Welcome coaches to another editiion of #GAHSFBCHAT. Tonight promises to be another great night of sharing great thoughts and ideas amongst some of the best HS coaches across the globe.
Tonight we will be discussing "Academics & Eligibility"
#Culture4Coaches
Let's kickstart tonight's chat with introductions.
Whose in the house tonight?
Coaches, please tag a coach who should be in attendance tonight.
Also be sure to increase your coaching network by following your fellow coaches.
#Culture4Coaches#GAHSFBCHAT
Keep those intros coming coaches.
We will use our normal Q1:A1 format tonight.
Be sure to include #GAHSFBCHAT in each of your responses to maximize exposure.
Q1 is on the way in 3 minutes.
#Culture4Coaches
Let's kickstart tonight's chat with introductions.
Whose in the house tonight?
Coaches, please tag a coach who should be in attendance tonight.
Also be sure to increase your coaching network by following your fellow coaches.
#Culture4Coaches#GAHSFBCHAT
A1: Previous years yes. Guy was a wiz, kept tabs on kids grades in real time and was liaison between teachers/players/position coach. Essentially was also our DFO too during practice. Fixing eq, and coordinating THE HELP. Paid a supplement #GAHSFBCHAT
Mathew Bennett, Run Game Coordinator at Woodmont High School in Greenville, South Carolina. Glad to join up with my Georgia brothers here at the #GAHSFBCHAT
A1: Our lead counselor serves as our Academic Advisor. She checks schedules and makes sure that our kids are in the correct classes. She also monitors their grades.
#GAHSFBCHAT
A1: I help our guys with recruiting so I try to make sure I have transcripts for our guys who want to play college ball. As a staff, we all kind of keep our eyes on grades though #GAHSFBCHAT
A1.) We use all coaches. 3 coaches are within the school and I am not. However, weekly grade reports and Fridays a study Hall after school. It helps being a small school to where teachers and coaches interact daily. #GAHSFBChat
A1: Yes. Keeps tabs on grades for each individual on the team. Provides opportunities for those below the line to be reminded of where they should be. #GAHSFBCHAT
That’s awesome. I think AS MANY people within the school you can get involved in the football program is beneficial for the school. I believe give as many teachers ownership opportunities into the program will help you 10 fold #GAHSFBCHAT
Q1: coaches on our staff monitor specific groups 9th, 10th, 11th graders and watch grade progress and attempt to collaborate with teachers to improve their grades. But as some of you coaches know not every teacher is #profootball#GAHSFBCHAT
Q2: Do your players attend study hall / tutorial? If so, what is your schedule?
If not, what is your strategy for achieving academic success?
#GAHSFBCHAT#Culture4Coaches
A2: We have study hall twice a week during the season. Student-athletes are also allowed to attend tutorial sessions, as long as they have a pass to show where they have been.
#GAHSFBCHAT
A2: in a perfect world, you have a day set aside for practice to start an hour later than normal and some teachers that will help out for tutoring once a week. Easy in theory, sometimes tough in practice #GAHSFBCHAT
We normally meet on the SPECIAL TEAM OF THE DAY, after team meeting before practice. If you’re not on the STOTD, your with your position coach doing a 20-25 minute study hall. We tried to keep kids to a max of 2 special teams in order to get these study hall/tutoring #GAHSFBCHAT
Q2: Do your players attend study hall / tutorial? If so, what is your schedule?
If not, what is your strategy for achieving academic success?
#GAHSFBCHAT#Culture4Coaches
We use study hall a couple times after practice. We have several coaches in different subject areas to assist and also we use peer/player tutoring #gahsfbchat#Culture4Coaches
Schedule as follows
Dismissal- 140
Team Meeting 150
Special Team Meeting/Study Hall 200
Indy Meeting 230
Dismiss for Practice 3
On Field 3:15
That’s a normal Tuesday/Wednesday schedule #GAHSFBCHAT
Q2: Do your players attend study hall / tutorial? If so, what is your schedule?
If not, what is your strategy for achieving academic success?
#GAHSFBCHAT#Culture4Coaches
A3: Coach Saban says “if I get them to say they want to play in the NFL, I got them”
We can say the same about college. Use that as extra motivation in the classroom. Also of course we recognize high academics with awards like everyone else #GAHSFBCHAT
A3: We give out an Academic Award at our banquet. Goes to the student-athlete with the highest GPA. Had to give out SEVERAL this year. Numerous kids with 4.0 GPA's.
Next year, I would like to acknowledge "Scholars of the Week"
#GAHSFBCHAT.
This is one , that everywhere I’ve been, I felt like I could’ve personally and as a staff done a better job on #GAHSFBCHAT . Looking for the answers to this one
Would love to start an academic award for those players that achieve success in the classroom and not just the football field. This will show the parents that’s it not just about football but about the total #studentathlete#gahsfbchat#culture4coaches
A1: In-season, the responsibilities are divided among position coaches. Meet with players after practice to discuss any issues. Off-season, I do bi-weekly checks of athletes’ grades. #GAHSFBCHAT
A1) No academic advisor per se but position coaches are basically in charge of keeping up with their players grades. We recently started a system where upper classmen have a small group of players they’re responsible for checking up on #GAHSFBCHAT
A3: You want to play at the next level? It doesn't happen without grades and test scores, so make it happen. Our local newspaper makes a big deal over seniors who letter in multiple sports and finish with over a 3.5 GPA #GAHSFBCHAT
One thing I would love to implement is something we did when I was in HS. Everyone has their “boards” in the weight room. We had a 3.0 Board, so you could see who was taking care of business in the classroom #gahsfbchat
A3) We give out an award for the players with the highest overall GPA in each grade and always make a big deal out of it at the awards banquet #GAHSFBCHAT
A2: We allow athletes chance to attend tutoring with their teachers, and they must bring a pass to show where they were. We have to do a better job of ensuring that quality work is getting done. #GAHSFBCHAT
A3: We have an award that honors our top student on our team. Also, our state association honors scholar athletes who played for our program. #GAHSFBCHAT
A4: Yes , they get assigned EO’s. EO=Extra Opportunity to get better and do the work. Make it so painful they don’t want to come back. I’ve proudly been fired 2x from being the EO coach. #GAHSFBChat
A4: We don’t, and that is something that I have been thinking about this offseason. I think if we are consistent in enforcing throughout the offseason, in-season will take care of itself. #GAHSFBCHAT
Yes in the past we have done “12th Man”. Teachers we believe have gone out of their way to either help or mentor our kids. Get to eat pregame , meetings, and spend on the sideline with us #GAHSFBCHAT
A5) Well for me being a teacher in a core subject helps, especially when it comes to their social studies classes. We have two other coaches who also teach science & math so we usually all get good feedback from other teachers about our players whether good or bad. #GAHSFBCHAT
Also, stole this idea from @coach_Beasley , but yet to use it, but WILL. Give teachers who want to participate helmet decals to keep in their desk and give criteria to award these to kids. Has to be SPECIAL. #GAHSFBCHAT
A5: We have Honorary Warriors each Friday night. Our senior players select a teacher who has made a difference for them. The players introduce them at the team meal and they eat with them before serving as honorary captains at the coin toss. #GAHSFBCHAT
A5: Communication is key. It’s easier to hold them accountable during the season (Conditioning, playing time, etc.) Off-season has been good this year because our kids finally realize the accountability that they must have. Most teachers want to see them do well! #GAHSFBCHAT
Anyone do any type of Teacher of the Week? I see several teams on Twitter during the season that have either certain players or the HC pick a teacher to come on sideline & get a jersey. Others do teacher appreciation week where kids pick teacher to wear their jersey #GAHSFBCHAT
Yes in the past we have done “12th Man”. Teachers we believe have gone out of their way to either help or mentor our kids. Get to eat pregame , meetings, and spend on the sideline with us #GAHSFBCHAT
Yep, it’s normally kid or coach selected. Now..... if there is a teacher who isn’t on the positive end of the spectrum, they’ll get selected to. Spend time with our kids outside of the class room. And see WERE on their side #gahsfbchat
Anyone do any type of Teacher of the Week? I see several teams on Twitter during the season that have either certain players or the HC pick a teacher to come on sideline & get a jersey. Others do teacher appreciation week where kids pick teacher to wear their jersey #GAHSFBCHAT
A6: We have credit recovery & summer school. Also, we work with or guidance dept. to ensure that they regain eligibility & academic focus. We had a kid who was ineligible as a sophomore, and now he is on track to earn an opportunity to play at the next level! #GAHSFBCHAT
A7: Players turn in their weekly progess reports to their position coach. The position coach reviews it and counsels them before sending the report to the HC & Counselor.
#GAHSFBCHAT
A7: Yes. I do most of the ground work, but they all stress academics to our players. Google (Docs, Sheets, etc.) keeps us all updated of any changes. I share all of our players GPA, Core GPA, and ACT/SAT scores so that we all can be aware. cont. #GAHSFBCHAT
Yes , yes, and yes. Individual position coaches would do grade checks with paper or computer and talk to the kids individually. REMIND ones with D’s and F’s. Also get to the root of the problem. Missing asssignments? Lack of understanding of material? #gahsfbchat
A7: cont. By all of us having this information, the infamous question of “why is my son not getting recruited” can be answered by all of our coaches, and not just myself. Especially in regards to academics, which is the major issue for too many of our kids! #GAHSFBCHAT
A8) Not sure if it’s the same thing as policy/procedure but I really like that we have an award for highest overall GPA for each grade level and give it out in front of everyone at our banquet each year. I think that’s something every team should have. #GAHSFBCHAT
A8: We did Test Prep this year, and I think that helps our kids a lot. It worked well at my previous school, and I am looking to see how we did this year. With ACT Academy and @khanacademy providing free resources, all we need is computer access! #GAHSFBCHAT
Don’t know if this is a policy or procedure but I tell our guys ALL THE TIME, “You cannot chose to be great in one aspect of your life (football), and be crappy in the rest. You need to understand GREATNESS IS A LIFESTYLE. It’s through ALL FACETS of your life. #GAHSFBCHAT
A8: Honorary (insert mascot name) The teachers are who our kids spend their academic time with. They have to not only be a part, but a celebrated part of the process. Win them over and your kids will always have a great chance for academic success! #GAHSFBCHAT
