You all seem to be confusing "travel" sports with inappropriate coaching or a "win at all cost" attitude. I can't help but think that some of the posts above were written by people, who have never coached a sport in their lives. While I agree that sports from 3rd grade and younger are best structured with a "clinic" approach to teaching fundamentals of a sport, some sports groups in many towns are forced to travel because their numbers are insufficient to allow "in town" games at a given grade level. While Ridgewood is fortunate not to have that problem in many cases, it is not always the case.
The real issue is a "healthy approach" to organized sports, not whether a team competes against other towns. There are countless examples of coaches in Ridgewood, who teach valuable lessons about sportsmanship, leadership and effort, while playing competitively. A little bit of heathy competition is not a bad thing, as long as winning is not valued as the only measure of success and that coaches don't play their best players at the expense of less experienced or less gifted players.
It should also be kept in mind that recreational programs exist to serve one purpose, while travel programs exist to serve a different purpose. Parents and players need to understand which is appropriate for them. If all your son or daughter wants to do is socialize with his or her friends in an athletic environment, then travel programs are the wrong choice. However, there are many middle school children, who seek active competition with other boys and girls their own age. These children may be well suited for a more competitively geared program. This is not always driven by a parent's desire for their children. In either case, the quality of the coaching matters. "Dad" may or may not be the right coach.
35 comments:
Rec is supposed to include all players. In third grade the coaches would "forget" to put players in the game - every week. A few players were in the game all the time and others were stuck in odd positions to keep them busy. The head coach and all the other coach parents were competing with each other. One "coach" mumbled to the parent spectators that the head coach was a F**ing A**le. I don't know what he was complaining about, his son was allowed to play. It is all about control. And this is THIRD grade.
what happend to the fun like years ago.and helth for all of us.my god this is not the n.f.l.
Look, these coaches are volunteers and each has his/her own level of experience and expertise. If your child's coach is behaving badly or otherwise violating the spirit of REC sports, then don't just grumble to your spouse or other parents after the game...let the program's leadership know what's going on. I was on the Board of a local rec sport and we wanted to know what was happening "on the ground." We wanted to give our volunteer coaches direction and support. We don't know something's not working if you don't tell us.
I find it amazing how many dads are clueless when it comes to coaching a baseball team. The average dad/coach doesn't know how to instruct children in the fundamentals of the game or how to develop skills. Most have 9 kids in the field while a dad pitches to a batter. This leaves 8 kids bored to death. The use of drills keeps children engaged and develops the necessary skills to perform. With the number of dads around any given team, one can have multiple stations for children to rotate in and out of. Thus keeping them engaged. A short fifteen minute scrimmage at the end of practice then has meaning, for the children can apply what they have learned in a game type situation.
The key to wining and competing successfully is to learn the abilities and natural skill level of each player. That's right, I said winning. I have yet to meet a child who likes to lose. The average child in third grade can only master two positions, one infield and the other outfield. Rotating children around to play all the fielding positions defies what we know about the developmental capabilities of young children. Find the strengths of each player and teach them an infield position appropriate to their abilities. Let them learn that position well. Trying to learn too many positions becomes frustrating to children and negates the mission of providing a positive experience. This is attributed to the fact that the defensive permeations in baseball are uniquely complicated for each fielding position. One would be amazed how the average child can become a pretty darn good ballplayer by using this single infield position method. It also builds incredible self esteem and confidence when a child becomes competent at a position. After all, that is what we are trying to accomplish, isn't it? For there is plenty of time in the coming years to learn other positions.
Over/under until someone here blames the BOE for poor youth sports coaching: 90 minutes
Having been involved in a couple of the town's sports programs, my experience is that if you let the board know there is a problem with a coach, they will get dropped. It doesn't happen if there are just one or two complaints, but once you reach the level of 3 or 4 or more people saying, hey, this coach is no good, the boards realize they have to take some action. Usually it means dropping them from the next year.
In lacrosse & football if you complain then you might as well quit. The BFF of the coach runs the program and has his kids covered. The same coach controls two grades, not just teams but the whole grade. There is no getting away. There are several qualified dads ready to coach but somehow one person runs the show.
Fielding groundballs in the snow is challenging. This fact should not be minimized.
I have had only good experiences in town with coaching. My children have mixed abilities and my direct experience is that they ALL get fully included in the games and practices. In fact my experience with coaches is that they have gone out of their way to include all of the children on the team. My experience is primarily in soccer and baseball/softball.
Maybe I have been lucky to have very good coaching experiences. I'm, sure that in every group, there are always going to be a few idiots, but that is the way life is. If you run across one of these bad coaches, talk to them - politely - they may not realize what they are doing. If you get nowhere or they are just jerks, then report them to the league management.
Maybe it is different in travel - I don't know yet - I figure I 'm in for that experience with one of mine.
9:22 is a good example of why i am happy my kids aren't asking to be in that many rec leagues.
Yes, it is fun to sit in a lawn chair and whatch your son/daughter play soccer.
Until some idiot parent (or coach) goes over the line.
I know the politics that go on over the RSA team selections. It is all about winning. Period. That is the problem.
Biddy Basketball is the best. There are clear rules for play time. Every kid is guaranteed to play 2 quarters. You don't get better by watching others play. Rec Baseball & softball work the same. Everybody plays.
In travel sports the coach can play his kid as much as he wants. And if he is your pal, he will play your kid too.
"defensive permeations in baseball are uniquely complicated for each fielding position"
Are they as complicated as spelling the word, 'permutations?'
See Johnson, Chuck....he taunts and mocks players that don't completely buy into his highly regimented off season training program and / or quit. I was trouble to hear the things he said about 16 and 17 yr old kids -- one who was injured and could not play. It was as if he was a 15 yr old teenager, teasing the "wimps" in the schoolyard. Pretty embarrassing.....
This isn't anything new. I signed up for softball in Ridgewood when I was in 5th grade, nearly 30 years ago. No one taught me the fundamentals, I thought I could just stand at home plate, not swing and get walked. Was I a crummy player, yep. I ended up being blamed by the other players repeatdly for "ruining the team" The coach said nothing, taught me nothing. I cried after every game and eventually stopped going to games and practice.
Not everyone has a dad at home to teach them the basics.
Haven't played a team sport since, it's a shame.
My wish in writing this is that a coach will read this and realize what a great influence s/he can have on kids, positive or negative.
We've had problems with the "leadership" when they turn a blind eye to one of their own bending and twisting the rules for their own child's team. The stench still won't leave the field. Alot of parents and players have many hard feelings that were never addressed.
10:48 - Kind of have to agree with 11:35. Complaining rarely, if ever gets a coach dropped as the system is incestous. Complaining gets your kid benched for the remainder of his rec. life.
9:22 = Chip
The "less gifted players" of elementary school can become the stars of the high school. Kids grow & develop at different rates. Excelling in fourth grade does not predict high school performance.
518 hit a chord
As a parent in the football stands without a son on the field for the past 15 years, I am never less than amazed by Coach Johnson.
You suit up 60 players. Of the 22 offense and defense positions, you have around 15 players (because his best of the best play both sides of the ball). A 'good' player has to wait until the team is up by 30 points (or the overworked kids are injured, as in what happened this season) before you get a chance to touch the field of play.
The parents of the 'passed over' kids never utter a peep - at least while their kids are still in school. Then, they spill their guts like a sloppy drunk in a bar.
Basically, you could spend 4 years holding hands with the other players on the sidelines and never see a set of downs. That's an awesome commitment of time and energy to come up empty. I'm not saying that everyone should be a starter but you never know how someone will really perform until he (or she) is tested in a game situation.
I don't like the style, but hey, I'm not the coach. But this is NOT the NFL either.
Are the breeders footing the bill for these sports?
As a taxpayer I don't have any more money to WASTE on games for the spoiled brats of this Village.
818 we know your just here to mooch , I love you liberals always will to make someone pay for your crap but never will to step up with your own money , its a shame the village has gone for this
One way to try to fool the parents is "platooning". We see through that.
How come in-season teams like wrestling and swimming have to wait to use the weight room....?
Because the football coach owns the equiptment. He just lets some other sports use it.
Most teams encourage players to go to Force and pay for training.
The football coach owns the equipment? How so? Dont't the resident of Ridgewood actually own the equipment? Does football raise money on its' own to buy its own equipment? I don't ever recall football players stopping by my house to sell me cheesecake, pointsettias or wreaths like the band, orchestra, etc.
The football coach has his office in the HS weight room. Need any more proof of who lords over the equiptment, look no further.
Sorry 3:13, my bad spelling.
9:49, who is "Chip?"
And 1:57 PM, what do you mean by
"9:22 is a good example of why i am happy my kids aren't asking to be in that many rec leagues."
Hey 3:13, did you find the typo by 1:57?
The football coach thinks that football rules the sports world at the HS, and he is enabled by the Athletic Director. The sport is the most expensive in the school and the 60+ students don't even have to have a carwash or sell Christmas flowers to support it.
@7:06
I spoke with an RHS alum from the late 80s - he was a very nice guy and told me that he never played a down in a real game. He hated the cycle of tasks that was (and seems like still IS) requried of Rwood football players - captains practices, non stop agility drills, nagging his neighbors to support his benchathon, the "hard sell" by coach Johnson to stay on the team when he considered quitting his role as a player on the practice scout team emulating Kennedy, Montclair or Bergen Catholic. He said he stayed on because of Johnson's coercive pressure. Apparently Johnson would openly mock and at the same time air personal details of the lives of students who quit his program. Troubling.
This guy regretted "bulking up" in the weight room, as he felt like the weight never came off in college or when he got a job right out of school. Do we really know what adding 30 lbs of muscle through repetitive, "max weight" lifting does to a 16 or 17 yr old's body? Should we just trust a HS gym teacher and throw caution to the wind?
I honestly don't know, but food for thought.
This guy had no regrets, but clearly he felt like he wasted his time in HS. How many Rwood parents allow the football coach to "sell" their sons on the merits of being glorified practice dummies? I say, just quit -- get a job, pick an activity you truly enjoy, spend your youth developing skills and learnings sports you naturally like.
Where is the breakdown for sports costs in the HS? Let's compare football, soccer, lax and XC.
So, somehow a discussion on youth sports and youth sports coaches morphed into criticism of HS Sports and Chuck Johnson. The two should be completely and totally separate. Youth sports should be a positive experience for each and every kid involved whether it be on the rec or the travel level. At the rec level everyone should play and everyone should have fun. At the travel level playing time may not be equal (the young ages can be close) but everyone should get some minutes in each game. There's a scoreboard for a reason and kids aren't stupid, they don't like to lose, however for the most part 15 minutes after the game is over they are on to something else. Youth coaches need to realize how much influence they have and how much of a positive affect they can have on kids if they focus more on the individual and improving the kid's skills than worrying about wins and loses. Youth sports should be for and about the kids. For those that think they are the "minor leagues" or training ground for HS or College sports they should rethink that premise.
Take a look at the RHS Varsity Teams and the make-up of those teams versus the make-up of the teams when the seniors were in 7th and 8th grade. The majority of kids on most of the teams at RHS were not the starters in 7th & 8th grade and the success/failure of youth teams does not necessarily translate to success or failure at RHS. This year's senior football players won the whole thing as 8th graders and they were just slightly above average as seniors. Doesn't mean they were bad kids or didn't work hard, it just means things change over 4 years. Kids grow, kids don't grow, kids find other sports or activities, kids move out of town, kids move in to town. A lot of things change and youth coaches have to understand just because little Billy is bigger, stronger and faster than everyone in 5th grade there is a good chance the quiet skinny kid at the back of the line who's parents both stand over 6' 0" tall is probably going to be the kid who is playing come HS and that is why it is so important that every kid gets a fair shake at the youth level.
HS Varsity sports coaches have a mandate to win games. It is not "win at all costs" but interscholastic sports are competitive and the goal is to win. Ridgewood does good job of competing in a very competitive league and county and our teams for the most part compete very well. Ridgewood student athletes represent their school with class whether they win or lose and for the most part so do the coaches.
Chuck has been doing it for a long time, is very set in his ways and he has been very successful. Football is a violent, physical sport. The bigger, faster, and stronger athlete is usually the most successful in football. Chuck has been able to stay competitive in a league dominated by inner city and parochial schools by convincing his kids how important it is to lift, run and eat properly. Trying to compete with Bosco, Bergen, and St. Joes and their 300lb+ linemen with a bunch of 5' 11" 195 lb munchkins is not easy. He has to demand his kids work in the off-season as it is his (and their) only chance at being successful. That being said; his personal skills will never get him a position as an ambassador in the U.N. The kids that can deal with him and love football deal with it and play. The one's that don't move on to other things and other sports which is one of the reasons lacrosse has become so big at RHS.
After all of that it really comes down to the individual kid and how much he wants to do something and how much he wants to work to be successful. Letting a bad youth coach sour someone from a sport is an easy cop-out. I think we have all had a "bad" teacher, boss, or coach. It doesn't mean that we quit or give up, it means we overcome it, learn from it, move on and be better for it. That is what sports should provide, no matter what the level of competition.
Chuck is over the hill its time to move on the AD has to tell him it is time to go out to pasture. Its all about Chuck. I know my son has been though it. Has been said the kids dont play for Chuckie they play because the have played with one another since 3rd grade and are all friends. Its the asst coaches that make the team.
No one should be able to coach two of the same sport in the same season. Let other parents have a chance. Your kids will survive not having daddy as a coach, just like mine do.
Just because you played the sport doesn't mean that you will make a good coach.
"Chuck has been doing it for a long time, is very set in his ways and he has been very successful. Football is a violent, physical sport. The bigger, faster, and stronger athlete is usually the most successful in football. Chuck has been able to stay competitive in a league dominated by inner city and parochial schools by convincing his kids how important it is to lift, run and eat properly. Trying to compete with Bosco, Bergen, and St. Joes and their 300lb+ linemen with a bunch of 5' 11" 195 lb munchkins is not easy. He has to demand his kids work in the off-season as it is his (and their) only chance at being successful. That being said; his personal skills will never get him a position as an ambassador in the U.N. The kids that can deal with him and love football deal with it and play. The one's that don't move on to other things and other sports which is one of the reasons lacrosse has become so big at RHS."
This is absolute nonsense, if you had any idea what goes on in ridgewood football you would be appalled, Chuck Johnson favors kids, especially his sons, and there have been many rescent cases revolving around a few young men who set highschool records and dont play, and little country club boys under 170 pounds start in most of the games, I know it is political because I know that no matter what Chuck will always play and praise certain people over others, IT IS BIASED AND IT IS WRONG. If you don't know this, then you certainly don't know the crap goes on in Ridgewood Football
I would also like to say that I have heard a story surrounding two brothers in the highschool now that weigh close to 240 lbs and recently benched 410 pounds, both were never played last season, and both put on over 50 pounds in between season. Its silly because I heard they were excellent athletes, both very quick and athletic, a very rare combination for big fellas. Well all I know is that a bunch of pipsqueaks and I mean 160-170 pound kids play over them and there is big fight because many catholic schools want them. This is a classic example of the politics that is ridgewood and the politics that is ridgewood football under Chuck Johnson. THis proves that biggest and best don't play, and the country club dads who pump the most money into the program have their kids play!
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