HS Coaching Responsibilities

[CrashDaNET]

I understand that this is not a written duty of a HS Coach.

Does a HS Coach have any unwritten responsibility to the kids on the HS team to promote them to the next level if the kid has the skill. (I'm sure that I will get the answer "NO" from some. As well as...The kid will get noticed if he is talented enough.)

But...Politics does play an important role.
So..

WHY DO SOME COACHES GO THE EXTRA STEP VS SOME THAT DO NOT?

[summer]

I understand that this is not a written duty of a HS Coach.

Does a HS Coach have any unwritten responsibility to the kids on the HS team to promote them to the next level if the kid has the skill. (I'm sure that I will get the answer "NO" from some. As well as...The kid will get noticed if he is talented enough.)

But...Politics does play an important role.
So..

WHY DO SOME COACHES GO THE EXTRA STEP VS SOME THAT DO NOT?

I think the coaches who are teachers first will promote their kids if they have a chance, if the scouts come to them. They are willing to help anyway they can, but they may not know the people to contact to promote the kids. Coaches who are hockey people first will know who and where to contact, and will go that extra step to promote his/her kids.

Most average to poor programs in the state fall in the first catagory, so not only do some good kids play in "bad" programs, but they don't get the help the kids who play in "good" programs do, where the coaches are hockey people and have some connections.

[CrashDaNET]

Fill in the blank/opinions; Here is what I have heard

Metro Area:
Coaches Involved vs No Involvement-

Edina - Promote
Mtka - Promote
Jefferson - Promote
Apple Valley - Promote
Eden Prairie - Starting to Promote - talented group
Jefferson - Promote
Kennedy - None
Burnsville - Promote
Woodbury - None
Lakeville North - None
Lakeville South - None
Roseville - None
Centennial - Promote
Eagan - ???
Chaska - ???

Private Schools - All Promote

No wonder why kids leave public schools.

[Wildcathcky]

I don't know if coaches have a duty to promote their players. I do think that most coaches do what they can to help deserving players get to the next level. They have a vested interest in seeing their players exceed at higher levels - it makes them look good if they "developed" a high end kid. Summer is correct, though, that some coaches don't have established relationships to promote the kid that goes unnoticed. Luckily there are many avenues outside of high school hockey for players to get noticed today (I acknowledge that politics also can play a role in who gets to exercise those opportunites).

Based on my experience and observations, it seems that the people who complain the loudest about coaches not promoting players are the parents of kids who may not have the skill to play at the next level. Good coaches will not, and should not, promote kids that they don't believe have the ability to play at the next level. Promoting such a kid will damage the coach's credibility with coaches at the higher levels and will hurt his ability to help place a deserving player. If the coach's evaluation is wrong, the kid can find other alternatives to get noticed, it just may take a bit more work.

[Wildcathcky]

Fill in the blank/opinions; Here is what I have heard

Metro Area:
Coaches Involved vs No Involvement-

Edina - Promote
Mtka - Promote
Jefferson - Promote
Apple Valley - Promote
Eden Prairie - Starting to Promote - talented group
Jefferson - Promote
Kennedy - None
Burnsville - Promote
Woodbury - None
Lakeville North - None
Lakeville South - None
Roseville - None
Centennial - Promote
Eagan - ???
Chaska - ???

Private Schools - All Promote

No wonder why kids leave public schools.

I know the coach at Roseville and can vouch for the fact that he is very involved in promoting his players to junior and college coaches.

[MNHockeyFan]

Good coaches will not, and should not, promote kids that they don't believe have the ability to play at the next level. Promoting such a kid will damage the coach's credibility with coaches at the higher levels and will hurt his ability to help place a deserving player.

As I was reading through the prior posts I started to think the same thing, which you summed up very well here. Also as far as the less successful programs are concerned, maybe there's another reason why many of their coaches don't have as many connections as the top programs' coaches do - they just haven't had very many real top players come through to promote. We can all think of teams that haven't graduated a player to D1 for a number of years, maybe several coaches ago...

[Doglover]

Great discussion. Here's what I've heard:

EP - beginning to promote now that there is more talent. As someone on here said - coach's credibility would be in jeopardy if he promoted kids that weren't capable of next step but they can always direct some to D3 schools and try to get their name out there too.
Edina - Heard from several Edina parents that he does not promote - luckily kids get enough press and opportunities for exposure and parents savy enough to promote them themselves but heard some really good kids got left behind at the expense of the super studs
Minnetonka - huge promoter of the kids and well respected
Centennial - promotes

Agree that all the privates from what I've heard, are very instrumental in working with college coaches to find the right place for their players to play if that's what they want, after HS. Have even heard they help players that don't go to their school when they feel they need it. Impressive!

Mike Reilly - huge promoter of his own kids! (couldn't resist)

Hopefully all the HS coaches take the time to return the phone calls.

[youngblood08]

Great discussion. Here's what I've heard:

EP - beginning to promote now that there is more talent. As someone on here said - coach's credibility would be in jeopardy if he promoted kids that weren't capable of next step but they can always direct some to D3 schools and try to get their name out there too.
Edina - Heard from several Edina parents that he does not promote - luckily kids get enough press and opportunities for exposure and parents savy enough to promote them themselves but heard some really good kids got left behind at the expense of the super studs
Minnetonka - huge promoter of the kids and well respected
Centennial - promotes

Agree that all the privates from what I've heard, are very instrumental in working with college coaches to find the right place for their players to play if that's what they want, after HS. Have even heard they help players that don't go to their school when they feel they need it. Impressive!

Mike Reilly - huge promoter of his own kids! (couldn't resist)

Hopefully all the HS coaches take the time to return the phone calls.

Thats some funny stuff there. Funny how they went from Chaska to Benilde to Holy Angels..........HHMmmmmmmm which team plays in the weakest Conference so his kids could pile on the points vs below average competition??? Why its Holy Angels.

[huville]

The statement that Woodbury's coach wes bolin does not help promote his players is false. I help out a team in the MNJHL and whenever I have requested contact information for a player he has replied immediately.

[deanertronterry]

I understand that this is not a written duty of a HS Coach.

Does a HS Coach have any unwritten responsibility to the kids on the HS team to promote them to the next level if the kid has the skill. (I'm sure that I will get the answer "NO" from some. As well as...The kid will get noticed if he is talented enough.)

But...Politics does play an important role.
So..

WHY DO SOME COACHES GO THE EXTRA STEP VS SOME THAT DO NOT?

I think the promotion of a player stems for his relationship with the coach. If the kid has talent and is a respectful, hard-working team player then the coach will be much more inclined to promote that player.

Also, from a coach's standpoint, it only improves his credentials to have players move on to the next level.

[BodyShots]

WBL - NONE I've been told Hartmann had to get his own D1 scholarship to Bimidji State, Grunn did likewise at Duluth. Hansen and Johnson left before their Senior years and are now at MN and St. Cloud. Not only does the coach not promote to the next level, he even frowns on kids playing in the Elite program, although that might be softening this year with a few kids playing this summer. It will be interesting to see if Birkinbine and Wallin stay for their Senior season next year.

[puck81]

Boy's hockey is not the only sport played at the high school level. Your implying that Holy Angels plays in a weak conference just to pad the stats of the boy's hockey team and that is completely false. There are other sports played at Holy Angels (as well as other activities) that may fit best with the Missota Conference and for the school. Same goes for Benilde which plays in a weak conference when it comes to boy's hockey but there are a lot of other factors why that school is in that particular conference. It not just about "boy's hockey". By the way, Benilde tried to get into the Classic Lake but were turned down. Wonder why? Chicken little?

Great discussion. Here's what I've heard:

EP - beginning to promote now that there is more talent. As someone on here said - coach's credibility would be in jeopardy if he promoted kids that weren't capable of next step but they can always direct some to D3 schools and try to get their name out there too.
Edina - Heard from several Edina parents that he does not promote - luckily kids get enough press and opportunities for exposure and parents savy enough to promote them themselves but heard some really good kids got left behind at the expense of the super studs
Minnetonka - huge promoter of the kids and well respected
Centennial - promotes

Agree that all the privates from what I've heard, are very instrumental in working with college coaches to find the right place for their players to play if that's what they want, after HS. Have even heard they help players that don't go to their school when they feel they need it. Impressive!

Mike Reilly - huge promoter of his own kids! (couldn't resist)

Hopefully all the HS coaches take the time to return the phone calls.

Thats some funny stuff there. Funny how they went from Chaska to Benilde to Holy Angels..........HHMmmmmmmm which team plays in the weakest Conference so his kids could pile on the points vs below average competition??? Why its Holy Angels.

[MNHockeyFan]

[quote="puck81"]It not just about "boy's hockey". By the way, Benilde tried to get into the Classic Lake but were turned down. Wonder why? Chicken little?

Not that it matters much now, but it's hard to believe Benilde would have ever applied to the Classic Lake. Other than boys & girls hockey and soccer, they wouldn't compete well in the other sports, especially football.

[hockeyfanatic29]

Coaches should promote their players if they feel they can play at the next level. If the coach doesn't have contacts its not hard to pick up the phone and ask around or even email a college coach in hopes of moving forward with the process. After all this is how you develope relationships(contacts) anyways. To many times parental pressure causes coaches to promote players they feel cannot play at the next level. This is tough for coaches because if they are HONEST with the player and the parents they are viewed as a bad coach even for telling the TRUTH! With this over the coaches head they are looking incompetant to coaches at the next level and discrediting themselves. In my experience most players that are capable of playing at the next level get looks from college teams regardless of whether the coach is promoting them or not. I was told when I played if junior A teams weren't interested in you as a player by the end of your junior season the odds of you playing college were slim to none.

[bender09]

i think promoting kids is also up to the kids. If the kid approaches his coach about his future, the coach should look for junior teams and others that the player would fit in. I think if a kid is good enough to play d1 there is no promotion necessary.