Old School Coaches- Have Kids Changed

I am hoping to do this segment- "Old School Coaches" on a regular basis. I have put together a crew of retired coaches, who were highly successful in their high school coaching career. My hope is to post one question to them every two weeks. 

Bob Anderson- Williamsfield HS

Bob is retired as boys basketball coach at Williamsfield. At a school of only 89 students, in 45 years, his teams won 732 games along with numerous tourney and conference championships. His 1997 team made it to the Elite 8. 

Mike Cooper- Ottawa HS

Mike is the retired Athletic Director at Ottawa HS. He was varsity girls basketball coach for 22 years, as well as sophomore football coach for many years. He was inducted in the the IBCA HOF.

Tim Engebretson- United HS

He was varsity head football coach for many years at United HS. He also has coached basketball at different levels. His 2005 team won the Illinois State Title, and Tim is in the Illinois Football Coaches' HOF as well as the United HOF.

Mark Massey- Clinton HS

Mark was the head volleyball coach at Clinton for 38 years. His teams won 818 games, and twice took second in State. He is in the Iowa Volleyball HOF and Clinton HS HOF.

Thom Sigel- Rock Falls/Rock Island HS

Thom coached basketball for 32 years. His teams won 502 games, and he has the distinction of winning the State Title at both Rock Falls and Rock Island. Thom is in the IBCA HOF.

Dan Sullivan- Brimfield/Princeville HS

Dan coached basketball for over 30 years, being the head coach at both Brimfield and Princeville. He also was the Athletic Director at Princeville for many years. Dan gained fame in both Illinois and Wisconsin as he directed the very popular Milwaukee Bucks Camps at various locations. 

Mike Tracey- Alleman, UTHS, Moline HS

Mike coached football at Alleman, UT, and Moline for over 20 years. By most, he is considered the premier football coach in WB6 history. His teams won 140 games, and twice finished second in State. Mike is in the Alleman HS HOF and the Illinois Football HOF. He was also selected Illinois AD of the Year. 

My Question

Veteran coaches would all agree that the demands involved in coaching have changed thru the years. There is a different set of expectations placed on coaches today. Lots of things have changed thru the years. This week I asked the coaches if players have changed in the time they have coached. 

Mike Tracey- Alleman, UTHS

Yes, I definitely believe kids today have changed. They are subjected to more outside influences than any generation, and things get added every day that we never dealt with. I think it's hard to be a kid today, and it's hard to be a coach. Communication is not done on a one on one level through talking. We all know communication is done through electronic methods. Some coaches obviously are much better than others in this platform. 

I think the biggest challenge today is to try to somehow meet in the middle with kids. Also, parents are even more involved now because they communicate with the same methods. The coach of today has to be more than somewhat skilled in whatever social media message are prominent with your kids. 

On a positive not, communication today can be much improved. coaches who are skilled in this platform can radically improve record keeping, media communication, information to parents, and set up a direct line whereby all players get the same message. In the past, those items were often time consuming. 

I believe that players, families, and the media now expect efficient communication. This is one area where coaches are expected to do a much better job than in the past. There really are no excuses for not making communication vastly improved. 

Thom Sigel- Rock Island

I think like most generations, there are changes.  I know it has been said that kids don’t change, but that the parents have changed.  I believe that the influence of parents has increased through youth sports.  That is only one of the ways I believe coaching has changed.  Other factors that affected how I had to adjust over the years are new techniques, changes in style of play, advances in technology, the influences of social media, and also learning from mistakes I made along the way.

Getting back to your question about how players have changed, I believe they have been impacted by the influences around them.  Some of the changes can be attributed to the influences of social media.  I also think there has been more difficulty finding true leadership, and that may be a result of how structured adults have made sports for kids.  It seems we learned so much by playing sports in the driveway, back yard, or at the park.  Finally, while it may not all on the parents, it seems we are seeing many players who have been more protected from failure.  There is a lot to learn from not succeeding, and toughness is built through difficult times.

So wrapping up my thoughts on the changes in coaching, I will start by referencing a short book I read during COVID.  In Old School Grit by Darrin Donnelly, the quote that caught my eye was “The world will always be changing, but the rules for success will always remain the same.”   It covers different “rules for success”, but my overall interpretation was that the standards can’t change.  It takes what it takes.  If coaches lower the standards in order to appease athletes so they aren’t uncomfortable, it does not help them become their best. 

Along the same lines, it seems a newer buzz word (or phrase) is that it is about building relationships with kids.  While I believe this is true and necessary, I also believe it has always been about relationships.  However, it still should be a coach-player relationship, not more of a friendly relationship.  I think when that happens, there is a chance the necessary discipline teens need can get lost.  So while times have changed and the influences on players have changed, coaches should still have high standards.  And if you can build good coach-player relationships, you can still coach players hard and hold them accountable when needed.

Mark Massey- Clinton

I am not sure if kids themselves have changed, but certainly the landscape and environment of high school sports has changed. Everyone (players, parents, coaches, fans) has access to so much more information. Social media has definitely changed everything. So much more communication relating to a team is available on social media, much of it is not helpful to a team. So much more can be communicated or seen via Instagram, FB, Tik tok, etc.

It just seems like there’s potentially so many more fires to put out for what an athlete has posted, or a parent has posted, just way more problems for coaches. So I don’t know, it’s hard to say if kids have changed. We no longer can take social media out of the coaching equation. It’s social media that allows a parent or a player to put every thought out there, and it’s not always a helpful or team building thought.

Mike Cooper- Ottawa

I don't think players have changed much in the last 30 years. Social Media has changed the attitudes of some players who are trying to live up to unrealistic expectations. I also think college and pro players have set a bad example for younger players who watch them on TV and see them being negative on the court, not working as hard as they can and not being team players. Players still want to play if they can find a gym to play in.

Bob Anderson- Williamsfield

When I think of how or if kids have changed over time, I think of 3 things.

1- I could get on the kids early in my career and those kids would usually respond. When I got on kids of today, it was so foreign to them they didn’t know who to react.

2- I think losing hurt the kids I had early in my career. Now days maybe a did or two were upset but most of them just kind of blew it off.

3- I feel today if the team isn’t successful, most people, especially the parents, are very quick to become the coach instead of telling their kids they need to practice harder.

It’s a different world today. Kids have a lot more choices today than years ago. Coaching is a tough job but it can be very rewarding if you put in the work.

Evan Massey- Galesburg

The most enjoyable part of coaching is the players. I enjoyed the players on my last team as much as I did on my first team. Most players today still want to work hard, be coached, commit to the team, and be held accountable.

Parents have changed a lot more than players have changed- not all, but some parents have changed. Youth travel sports and AAU programs have changed HS sports. Parents who become "sports agents" make it hard for players to be unselfish. Parents who view themselves as “coaches”, make it hard for their kids to be coached. Most parents are still supportive and understand the value of being part of a team, but unfortunately some parents don't "get it"- and those parents make it much harder for their kid to "get it." As a coach, you have to spend a lot more energy trying to get all the players to buy into the "team culture." 

Coaching has changed since I started coaching, but players are still the best part of coaching.