Keep on Coaching
February 1, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A few weeks ago, I finally got my first chance this season to watch a friend coach his basketball team. After guiding some others at the lower levels, this is his first time running the varsity – something he wasn't sure he wanted to do with a 1-year-old just learning to walk, but a challenge he ended up taking on to the benefit of all those involved.
Simply put, he’s good. I've seen a lot of teams and a lot of coaches over the past 15 years, and although I wouldn't know much of what to do if I were walking the sideline, I felt pretty qualified in telling him I was impressed – even if he didn't buy that I was offering an unbiased opinion. The best news is he’s gone from not sure about this a few months ago to talking about next season.
We know, at least anecdotally, that coaching continues to get more challenging. The time commitment has grown substantially to make running a program a year-round endeavor in a lot of sports at a lot of schools.
That commitment – especially for coaches with children of their own – was a main reason referred to in a New Haven Post-Chronicle story Saturday that noted 23 football coaching openings in Connecticut at one point this offseason. That state has 146 football teams – meaning roughly 15 percent will have new leaders this fall.
And that got me thinking about my friend, about how glad I am he’s given this a shot, and how I've seen so many others either not do so, or not stick around long despite having some pretty nice success.
A study published last winter in Interscholastic Athletic Administration magazine – a product of the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association – noted some predictable results of a study that sought to determine the biggest challenges faced by first-year high school coaches.
The toughest according to the study was balancing the demands of coaching and teaching, experienced by nearly half the respondents – 98 percent of which coached high school teams and 81 percent of which are teachers.
The next six reasons all were noted by at least 30 percent of those in the study – personal fatigue, securing community support, securing and caring for facilities and equipment, parental contact, keeping non-starting players motivated, dealing with schedule interruptions and motivating athletes to achieve consistent, peak performance.
Nothing there is earth-shaking, and most if not all of these challenges are faced by high school coaches regardless of how long they've been in the field. But I got a little more perspective from some of the 32 items that ranked as least challenging to the first-year leaders – keeping in compliance with state and league regulations, dealing with substance abuse issues, teaching sport skills and creating a positive team atmosphere – things that seem most important, and yet appear to be easiest to do. I’m not sure what that tells us – but I think it tells us something.
Click to check out the entire three-page breakdown of the study, plus the researchers’ recommendations to remedy some of what first-year coaches face.
Giving back to Saginaw
I love reading about high-level athletes – like a star-studded group of alums from Saginaw – giving back to where they got their starts.
Pittsburgh Steelers star LaMarr Woodley made a big impact before the start of this school year by donating $60,000 to cover all participation fees for athletes in his former school district. The Saginaw News’ Hugh Bernreuter writes today about how Woodley (Saginaw High), the Philadelphia 76ers’ Jason Richardson (Saginaw Arthur Hill) and former Oakland Raiders standout Stu Schweigert (Saginaw Heritage) have combined to give more than $865,000 back to their home communities.
Bernreuter also mentions the non-monetary contributions of the Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (Saginaw High) and former Indianapolis Colts receiver Blair White (Saginaw Nouvel).
Click to read more about it.
Quote(s) of the Week
While rifling through more papers on my desk, I found an article from the Washington Post from Sept. 2011 titled “How high school sports save our schools.” I was drawn to it in part because I spent more than a decade in a newsroom, and it was a piece by a reporter covering education who instead of reporting on school boards and the like, delved into the importance of interscholastic athletics to education as a whole.
He spoke of how participation continues to grow even as resources dwindle, and of data supporting that extracurriculars like sports are more effective than academic classes in teaching leadership, teamwork, time management and “other skills crucial for success in the workplace.” Later, he mentioned a study noting that those who participate in extracurriculars earned more a decade later.
Click here to read the entre piece. These passages struck me most.
“Coaches might be the only faculty members still allowed by our culture and educational practice to get tough with students not making the proper effort. They have the advantage of teaching what are essentially elective non-credit courses. They can insist on standards of behavior that classroom teachers often cannot enforce because the stakes of dismissing or letting students drop their courses are too high. …
“Students do better in activities they choose. If we provide more of them, led by committed adults … that can make a difference. We know the bad news about education. Dropout rates are high. Achievement scores are stagnant. But sports participation is going up, despite pressure to cut it back. Let’s cheer about that and look for a way to draw in more students.”
Cass City Focused on Moment but Playing for Biggest After Back-to-Back Semifinal Trips
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
September 5, 2024
For the Cass City volleyball team, the goal is clear in 2024.
The Red Hawks, who have played in back-to-back Division 3 Semifinals and feature eight returning seniors – including four who were part of both long tournament runs – want to get back and finish on top in Battle Creek.
But for coach Amy Cuthrell to get her players to that big goal, she’s asked them not to think about it and focus on the smaller, daily ones instead.
“It’s details, the little things,” Cuthrell said. “You get better in practice, and in the game stage is where we show our skills. Practice has been intense. I do demand a little more in certain areas, and they’re responding. They know where we need to get better. They’re just good kids. I don’t think every day they think it’s fun, but for me, personally, I’m not going to settle. I want their dreams to be made. These are their memories.”
Cass City has made plenty of memories over the past two seasons, charging to the Semifinals for the first time since they made back-to-back runs in 1976-77. Like those late 70s runs, both ended with losses one match short of the Final.
“I’ve been thrilled to get there,” Cuthrell said. “But I just want to get over that hump.”
That’s about all Cuthrell will say about getting back to Battle Creek, however. While she’s perfectly fine using the past as motivation, she doesn’t want her team getting caught looking toward the future.
Easier said than done.
Led by Texas Tech commit Shelby Ignash and fellow four-year player Kacee Gray, who has committed to Alma College, the Red Hawks seem to have been built this season for their longest run.
Isabelle Phillips and Alexis Champagne are in their third years on varsity, having also experienced both Semifinals. Kylie McKee, Mia Caister, Katelyn Rockwell and Alysa Fritz also return from last year’s team, which won the first set in the Semifinal against Traverse City St. Francis before falling in four.
“Growing up, we have all been playing volleyball together, all eight of us, since the sixth grade,” Gray said. “We’ve known we’re a special group and that we have a group of special athletes. So we’ve been putting the time in day in and day out, pushing each other to be a better team. Now we’re here, and we’re still hungry and ready for more.”
Cuthrell is doing her best to feed that hunger with as much on-court knowledge as she can. While the losses at Kellogg Arena were certainly learning experiences for the players, they were the same for the coach.
“I’ve looked at all the tapes, and I really had to reflect on what I can change as a coach,” she said. “I’ve broken down some of the things that I’m going to have to really focus on, different elements of the game. This is a complex game. It may not seem complex to some, but it’s a very detailed sport.”
Better communication on the court and the ability to move on from one play and focus on what’s next is something Cuthrell said she’s focused on this season. Through two early-season tournaments, she’s also liked what she’s seen from her team’s ability to analyze opponents during a match. Cass City is 5-4-1 after trips to the Frankenmuth Invitational and Warrior Showdown, and has wins over the past two Division 3 Finals champions – Pewamo-Westphalia and Kalamazoo Christian. Cass City also split its match against Traverse St. Francis.
The tough early schedule is by design, of course, to better prepare the Red Hawks for November. It’s also going to set them up for a tough league schedule, which will be played with a massive target on their backs.
“I think everyone wants to beat us,” Ignash said. “It makes it more exciting, too. You never know, someone can pop out and give you everything.”
That has certainly helped hammer home Cuthrell’s message about staying in the moment.
“I can’t say how they think all the time, but I do know they meet the daily grind, and we do not speak of the future in our practices – we talk about today,” Cuthrell said. “I think humility is important, and we’re lucky to have a very strong program and tradition. They understand the culture, and they are humble in knowing this is one day at a time.”
You can’t block out all outside noise, though, especially at a time when statewide results and weekly rankings are so easily accessible. The most recent poll from the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association has Cass City ranked No. 3.
That will filter through the Cass City team, but in a way that Cuthrell certainly won’t mind.
“Any time a new ranking gets posted, we’re sending it to the group chat,” Gray said. “But seeing it is more motivating, because we’re not at the top.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Shelby Ignash sends the ball over a block during Cass City’s Semifinal match last season against Traverse City St. Francis. (Middle) Red Hawks coach Amy Cuthrell talks things over with her team during that match at Kellogg Arena. (Below) Kacee Gray serves during the Semifinal.