What to do when your coach has no clue?

[PuLsE_SpEeD]

Well, my highschool JV team is in the akward situation where the varsity has the one (and only) coach that has ever played lacrosse. On the otherhand we are left with a football coach, and some guy who just started to coach with no prior knowledge of lacrosse. To give you an idea one coach has never even touched a stick and the other one bought one from ****'s and has no clue how to throw or catch.

Here's the question, about everyone on the team knows that we don't have the best lacrosse coaches (or plays) in the world. But, none intends to walk up to our coach and say "you have no clue what your talking about" as that would probably result in us running laps until we fall over.

So, what is the best way to tell our coach "this is how we should do such-and-such", without sounding bad?

Thanks to anyone that can help.

[CTLaxer]

Be polite, offer up suggestions on what to do or how things should be done. To disguise it a little bit just be like "hey coach, we saw the varsity doing such and such, can we do that too?" or "at a camp this summer, we did this shooting drill and it really worked well and taught us a lot, think we could try it in practice?"

If you want, have captains talk to them in private and just lay it all on the table, something like "hey coach(es), we're still learning a lot, and we know you guys are new to this too, so we'd like to help you guys help us. If it's ok with you, we'd like to offer up suggestions and advice about drills, practice, the team, etc etc."

The key is to not stand in front of the whole team and be like "coach you're stupid and don't know what you're doing, we need to do it this way!" just take him/her aside before or after practice, during a water break and make subtle suggestions, in a private conversation.

I know I like and encourage feedback from all of my players, as long as it's done in a constructive an non disruptive maner. Now, if the coaching staff is unreceptive to help, suggestions, or anything like that...you might have a larger problem on your hands.

[WHEELAX2]

I know exactly what you are talking about. In college I played for a coach who never even played lacrosse before. We ended up being 10th in the nation, but that was just based on our talent level.

This situation can be very, very frustrating.

The mark of a true leader is to make sure that your team comes first. You don't want to be the guy who always questions your coach and the decisions he makes in practice or in games. This can only serve to make for bad practices and bad games.

I suspect that lacrosse is new in your area?
Try talking to an administrator or your parents to see what can be done. Your team deserves the best coaching and tools possible. There are a number of ex-college players looking for a place to coach.

Until a coaching change is made, you are going to have to be the coach on the field. Don't do anything against your coach. Be a leader by working hard and not talking back. If he tells you to do something that you don't think will work, try it to the best of your ability; when it fails, you might suggest another play or drill or whatever.

[roycegracie47]

My sophmore year of college our head coach stepped down and the college appointed one of the football coaches who had never played before, he just wanted head coaching experience. That year we lost every game. The next year we a added an assistant coach who played defense all over Minnesota and turned us around greatly. My senior year the head coach stepped down at the end of the season and the asst became the current interum head coach since we owed the success we had that season largely to him.

We tried many times to get the football coach out of there and some players just quit period. Rather than rock the boat any further, we did exactly what WHEELAX2 suggested above and it paid off when we got the asst coach who knew the game (well it paid off for our defense).

[WHEELAX2]

HEY ROYCE..

HAVING A BAD COACH SUX, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU AND I COME FROM HOTBEADS OF LACROSSE.

HOW CAN WE GET QUALIFIED COACHES INTO THESE POSTIONS??

[roycegracie47]

HEY ROYCE..

HAVING A BAD COACH SUX, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU AND I COME FROM HOTBEADS OF LACROSSE.

HOW CAN WE GET QUALIFIED COACHES INTO THESE POSTIONS??

Well My problem actually took play in Ohio where I went to college. There is nothing worse than a coach with no knowledge of your sport who tells you he doesn't think you have the skills to play in my own opinion/experience. As far as locally, I feel people out of college who want to get into coaching seriously should contact their local school systems, or go to laxjobs.com and either post a resume or look at which area is posting for a coach they are in need of. People who are in school and are trying to get out of a bad coach situation need to start a dialogue with their Athletics Director immediately. The problem is some kids think it is going over their coach's head (or helmet if you prefer spaceballs referrences) which it is, but they believe it will result in a backlash against the team. The best way to conquer that is to have outgoing seniors start this as a way of trying to ensure the success of the team as future alumni. It's a tough situation to rectify, but can only be don if people are proactive in wanting to solve the problem.

[WHEELAX2]

I actually went to college in West Virginia.. I came from New York and you can immagine the shock

[roycegracie47]

Judging by your screen name, would I be correct in guessing you went to Wheeling Jesuit??

[WHEELAX2]

correct.. I was a transfer from NY
When I got there I realized that the coach they had was great at recruiting but terrible at coaching.. It was so frustrating. I felt like i was ten steps ahead of him, especially in games.

[roycegracie47]

Yeah, I played for Oberlin and we played you guys a few times during my freshman through junior years. Everyone on offense felt really held back by our coach since only our defense was recieving helpful instruction. It wasn't that the coach was a bad guy, he just didn't have the exprience to make us into a good team past the defense. That was why he made the decision to step down to keep from holding the program back.

[WHEELAX2]

Thankfully our coach did not receive a contract extension. I just wonder why and how these guys get the jobs. There must be ten or so guys willing to make the move, etc to coach in these places.
The qualifications these guys don't really meet the job requirements..
Maybe the problem is the pay.. They can't pay quality guys or something.
I just know that it isn't fair to kids who want to actually learn fundamentals, etc..
I was lucky.. where I played High School ball was such a dominant area.. we only lost two games my whole career.. Even the Community college I played at made the NJCAA playoffs.

[roycegracie47]

Pay is one of the issues, especially because there is the stigma that more experience means thay want more pay (I've had that bite me in the *** on some interviews). And if an institution can use one of their exhisting coaches over going out and having to hire a new coach, rest assured that's a corner they will cut. For Oberlin's sake it's a good thing we got a AD that was concerned with making Lax a premier program (a long way for that though).

[WHEELAX2]

unfortuantely, our AD was also the basketball coach. and you know how other coaches feel about lacrosse/ lacrosse players

[roycegracie47]

That was my exact problem in High School. AD was a basketaball coach and if money didn't go to that it went to football, baseball, and cheerleading. Fortunately we got rid of him and the new AD got us a lax coach my senior year to start a team. Just another side of lax on the backburner in schools without programs.

[WHEELAX2]

The good thing is that kids these days (i sound like an old man) have a wealth of information and resources available to them. Things like this website, camps, etc.

[roycegracie47]

The good thing is that kids these days (i sound like an old man) have a wealth of information and resources available to them. Things like this website, camps, etc.


agreed. nothing like making yourself sound old when you're still young.

[laxfolife24]

Talk to the captain and then have them go to him and let him know how the team is feeling and if that doesnt work and you feel that strongly about it you could go to the board of directors and make him leave and get a new coach that knows that they are talking about. I'm sure that there is a good lacrosse coach in your area.

[stegmakk]

Wheeling, etc...I find it AMAZING that coaches at the college level do not have prior experience...I could understand this at the lower levels or if in college it is just a club team, but no college should have a coach with no experience...

Anyway to answer the main question, go with having the captains talk to the coach, but in a non confrontational way...if he actually knows nothing about the sport and is approached in a friendly manner, he should be open to suggestions...

[WHEELAX2]

yeah steg.. I was pretty frustrated day in and day out..

[roycegracie47]

Wheeling, etc...I find it AMAZING that coaches at the college level do not have prior experience...I could understand this at the lower levels or if in college it is just a club team, but no college should have a coach with no experience...

Anyway to answer the main question, go with having the captains talk to the coach, but in a non confrontational way...if he actually knows nothing about the sport and is approached in a friendly manner, he should be open to suggestions...


Be prepared. Even if you approach in a friendly manner with the best of intentions, the Coach may simply say he is stil the caoch for the season and he doesn't want you questioning him yadda yadda yadda...This happened the firt time my team tried anyways.

[imipono]

Royce you went to Oberlin? That's a really good school, not necessarily for lax. I started the club team at John Carroll in Cleveland back in '88 and we played them as a scrub club team our first year, I later transferred to a school in IN. The program at JCU is still club but doing pretty well from what I hear...

This is a tough situation and the kids are the ones that suffer the most. I'd have to agree that a captain's meeting and going to the coach are probably the best way to handle it. Doing it in a friendly manner is definitely going to get you farther than being aggressive.

[roycegracie47]

We tried the friendly manner but it was percieved as aggressive. We decided to let the issue drop for the season and wait til it ended for the seniors to step in and say their piece to the AD.