Looking For Opinions Head Coach Or Assistant?

[coachjay 0]

i'm basically looking for opinions here i've basically been a head coach my whole career.when i started off coaching it was a local jr. high team nobody wanted. Like most of you know about coaching although i played in high school and college i made my fair share of mistakes. Through hard work clinics,dvds,books and message boards like this one i'd like to think i've carved out a pretty decent program. After 10 years of working with the jr.high kids and watching a few have very good high school careers and now even watching some of them play on saturdays i moved to a different city.So 2 years ago i made the move to a different program because the travel got to be too much and i took over a local pop warner program. Because of my experience they put me in with a B-Team which is mostly 7th grade kids the first year with them i brought them to the superbowl losing in the last minute and this year when they moved up to the a-Team went undefeated 10-0 and won the superbowl,before falling 1 game short of the nationals.Now comes the dilemma the league i'm involved in is basically made up from a bunch of parents trying to live vicariuosly through their kids.Beyond that not one of them has a clue on how to coach or teach the kids.After repeatedly trying to give them help and assistance i continually get told now thanks even though my team in my 2 years went 18-3 and the other 4 teams combined has managed to win 2 games. Now i know it's not all about winning but the program is disfunctunal and the kids are'nt having any fun. Now the team i had my deepest obligation to is going on to high school.So my big dilemma is should i continue to be the head Coach in a program i really have no faith in besides the kids or i have the oppurtunity to be an assistant in a neighboring town which is not to far away.The thing is and i probable don't have to tell any of you but it's alot of work being the head coaches not to mention the hours of practice planning involved you have to handle all the paperwork,equipment and teaching all your assistants.So i'm thinking it my be a nice retreat to only have to teach the line or maybe work agility drills with the db's or lb's. So i know i'm probable just waxing but if anyone else has had this issue or anything similar i'd like to hear about what maybe you did or gather any opinions from assistants who have moved up to head coaches or head coaches who have maybe taken a lesser role for one reason or another. ok guys thanks for your time

[Orange 26]

Coaching should be an enjoyable experience. If you don't like the position then you should do something else. I guess what I'm saying is that you should probably go with the assistant coaching position if that's going to be more fun for you. I've coached on a lower level than you but the stress (and reward) from being a head coach is greater and sometime I really enjoy kicking back as an assistant. I've found as an assistant you can learn a lot while providing valuable input to the team.

Coaching kids is different than dealing with the politics of parents. You sound like you're really good with one and not so good with the other. Maybe it's best to stick to your strengths and simply coach.

[ADC coach 0]

Not being in your situation, but only have been coaching for two years now and love it, but last year was assistant for flag(4-6 y/o) and assistant for JV tackle(9-10 y/o). I have one son in flag & other in JV tackle. Commisioner wanted me to be HC for flag this yr, because HC has twins in flag & one moving up to 9-10 y/o and wanted to be more involved w/JV team. Commisioner also is HC for JV team and told him that I would be OC for JV and DC for flag, leaving HC still at flag level and DC for JV team. Even though he is officially HC we both run the practices and we both run the games. Missed going to superbowl by 1 game in flag & JV. We communicate w/each other real good and have a really good working relationship, we always discuss the game before and after to make changes, sometimes during, but not much. I love working with the kids and teaching them different skills and the HC's work with the parents, refs, and other HC stuff, which leaves me time to make even our weakest link strong. So being an assistant might be the way to go, but i have two great HC to work with.

[coachjay 0]

Thanks guys i appreciate the input and i think i might go become an assitant. Because at the end of the day the most enjoyable thing about coaching is working with the kids.This will be my 13th year coaching youths and i've never had a kid in the program.Although i've had my most physical sucess with this bigger program i'm in now. I'm just starting to see how alot of these parents just don't understand the meaning of organized sports.That it's all about the kids having fun and learning the game of football and all the great benefits it has to offer.Thanks for your input and goodluck on your upcoming season.p.s. when it comes to the X&O's i have a pretty good concept of the game if ever you guys need to bounce anything off of me feel free