit from your experience.