What do you think the honest job ad for high school coaching jobs in 2024 will say?
“You work long hours to earn a dollar, you get criticized by your parents for personal agendas and random revenge, you feel bad for a school board that doesn’t know your worth and doesn’t hesitate to fire you without explaining why.” and be prepared to be slandered on social media and possibly in the local press.”
Oh, I'd better win.
Two North Jersey softball coaches resigned this season, one just before the start of regular season play, and Notre Dame's head softball coach also resigned last week. This is the latest sign that the job of a high school coach is hard work, increasingly complex and taxing, and far less valuable to many.
Coaches don't want to talk about it. I reached out to several veteran coaches and asked if their jobs had become more difficult, but no one wanted to comment on this record. Personally, I find this story hilarious.
Parents want their children to play, improve, and succeed. But in 2024, he will be bolder than ever with the advent of social media and mobile phones. It’s the “all about me” culture running wild. So what's a high school coach supposed to do when one of the parents is also a reality TV star? Where is that mentioned in the coaching handbook?
Coaches have to deal with players posting highlights on social media for likes, even though their teams have received harsh punishments. How can you get players to buy into the team concept?
One AD showed me text messages from very angry parents insisting that the school, conference, and state athletic association do something after their child was assaulted at a recent game. Well, maybe that's coming, even though every video seemed to show her child being the instigator.
I've also seen reports of parents at one school calling the university their player had committed to play to report what they felt was bad behavior in a recent game. Yes, it's university! Is revenge that much?
Wait, wait, it gets better. Another coach told me the story of a parent who sued his school for not creating the best offensive positions for his son to play, and claimed that if the school paid his tuition, all charges would be dropped. . My child has transferred to a new school.
So guys, what are we doing here?
What we are doing is losing the “middle class” of coaches. North Jersey still has some legendary “Old Guards.” They are Sue Liddy, who coaches two sports for the Holy Angels, Jeff Jasper of Pascack Valley, Kurt Homen of Ridgewood, Steve Silver of IHA and Evan Baumgarten of Ramapo. What these five of his guys have is enough victory that any scoundrel parent could basically look at them and say, “Go fly a kite.”
But what if you're new? What if your parents attack you when you're in first, second, or third grade, even if you're winning? Even if he is exonerated, there is a possibility that he will remain at one time, and if a second crime is fabricated, he will be in big trouble.
So why stick with it? Your boyfriend's AD will probably have your back, but there's a chance a new manager will be appointed, or in the worst case scenario, an interim manager, which could put the AD in a precarious position. Please be careful.
Meanwhile, despite having just given a backup third baseman five stars by a sports rating service and applying to a showcase at another university where no school will host a show, the organizers have given him a suitcase full of money. Even if they get it, coaches are also expected to live up to the kids' expectations.
Maybe the coaches who walked away were right. There are better situations. There are better jobs out there. There are parents with realistic expectations and school districts with the right perspective on how athletics will adapt. It's not easy to walk away from a job you love and a player you really care about, but you have to take care of yourself.
No one signs up for high school coaching with the idea that everything is going to be sunny. This is a job designed to support young people in their maturation process as athletes and young men and women. They should grow both physically and mentally.
If we continue to lose high school coaches, we will lose an important piece of the education puzzle. Unfortunately, you can't make a reality show out of it.
