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High School Track Coach Survey Results
By Rick Kantola
Coach: ask yourself the questions outlined in this report and see what your responses would be. Do you stand with the majority? Have your own ideas? In any event, these are familiar situations that confront every coach and must be handled effectively.
INTRODUCTION
You're a high school coach. A new parent comes to you and says: "I've got great
news for you. My son's the best hurdler in the state, and he's coming to your
school. He trains with his private coach, so he won't be making practices, but
he'll get to all your meets and earn a lot of points for you."
A senior girl tells you, "I've been nominated for Senior Princess, so I'll miss
practice on Tuesday to rehearse the ceremony, and I'll miss the meet on
Saturday because I have an SAT to take. Then on Wednesday, I have community
service at the Food Bank. And, oh yeah, I have an SAT prep classes on Monday
and, actually, also on Thursday."
Your fastest sprinter announces: "I don't like running 400s. If you put me in
the 4x400, I won't run."
Your athletic director says: "We have two swimming
coaches and
they have 90 swimmers. You only have 60 kids, and you tell me you need five
coaches. How can I justify that?"
Experienced high school coaches are familiar with these types of dilemmas and
have developed policies for managing them. Newer coaches, even those who think
they are clear in their own philosophies and expectations, are often caught by
surprise by the nuances and complexity of team management issues.
In order to assess how experienced high school coaches manage their teams and
the expectations they hold for their athletes, we conducted a survey of high
school coach participants at the 2004 USATF Level II coaches school held in
Starkville, Mississippi. In addition to requesting information about the size
and staffing of each team, we asked each coach to respond to nine case studies
exploring common problems in team management.
TEAM INFORMATION
SURVEY PARTICIPANTS
Twenty-six coaches responded to the survey:
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Nineteen are head coaches; seven are assistant coaches.
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All are full-time coaches, meaning they attend all or nearly all practices and meets.
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Coaches represent at least 13 different states, including five in the West, four in the South, six in the Midwest, and five in the East. (Six coaches chose not to provide personal information.)
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The average team size is 89.5 athletes. Two teams have over 200 athletes, with the largest having 250. Three teams have 40 athletes or fewer, with the smallest having 35..
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Ten coaches report their teams as "first or nearly first" compared to competitors; ten describe their teams as "good"; five describe their teams as "average"; one team is described as "last or nearly last."
STAFFING
On average, the teams in our survey have 5.2 full-time coaching equivalents per
team (counting all part-time coaches as 1/2 of a full-time equivalent). The teams
average 17.2 athletes per full-time coach. More than half of the teams (14) are
coached by a combination of full- time and part-time coaches. Twelve teams have
no part-time coaches.
Twenty-five of the 26 schools are co-ed. Teams are evenly split between those
that have a single head coach for both genders (13) and schools that have
separate head coaches (12). In all but three of the co-ed teams, event coaches
work with both genders.
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The largest team, at 250 athletes, has six full-time and five part-time coaches, which is 29.4 athletes per full-time equivalent coach.
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The second largest team has 24.2 athletes per coach.
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One team with 150 athletes has 10 full-time coaches.
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The smallest team, at 35 athletes, had four full-time coaches and one part-time coach, 7.8 athletes per full-time coach.
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The maximum number of full- time coaching equivalents was 10; the minimum was one.
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One team of 40 has only one coach.
Event coaching responsibilities are shared in a wide variety of patterns. Twenty-two of the 26 coaches provided descriptions of the responsibilities of each of their coaches.
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Nineteen of the 22 teams have at least one full-time coach who is responsible for distance events only; three distance coaches also have responsibilities for jumping events.
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Sprint/relay coaches typically also hold responsibilities in jumping and hurdling events; however 10 schools have sprints only coaches, and eight schools have hurdles-only coaches.
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Seventeen of the 22 teams have full-time throws coaches; one has a part-time throws coach; one has a full-time coach who also coaches sprinters; and three have no designated throws coach.
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Seven of 22 schools have full- time pole vault-only coaches; three have part-time pole vault only coaches.
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Nine schools have full-time coaches assigned exclusively to jumping events (not including pole vault-only coaches); four have part-time jumps coaches; seven have jump coaches who also have responsibilities for sprints or hurdles; two have no designated jumps coaches.
Several coaches noted the importance of getting firm time commitments from part-time coaches. Part-time coaches who are unable to attend practices at regular times or are unable to arrive on-time may hinder as much as help.
ATTENDANCE RULES
Twenty-three schools describe themselves as expecting "every day" attendance,
unless excused, yet one highly experienced coach admitted that "rules set in
stone often turn to rubble." Consequences for unexcused absences include
assigning managerial duties, suspension from meets, and being cut from the
team. Suspension from meets on the week of an unexcused absence was the most
common consequence.
Six programs set specific limits on unexcused absences: one cuts athletes after
the 2nd unexcused absence; four after the 3rd unexcused; one after the 4th
unexcused.
One coach allows three missed personal days,
with no excuse required, and
another has a 15% sick day/personal day allowance. The latter coach explains,
"Athletes can have very good excuses for missing half of our practices. In the
end, it doesn't matter if the excuse is good or not. If they're not getting
there, they're not getting it done."
MULTI-SPORT ATHLETES
Most coaches acknowledge difficulties with athletes who participate in other sports during the track season, whether they be other spring-season school sports or a club sports. Coaches noted problems both with scheduling and injury risk.
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Twelve teams allow athletes to participate in other school sports during the track season; 12 do not. Two teams have no policy. One coach allowed an athlete to participate in swimming and track, since it was possible to attend all practices for both sports, but does not normally permit participation in two sports.
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Twenty teams allow athletes to participate in club sports during track season; five do not.
In general, track coaches are more encouraging to multiple- sports athletes than are their peers from other sports. Twelve coaches reported that coaches of other sports at their schools encourage participation in track; 10 reported that other coaches do not encourage participation; three reported that "some" do. All 26 track coaches reported that they encourage their athletes to participate in other sports.
ADDITIONAL TEAM INFORMATION
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Nearly all teams (23) have written team rules. Five teams require signed copies of rules at the beginning of the season: three by both parents and athletes, one by parents only, and one by athletes only. One team posts rules on the web. One team reviews rules at a parents' meeting.
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Two teams hold team tryouts and cut athletes based on ability level; 24 teams are no-cut.
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Fifteen teams do aptitude testing (e.g., 40-yard dashes, standing long jumps, vertical jumps, medicine ball throws, shuttle runs) at the beginning of the season.
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Seventeen teams allow at least some athletes to choose the events for which they will train; five teams do not.
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One allows only freshmen and sophomores to choose.
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One allows only juniors and seniors to choose.
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Three teams reach mutual decisions with their athletes about the events for which they will train.
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One team has no policy.
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Eight teams allow athletes to choose the events in which they will compete; 13 do not.
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Three teams reach mutual decisions with their athletes about the events in which they will compete.
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Two teams have no policy.
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Twenty-three teams require athletes to participate in multiple events.
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Fifteen teams require athletes to participate in 4xl00 relays.
-
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Fifteen teams require athletes to participate in 4x400 relays.
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In response to the question "How frequently do your throwers, pole vaulters, and high jumpers participate in other events such as sprints, distance races, hurdles, and relays?":
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One coach responded" almost never."
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Four coaches responded "rarely."
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Nine coaches responded "commonly."
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Nine coaches responded "frequently."
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One coach responded" all the time."
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One coach responded, "Throwers never; jumpers all the time."
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Nineteen schools have daily team meetings; 19 have daily team warm-ups.
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Nine coaches report that they receive "excellent" support from their athletic directors and school administrators; eight receive" good" support; five receive "fair" support; and two receive "poor" support.
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CASE STUDIES
Coaches on our panel were asked to answer questions concerning nine hypothetical cases. A summary of responses accompanies each case description.
CASE 1:
A talented, freshman athlete is missing practice one to two times per week for a variety of reasons. You learn that on one occasion she has actually gone to the mall with friends, when she said she had a medical appointment. You would be most likely to:
Please answer separately for a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd occurrence.
1) Allow her to continue to make her own choices.
2) Provide encouragement and motivation but take no disciplinary action.
3) Reprimand her but take no further disciplinary action
4) Require her to perform additional running/maintenance work/ calisthenics as punishment.
5) Give her a warning.
6) Suspend her from the team temporarily. (How long?)
7) Cut her from the team immediately.
8) Other. Please explain: Would your answers to the above questions be different if the girl were a junior? Would your answers be different if the girl was a below-average performer?
Summary of Case 1 responses:
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The most common sequence of responses for the first, second, and third occurrences was 5, 6, 7, which is warn, suspend, cut.
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Approximately half of the coaches would cut the athlete by the 3rd occurrence.
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No coaches cut the athlete on the 1st occurrence.
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Four coaches suspended the athlete on the first occurrence.
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Two coaches would be more severe with a junior than a freshman; and two coaches would give less encouragement to a below-average performer.
CASE 2:
You have a girl on your team who is 5'5" tall and weighs 87 pounds. She has a satisfactory athletic physical on file, but you suspect that she has an eating disorder. You would be most likely to:
1) Respect her privacy and allow her to continue to make her own choices.
2) Discuss the situation with her and allow her to make her own choices.
3) Discuss the situation with her parents and allow them to make their own decision.
4) Require that she provide a doctor's permission before continuing with track.
5) Require her to maintain her current weight. (If so, would you weigh her at practice yourself
6) Cut her from the team immediately.
7) Other. Please explain:
Summary of Case 2 responses:
Without having observed the girl inducing vomiting:
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Six would talk to the athlete without involving the parents.
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Fourteen coaches would choose to contact the parents and leave further decisions to them.
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Five would refer the problem to their AD, trainer, or school nurse.
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None would require a medical release.
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None would weigh the athlete or set minimum weight requirements.
After having seen the girl induce vomiting:
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Eighteen coaches felt seeing the girl induce vomiting would change their response. Most felt that they would now require a medical clearance.
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None would weigh the athlete or set minimum weight requirements.
CASE 3:
You have a talented athlete who wishes to train exclusively with his private coach. You would be most likely to:
1) Allow him to practice exclusively with the private coach and still compete with your team.
2) Require that he attend some team practices in order to compete. (How many?)
3) Require that he attend all team practices in order to compete.
4) Other. Please explain
Summary of Case 3 responses:
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Twenty-two of 26 coaches would require the athlete to train every day with the school team.
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One would make an exception only for a "world-class" athlete.
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One coach noted that he would make an exception only if the team had no coach in the athlete's event.
CASE 4:
You have an athlete who has refused to complete a workout. You would be most likely to: Please answer separately for a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd occurrence.
1) Allow her to continue to make her own choices.
2) Provide encouragement and motivation but take no disciplinary action.
3) Reprimand her but take no further disciplinary action.
4) Require her to perform additional running/maintenance work/ calisthenics as punishment.
5) Warn her that further refusals will result in her being removed from the team.
6) Suspend her from the team temporarily. (How long?)
7) Cut her from the team immediately.
8) Other. Please explain:
Summary of Case 4 responses:
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Most coaches started with 2 (provide encouragement) for the first occurrence and ended at 5 (warn) or 6 (suspend) for the third occurrence.
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Seven coaches would cut the athlete after the 3rd occurrence; none sooner.
CASE 5:
A new coach in your league plans to require every athlete on his team to run at
least one 4x400 relay during the season, including all jumpers, throwers, and
distance runners. You consider this policy to be (check all that apply):
1) Cruel 1
2) Unrealistic 15
3) No big deal either way 54) Brave 0
5) Smart 3
6) Naive 6
7) Harmful 2
CASE 6:
An incoming athlete on your team has a parent who wants to volunteer to help
with coaching. You know that the parent was a successful track athlete in
college, but you know nothing else about her. You would be most likely to:
1) Invite her to help coach. 1
2) Interview her to see how she would fit with the team before making a decision. 19
3) Allow her to help coach; but restrict her to working only with other athletes than her son. 1
4) I do not allow parents to volunteer coach. 1
CASE 7:
You are nearing the end of a close meet that will be decided by the outcome of
the 4x400 relay. A healthy athlete whom you need to win the race refuses to run.
You would be most likely to: Please answer separately for a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd occurrence.
1) Allow him to continue to make his own choices.
2) Provide encouragement and motivation but take no disciplinary action.
3) Reprimand him but take no disciplinary action
4) Require him to perform additional running/maintenance work/ calisthenics as punishment.
5) Warn him that future refusals will result in his being cut from the team.
6) Suspend him from the team temporarily. (How long?)
7) Cut him from the team immediately.
8) Other. Please explain:
Summary of Case 7 responses:
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Fifteen coaches would cut the athlete from the team by the third occurrence, including four who would dismiss the athlete on the first occurrence and two who would do so after the 2nd occurrence.
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Three would leave the decision to the athlete.
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Eleven coaches included a suspension among their choices of consequences, most commonly for one week or one meet.
CASE 8:
You are a head coach, and you have a new sprint coach on your team. Six weeks into the season, he has the entire sprinters group run 3 sets of 3x200 meters with 5 minutes of rest between sets and a 200 meter walk between intervals, all at 90%+ speed (1800 meters total). Several parents and athletes complain that this workout is too hard. You would be most likely to:
1) Support the coach as the workout is not too hard. 9
2) Support the coach even though you agree the workout is too hard. 4
3) Support the coach as you do not know whether or not the workout is too hard. 0
4) Suggest to the coach that he reduce the yardage but leave it up to him. 8
Recommendations:
reduce intensity, not yardage
urge the coach to consider adjustments
have the coach explain his plan for the season
reduce intensity to 80-85%
reduce yardage to 900
reduce yardage to 600
5) Fire the coach unless he agrees to make major changes, as the workout is much too hard. 0
CASE 9:
One of your athletes has cursed at an official. You would be most likely to: Please answer separately for a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd occurrence.
1) Leave any discipline up to the official.
2) Reprimand the athlete but take no disciplinary action.
3) Withdraw the athlete from the meet.
4) Require the athlete to perform additional running/maintenance work/calisthenics as punishment.
5) Warn the athlete that additional incidents will result in his being cut from the team.
6) Suspend the athlete from the team.
7) Cut the athlete from the team immediately.
8) Other. Please explain:
Summary of Case 9 responses:
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Eighteen coaches would cut the athlete from the team by the third occurrence, including two who would do so on the 2nd occurrence.
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No coaches would cut the athlete after the first occurrence.
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Ten would at some point suspend the athlete.
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Fifteen would withdraw the athlete from the meet on the first occurrence, including one case in which league rules would require immediate disqualification from the meet. (Other coaches who selected more severe options might have chosen to withdraw the athlete as well, though they did not indicate this on the survey.)
CONCLUSIONS
All coaches want to help troubled athletes, especially those who are talented
and who may find success and personal development from athletics. Coaches must
also be aware that in making allowances or exceptions for individuals they may
sacrifice team values concerning attendance, training intensity, willingness
to sacrifice for team success, and personal conduct. Through the latter decades
of the 20th century, the emphasis in many track programs shifted to development
of the individual, often at the cost of weakening overall programs. The
pendulum now seems to be swinging in the direction of requiring more conformity
to team standards.
Especially in an environment where rules and expectations are changing, it is
especially important that coaches communicate clearly with athletes and tier the
severity of consequences for rules violations. One coach noted that "even when
you think they're listening, half your team won't be." Expectations must
be communicated clearly and must be repeated.
As one coach remarked: "Team rules require enforcement. Communicate expectations
clearly each day. By the end of their freshman season, athletes decide if they
are with us or not. Our traditions allow for fun, flexibility and an
unparalleled standard of work."
FROM TRACK COACH 170
If you would like to receive more complete results of the survey or to present a
different case study scenario to our panel of coaches, please email
rick@kantola.com.
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