Post
by mariahorn » Mon May 25, 2009 6:49 pm
I am the band director for a school/program that feeds primarily into two high schools. Here is what I've noticed:
1) Do not have high school kids be middle school coaches UNLESS their teacher/coach recommends them, they have reliable transportation, and they are mature. We have had freshman students as coaches before with little success. We have had senior students as coaches with high success. We have had a coach start in high school, continue coaching while going through college, while at the same time bringing in additional high school students to help with varying degree off success.
2) The students respond best to the coaches that are very experienced in guard (no less than 3-4 years) AND who appear to be interested in their (middle school) guard. My students love watching their coaches at competitions, and I think seeing the coaches doing what they are telling the students to do (such as facial expressions, good technique, etc.) help inspire the students.
3) If possible, if the middle school feeds into more than one high school, involve coaches or helpers from each. If the students have interaction with and friendship with their coaches (or helpers) that are active in the guard they will soon attend, the chance of those students joining guard in high school is much higher. The "unknowns" as far as fellow members, teachers, expectations, etc in high school decrease when those high school students are interacting with the ms feeders.
There needs to be a clear separation of coach vs. student vs. peer. If you have, for example, a sophomore coach who tries to be buddies with the guard, it may be hard for the students to take that person seriously when it's time too. If you have that same person be too "bossy" and not build that friendship with the students, they may be scared off and choose to not continue in high school. This is a hard balance, but I've seen it go both ways and the result could be great or could be a disaster.
When it comes down to it, I think the most important thing to get ms students to continue in high school is to support them when they're still in middle schools. If your high school is at the same competition your ms feeder is, have your guard go watch them and cheer them on. Vice versa, ms students need to cheer on high school students. The students on both sides feel that energy and they get more excited about what their next venture will be, whether it's another year in the ms or their first year in hs.
