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High
School Football Coaching: Scope, Turnover, and Setting Yourself Apart Scope
of High School Athletics and Coaching High
school athletics is a very large part of our society. Recent figures show
that around 55% of all high school students compete in some type of high
school sports (Miller, Fredenburg, Lutz, et. Al. 2005). This means 7
million of our nation’s youth, 4 million of those alone being young
males, are influenced by high school sports and their coaches every year (Beem,
2006; Ryan, 2008; National Federation of State High School, 2004;
Whisenant, 2003). These
large numbers of high school students that choose to participate in sports
is not going away. High school sport participation has actually increased
every year (National Federation of State High School Associations, 2004).
The continuing increase of high school sport participation among males and
females has driven a higher demand for high school coaches. A study in
1990 found that there were over 190,000 high school sports teams (Sage,
1990). Currently it is estimated that high school sports teams are coached
by over 500,000 athletic coaches at the high school level (Miller et. al.,
2005; Brylinski, 2002). Turnover The
chief of these high school sports is football. On the positive side
football tends to carry bigger budgets, more fans, and more participation.
The downside is that football carries more pressure, more turnover, and
more coaching dismissals. Some studies show 82% of high school coaches’
rate football as the top pressure sport (Miller et al., 2005). This
increased pressure and stress in the sport of football makes turnover from
football far surpass the turnover from other sports (Miller et. al., 2006;
Miller et. al., 2005). Dismissals of football coaches make up 18% to 31%
of all coaching dismissals per year (Miller et. al., 2006; Miller at al.,
2005; Scantling & Lackey, 2005; Lackey, 1994, 1986). The football
coaching profession is clearly the most fraught with dismissals and
resignations thus creating a special dilemma for those that choose to
coach high school football as a profession. Reasons
for the higher rates of turnover in high school football have been a
fairly well researched topic. One pioneer in the field of researching high
school turnover, Lackey (Scantling, 2005), has conducted turnover studies
for over four decades. Lackey’s studies were started in the 1970’s and
continued throughout this first decade of the 21st century. His
studies and others point to a few general themes in the phenomenon of high
turnover in the football coaching profession. The
general themes can be broken into two divisions. The first division is
internal and external pressures on the coach that will not be discussed in
this paper. The second division is the actual administrative reasons for
football coaching dismissal that we will explore further. Many coaches may
enter the profession and feel the need to win and win right away. While
winning may be important, Lackey and others have found that “lack of
winning” was not as important as other administrative concern or reasons
for dismissing a football coach. In
reality many other factors besides winning were much more important to
administrators when deciding to terminate a football coach. A summation of
research literature shows that coaches are likely to get fired for one or
more of these reasons: inability to maintain player discipline, non-sexual
misconduct, poor relationships with the parents/community, and poor
relationships with the administration (Miller at al, 2006; Lackey, 1977,
1986; 1994; Miller et al., 2005; Scantling & Lackey, 2005). Research
reveals a very stark contrast of the coaching profession to many others.
Unlike other professions, coaches are at the mercy of everyone else’s
perceptions, often parents (Scantling & Lackey, 2005). Setting
Yourself Apart Any
coach, but especially young coaches, should pay special attention to these
types of research findings. This is because in general it appears that
coaches probably do not lack coaching skills but they may lack people
skills (Scantling & Lackey, 2005). This may be because it is easy to
find the time and determination to make various coaching professional
development events such as camps, clinics, and conferences. At these types
of meetings a coach, possibly an already good one, only learns more
coaching skills. Nearly
every other coach in the country is doing the same thing as part of their
professional development. It is time to take an additional or different
strategy to getting ahead in this profession. Research recommends if a
coach wants to increase their professional security they should take a
little extra time away from more coaching skill and develop skills in
areas such as management and interpersonal communication (Miller et. al.,
2006; Scantling & Lackey, 2005). Research also calls for coaches to
embrace public relations, conflict resolution, and sportsmanship (Miller
et. al., 2006; Stewart, 2006). Furthermore, educational research has
increased its recommendations for high school principals to hire coaches
that treat student-athletes as individuals while displaying concern,
understanding, and patience for the young person’s development and
wellbeing (Miller et. al., 2006; Tutko & Burns, 1976). Think
about how many resumes principals and potential employers will receive
where you and every other applicant attended the same convention. You and
every other applicant probably have the same physical education
certification. Now think about this stack of resumes and how you would
compare with a conflict dispute resolution certificate. If you are still
in college and thinking about the coaching profession as a career, see how
many extra classes it would take to get a minor or specialization in
management. The bottom line is now more than ever with shrinking budgets
you must be more qualified, competitive, and adapted as ever. Also
think of how important that interpersonal communication certificate or
class could benefit you if it gave you enough communication skill to keep
your job even when the wins are not coming in. How much could a little
public relations skill help you in building your program in the community
and at the youth league levels? It should not take much convincing for
coaches to see the strategic advantage of possessing these types of
recommended skills. One
may wonder how you could go about attaining these types of skills. The
first strategy would be to see what resources your current employer may
already have. Most school districts and states require professional
development hours. Be a little more selective with those hours by looking
and actually picking out professional development opportunities that set
your skill set and resume apart. If the district does not have a topic
that you like contact your local college or university. Many times they
have various lecture series that take less time than a college course but
still result in a certification. Your school district may allow you to
substitute these university certificates for your professional development
hours. If
you have a little extra time then hit the internet and search for some
good certificate and professional development programs that you can take
on your own schedule. A basic web search will find a wide range of quick,
free certificates to college credit, tuition based certifications. These
certificates and certifications can be found in a wide range of subjects
that are. So this spring and summer as you contemplate your next coaching
professional development event, take a little extra time and add something
a little off the coaching trail but will provide you with a big bang on
your resume and more job security in the future. Stephen
Ruckman;
www.coachruckman.com;
502-724-5314 (cell) Stephen
Ruckman is currently a doctoral student at the University of Louisville
and an assistant football coach at Tate High School in Pensacola, FL. He
is currently working on his dissertation in Educational Leadership with a
specialization in Human Resources. His dissertation topic is on
administrative perspectives in the employment process of high school
football coaches. References Beem,
K. (2006). Righting the balance in the athletics-academics equation. School Administrator, 63(6), 10-20 Brylinski,
J. (2003). National standards for athletic coaches (Report No.
EDO-2002-02). Lackey,
D. (1994). High school coaching-still a “pressure cooker” profession. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 65(6), 68-71
Retrieved Lackey,
D. (1986). The high school coach, a pressure position. Journal
of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 57(3), 28-32 Lackey,
D. (1977). Why do high school coaches quit. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 48,
22-23 Miller,
G.A., Fredenburg, K., Lutz, R., Shim, J., & Miller, J. (2005).
Dismissals and perceptions of pressures in coaching in Miller,
G.A., Lutz, R., Shim, J.,
Fredenburg, K.,
Miller, J.
(2006).
A national study of non-renewal in high school coaching.
Journal of Physical Education,
Recreation & Dance, 77(7), 40-46. Retrieved National
Federation of National
Federation of Ryan,
T.D. (2008). Antecedents for interrole conflict in the high school
teacher/coach. Physical Educator, 65(2) Sage,
G.H. (1987). The social world of high school athletic coaches: multiple
role demands and their consequences. Sociology
of Sport Journal, 4, 213-228 Scantling,
E.,
& Lackey,
D. (2005). Coaches under pressure: four decades of studies. Journal
of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 76(1),
25-29. Retrieved Stewart,
C. (2006). Coach education online: the Tutko,
T. & Burns, W. (1976). Winning
is everything and other American myths. Whisenant,
W.A., (2003). How women have fared as interscholastic athletic
administrators since the passage of Title IX. Sex
Roles, 49(3/4),
179 Retrieved
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