Wheres the hustle?

[yourmom]

Ok so this year I started coaching a first year team at my old High School. While most of the kids have never played before, they are all showing great improvement since the majority of our time during practice is spent on the basics.

My problem though is the age old one of hustle. I know I always heard, throughout all the different sports I played, the coach yelling at us to run faster and to hustle. I now know what he was talking about. Our past few games it seems like these highschoolers don't care. They jog (if im lucky) to the ground balls, and just play lazy. I cannot get them to run and give it all up during a game. It's not that they are tired, I have too deep a bench for that, they just won't go.

I have tried being nice and polite, doing the opposite and yelling, running them during practice, threatening with less playing time and more running. Nothing seems to work.

I don't think it is my coaching since all the parents have been saying how good I am doing. Their skills have improved now what?

So if anyone has any great miracle solutions let me know. I am open to just about anything.

[pstirling]

I completely agree with your assessment. Maybe it's just the current state of all high schooler's, but I can't get them to care about anything, especially around Spring Break time. I have a lot more respect for teacher's dealing with senioritis, because trying to motivate a group of high schooler's to do anything, even something they should enjoy, at this point of the year is impossible.

Ground ball drills seem to get them momentarily fired up, but that quickly goes away. So I don't really have any miracle solutions, but I feel your pain. [/quote]

[laxfan25]

I think that experience is going to be the only salvation. Being a first-year team is tough - until lacrosse catches on and becomes a "cool" thing in school and more players come out and there's competition for spots, it'll be a challenge.
I also think that desire is something innate in some kids - it doesn't matter what the sport is, they just WANT THE BALL, and will streak towards it at all times. Now if you can only figure out how to test for that attitude!
I wish I could instill that in my 8th grade son, who seems to enjoy being a spectator to the scrum rather than a hungry participant.

[Tim Whitehead]

One thing that worked for a few (but definitely not all) of the high school kids I coached was doing a lot of the running with them. In sprints at the end of practice I'd bust my ass and give them a good example. I also gave them some incentive: anyone that beat me in the first set of sprints didn't have to do the second set. By giving them a good example, I hope it showed some of them how hard they need to work, and by participating with them, it gave them all something to shoot for (they all wanna beat the coach). I'd also every once in a while jump in on ground ball drills, things like that. They all wanna beat the coach, so it shows them how hard they need to work to do that. Hopefully some of the hard work they show against me translates to the games. A few of the players really responded to this. Others, not so much. But with high school kids, that's what you're gonna get. Some will just do whatever they want no matter what.

[ZagGrad]

As a volunteer coach, I am not paid--obviously, I get less funding from the school, it is not a varsity sport, and, as a result, do not get a great turnout (I think we're sitting around 17 kids). However, these kids play because they want to and rarely is hustle a problem...

Also, I run these kids into the ground. They usually run 2-3 miles before practice, run all during practice, and I make them run sprints after we're done. It was at the end of the season, last year, when these kids understood the importance of running and their endurance (we were able to punish teams and run our opponents into oblivion). If kids have endurance, they can still handle the ball and compete when the opponent is dead tired. Since my kids realize the importance of endurance, I rarely hear any complaints.

Maybe you have a problem with motivation? Or getting your kids motivated?

[DanGenck]

I think that practice tempo is key. In high school, we had few rules but one of the biggest ones was to never walk on the field. We always had upbeat, quick paced practices. We were always moving from one place to the next and coaches never let us off the hook if we walked. When a drill ends and a new one begins, players should always be running.

Having consistent running keeps the practice quick and focused, and after awhile, it will plant a natural hustle in your players.

[John Bifulco]

I like Zaggrad and Dan's comments. Running with the guys as a coach is ususually motivating for players and one of the toughest parts for a coach is keeping up the tempo of practice.

I think there is a cultural swing that is also the problem. When you look at traditional team sports like football, baseball, softball, and hockey, over the past 20-30 years the number of athletes have gone down significantly. Interestingly, lacrosse and soccer are the only two traditional team sports that are seeing growth. Lacrosse at a greater rate than soccer.

Kids today face more choices as adrenaline sports have become popular. Weather it be skateboarding, mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, or sitting at home playing video games, there are more sports competing for a kids attention. A lot of these sports are very individualistic and offer kids an escape from another adult person (coach) telling and yelling at them what to do. They offer "at my own pace" progression, community with friends, as well as less competitive approach, unless they compete at a high level. Also the media has perpetuated the "coolness" factor of these sports that are almost considered lifestyles. Think the surfing scene.

I think it is going to get harder, rather than easier for coaches to get that hustle out of kids in the future. When you consider that most coaches are volunteers, many with little coaching experience or playing experience, this adds another layer of difficulty to try and motivate a kid a practice. This raises the bar for good coaches though. And final thought, along with having up-tempo practices, try not getting stuck in the same routine. That is a killer for motivation and hustle.

[ZagGrad]

To touch on what Tim said, I suit up practically every practice and hustle my balls off every time I suit up. I love to play and my excitement transpires to hustling during every play. Once the kids see me practicing with them, they try and step it up a notch: "Uh oh, I have to pass to coach now--it better be good" or "coach is on my team, I better hustle and make sure I get to that ball"--something like that. I don't participate in ground balls though--I hate doing those.

[John Paul]

Some very good comments and advice here. I especially like Dan's point about running efficient, organized and intense practices and Tim's about showing them the way yourself sometimes (If you're able).

I don't ever practice with my guys, but I do run and lift with them sometimes. They mostly kick my butt, but they see that I still work hard when I go. One of our assistant coaches was an All-Ivy player at Harvard, and he jumps into some of our drills and scrimmages sometimes. It helps.

The biggest challenge is cultural as John described so well. Kids need to understand what sustained excellence is because they don't see it that often anymore. To that end, I firmly believe in emphasizing the little things that Dan was alluding to (being on time, running between drills, being prepared, wearing proper apparel, etc.). If you demand excellence in everything (and show it yourself without asking for recognition), you're more likely to see it in the moments that really matter. Laxfan25 has seen this quote from me - "If you can't get them to salute when they're supposed to salute and wear the clothes you tell them to wear, how the hell are you going to get them to die for their country?" - George Patton.

There's also a lot of information out there on how to identify and cultivate good team leaders. They have a lot more power to motivate their peers than any of us coaches have over our players.

[mholtz]

I think that practice tempo is key. In high school, we had few rules but one of the biggest ones was to never walk on the field. We always had upbeat, quick paced practices. We were always moving from one place to the next and coaches never let us off the hook if we walked. When a drill ends and a new one begins, players should always be running.

Having consistent running keeps the practice quick and focused, and after awhile, it will plant a natural hustle in your players.

I would agree here. One thing that could help is to have a very well planned out practice before hand, with strict time frames. Hold yourself to it, and make them move between drills. Spending 30 minutes before hand planning a practice will help out a lot.

[John Bifulco]

A great and easy ready is Lou Holtz's book Winning Every Day.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... ce&s=books

It really provides a a tremendous amount of advice and insight from Coach Holtz's experiences that apply to coaching and everyday life. I highly recommend for both players and coaches.

[yourmom]

First off thanks for all of the posts and advice. I must say I wish I would have started this topic long ago.

We had a game today, and I was bound and determined to light a fire under them. I don't think it was me, but somthing sure changed! We out hustled, out ground balled, and just plain wanted it more than the other team.

I think the key to our turn around was influenced by the team being tired of losing, other players who don't usually get as much pt taking alot away from the better players just because they wanted to stay in and would do anything for it, and finally I had a player come to me before hand and ask if he could say a few words. Just like what John Paul said about the players having more influence than coaches. He expressed his feelings in a very vocal way to the team and it seemed to work.

Much of what everyone posted above seems to be very true. They have to decide when they want to play. I run many different drills during practice to try and keep thier attention. Running is the basis of practice; long distance at the begining, sprinting at the end. And anything in between depending on thier performance that day. But when it comes to the games its out of my hands and up to them, no matter how much I want to suit up and sprint across the field.

I must say as a first year coach, this is one of the best things I have been involved in. I am learning a completly different side of the game that I could never grasp before. When I leave I feel good about my self and the people involved with the team, from the parents to the players. Watching them get better from the first practice and pick up after each game is amazing. And the buzz the parents have after watching the first game and talking about how exciting it is to watch is great. This sport is truly somthing special that I am proud to play and coach.

[DanGenck]

On a side note, I wish more teams used the coaching opportunities part of the message board. I have nowhere to coach yet next year!

[OAKS]

On a side note, I wish more teams used the coaching opportunities part of the message board. I have nowhere to coach yet next year!

Ref! Everyone could use more...

[Rob Graff]

Pete Carrill's coaching book - The Smart take from the Strong is also a great read for coaches.