Why do coaches sit on leads?

Airman - do what you think is right & don't worry about it. The parable below is INVALUABLE to all football coaches. Sooner or later, you will become a believer in it:

This is Dan Henning's ("OC" of Carolina Panthers) FAVORITE:

An old man, a boy and a donkey were going to town. The boy rode on the
donkey and the old man walked. As they went along they passed some people
who remarked it was a shame the old man was walking and the boy was
riding.
The man and boy thought maybe the critics were right, so they changed
positions. Later, they passed some people that remarked, What a shame, he
makes that little boy walk. They then decided they both would walk.
Soon they passed some more people who thought they were stupid to walk when
they
had a decent donkey to ride. So, they both rode the donkey. Now they passed
some people that shamed them by saying how awful to put such a load on a
poor donkey. The boy and man said they were probably right, so they decided
to carry the donkey. As they crossed the bridge, they lost their grip
on the animal and it fell into the river and drowned. The moral of the
story?

If you try to please everyone, you might as well .. kiss your ass good-bye.

Just a thought though...

What happens if there is a CLEAR differential in the size and talent level of the players?

We have some situations like this in our league. We have a couple schools that have an EXTREMELY high percentage of students who are in their 1st or 2nd year in the country, let alone playing football. I've played for and coached with the head coach and he is one of the better coaches in our area, one a few championships, but ended up at this school through a school closure (keep in mind, our coaches are contracted teachers, so you can't 'move' jobs as easy).

He basically has to teach them the ENTIRE game. He's also dealing with students who barely know English, and they're lucky to field a team. Essentially this team is playing to learn the game, and the 'life' skills that football teaches.

Is it okay to beat this team by 100?

I'd hardly call him a whiner when he's forced to play some of the top teams in our area b/c of scheduling.. and these guys are throwing constantly, and blitzing.

I once heard a story between Bobby Bowden at WVa and Lou Holtz... Bowden whipped up on Holtz and told him it's 'your job to keep the score down... not mine'...

I disagree... if there is a clear differential in the skill level of the teams... its also your job to control what happens as a coach.

There is no 'rule'... It is called consideration... because one day... you might be on the recieving end.

Coach... I totally respect your opinion too, however I was talking about HS... and I have seen in Michigan and some other states some scheduling irregularities where you have VERY weak programs playing national powerhouses - so talent level isn't always equal.

I am sorry, but 'too bad for the lesser team' doesn't quite work for me if you've got a noticeable gulf in talent/ability. As a coach there is also a responsibility FIRST and foremost to teach players LIFE skills, and to act in the "best interests of the game". This is where I think that 'unwritten' rule enters the equation. For example in our league we have specific rules about practicing before a certain date: we had a VERY successful coach (since gone to college ball) hold 'team get togethers' where no coaches were 'on the field'. Rather they stood on the other side of the track - and then claimed it wasn't a practice - again not 'outside' the rules, but not ethical or in the best interests of the game.

However, I don't think that is what happened here at all.

I agree the opposing coach probably should have handled it differently - simply shook hands, exchanged pleasantries and walked away. But DEPENDING on the situation, I can't entirely condemn him either but he wasn't setting a good example - which might be more important.

I would like to add to one of your points though - that being that the HS player is being prepared to go on to the college level.

Less than 1 out of every 330 HS players moves on to college, and even less onto the NFL (where the avg career is LESS than 2 years and most leave with little money). I prefer to take the approach that the players are being prepared for life. While I agree no player should be treated with baby-powdered hands, I think sometimes coaches forget that most of their players will not play significantly past high school.

On a totally separate issue: please email me regarding some of the VHS tapes I think you were interested in at BlackFly73@yahoo.com

Coach Easton;

No problem at all :-)

If you're ever up in my neck of the woods... instead of chocolate or vanilla, I'll treat you to some Neopolatain ice cream - chocolate. vanilla, and strawberry... Just like a good coaching staff... lots of different points of view all working together. One of the best things about coaches in general is that we can all share different opinions, techniques, systems; and usually come away richer and better for it.

As they say:

'Iron sharpens Iron'

Sorry, but I am going to have to disagree with most of you. I think it is entirely wrong to keep passing and scoring with a big lead. Those kids on the other side of the field work too hard to have another team rub it in their face. OK, you won. You are the better team. Don't continue to shove it in their faces. That is akin to a player who talks trash to the other team after he scores a touchdown. OK, nice job. Now bow out gracefully and quietly and get back to work for next week. Don't prolong the agony. Their is something that is slowly eroding in sports today and that is class. Today it is about arrogance, brashness, bragging rights, and chest beating. Coaches need to teach our kids not to kick a beaten dog. Unfortunately, coaches egos get to them and they feel the need to pour it on. When we have a big lead (30+) , we pull our starters and keep the ball on the ground. It keeps kids from getting hurt and teaches them about the value of respect for your opponent, integrity of the team and sportsmanship. Call me old school. Call me naive but beating a team by 35 points just because you CAN? That is not the football I know. Now, I will put a little condition on this. If a team beats me like that with no respect for my kids and runs it up, they better watch out next year because what goes around comes around. That is the only time I will pour it on.