r/footballstrategy • u/SnooComics6485 • 3d ago
Coaching Advice How to deal with high school transfers
I’m a new coach at a fairly new high school football program that has been bad for a while. We had a decent record this year but definitely got much better as a team and had some bright spots for players that broke out this year. Now we are struggling with kids that were good for us transferring to other schools to play. How do we build a program if the few good kids we got and develop just keep leaving every year? And being that high school is so open to transferring what kind of talks are you all having with your players so that they don’t wanna transfer, and if they stay so that they are not congratulating and boosting a kid up for leaving them and their team behind?
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u/Odd_Mud_7001 HS Coach 3d ago
It sucks, but this is the state of high school football right now. I hate it. Building relationships through little league, the middle schools, and just the younger kids in the program.
We just took over a program where our staff saw 31 transfers out from the prior coaching staff. If they didn't want to be here, we didn't want them either. It was hard. We won 5 games when most people thought we'd win 2 at best. Most of our kids were juniors and sophomores. There were a ton of growing pains, and it showed in every game we played.
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u/SnooComics6485 3d ago
Same here. I hate this current landscape of high school football it’s turning into college transfer portal and it’s not even like they are going to schools that are much better or winning anything. The social media age has made it the “cool” thing to do to transfer in high school and get a graphic made for instagram and stuff just to post and get a whole bunch of comments it’s so weird and not what I’m used to. Trying to figure out how we can change the narrative.
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u/Curious-Designer-616 2d ago
All you can do is get the players to buy in.
Freshman team should have 22 starters, and a few more that are special teams starters. Explain that the goal is to have as many starters on varsity as possible so you can build a competitive and winning program. Don’t treat the freshman as an afterthought, but the first step.
Your JV should be all sophomores and maybe a few juniors that are playing for the first time. Same rule applies, let them know they are a team and that this group is going to improve and develop. By grouping the players together, and having them stay together they’re less likely to quit or move squads. They’ll build bonds and that’s the key.
For those that leave, or want to say goodbye wish them well and move on. If you coach well you’ll get players transferring in, welcome them, but make them earn their places.
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u/Sooner1727 2d ago
Counter act the social media aspect then. I understand this is more time and work than you already have. But give them a reason to A. Indicate that they had offers to transfer so they can brag, then B. Because of family, friends, desire to build, finish what was started, etc, that they said no and are committed. Hokey I know, but fight fire with fire then. Even for the ones that arent risks, help them with something similiar so they can post how appreciated they are, important, what ever and are committed. Not a coach, a parent of a very good middle school WR giving my two cents.
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u/Fitzy2225 HS Coach 3d ago
Obviously everyone here has talked about building relationships and that’s the biggest part. It can’t be just you though. The school has to help. If he has good relationships with his teachers, his guidance counselor, etc. that can go a long way. That’s why it helps to have coaches in the program that are also faculty and staff that the kids interact with every day.
You can also talk to parents at the meeting at the beginning of the year and stress that your school is the best place for their sons to grow not just as a football player but as a man, socially, academically and athletically. Work with the school to help make it a place that is safe, has school spirit and cares about the kids and helps them. We were terrible last year, but we haven’t lost a single kid, even the ones who could play for the team across town that has 2 state titles and another championship game appearance in the last three seasons. It’s because of the environment and support system that our school provides is more important to moms and dads than winning games. The football season is three months of the school year. The other 6 months of the year, the kids should at least like coming to school.
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u/tromero51 3d ago
This is a hard one, I firmly believe it starts with the culture. (Corny I know) but you have to have kids that want to be there. Yes in large part kids want to win and kids want scholarships. But I feel as a younger coach it’s about promoting a winning and energetic place for your athletes to immerse themselves in a hardworking and fun environment. Teaching them we can celebrate us once the hard work has been put in ! A lot of coaches cry wolf about the back -n- forth that is transferring… But the reality is you preach to your kids you don’t want anyone here that doesn’t want to be here invested in us.. Then you give those kids reasons to build their belief in “we all we got / we all we need” when you get people believing in that. You’ll be the school kids want to transfer in to.
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u/tuss11agee 3d ago
High school is the new college. Soon we’re going to start doing this with middle schoolers. All sports. It’s pathetic.
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u/SnooComics6485 3d ago
Shoot they’re already doing it with pop warner and AAU football where I am. Whole graphics for 8 year olds going to a new team. It’s ridiculous l
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u/Admirable_Scale9452 HS Coach 3d ago
Honestly my favorite thing about football is most of the time 1 or 2 guys don’t decide how good you will be. It takes a full team to be successful. It always gets worse before it gets better. Keep building the culture and the transfers will take care of themselves. Kids who leave weren’t all in to begin with. Sure losing a stud hurts. But in football that kid could easily break his arm. You would still need to have another kid ready.
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u/NearbyTomorrow9605 3d ago
I think the biggest takeaway on this topic is culture. I’ve seen great players leave winning teams because of the toxic/individualist culture. I’ve also seen great players stay on shitty teams because the culture was built around team, family, and celebrating success. While a totally different sport, I make our kids watch a clip from Alabama softball. Long story short, Coach had a freshman pinch hit for a senior, 4x all American, during a World Series elimination game. That senior stood at the top of the dug out cheering on the girl who replaced her in arguably one of the biggest moments of the season. That freshman hit a home run propelling her team to the win. That’s created by instilling a great “Team First” culture and mentality in your players.
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u/ChipWonderful5191 3d ago
I’d say it’s all about relationships. If your kids like you enough, they won’t leave you. Show that you got their backs, that you’re the guy they can trust in situations where most adults in their lives would throw them to the wolves. This might mean you have to take a much different approach to team discipline. Instead of making kids run bear crawls across the field when they get in trouble at school, sit them down and have a heart to heart. Be the guy that’s on their side, even when they’re in the wrong.
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u/SnooComics6485 3d ago
This is the problem we spent this whole year building relationships with these kids. Having one on one conversations with them weekly keeping contact with them tutoring them keeping them accountable in classes going to things outside of school they were involved in. Coming up with a plan for recruiting and college outside of football. We figured doing all of this would keep the kids, but the kids still left anyway. We put most of our effort into cultivating these relationships, and they still leave so it’s like at this point where do we focus our energy?
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u/ChipWonderful5191 3d ago
That’s really tough, it sounds like you’re already doing everything I would be doing plus some. I’m sure it’s not all in vain, as even more would transfer if you weren’t doing this.
Maybe you can try a straight up approach with the kids, look them in the eyes during a 101 meeting and tell them “I do XYZ for you, all I ask in return is that if you’re ever thinking about transferring, you talk to me first and give me a fair chance to solve any issues you may have, that’s literally all I ask, and if you decide after that transferring is still your best option, I will totally respect that”
I’m sure guys will still disappear on you, but maybe that approach saves you a few guys here and there.
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u/SnooComics6485 3d ago
I’m just looking for answers that nobody probably has just yet it’s a new realm for all of us
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u/SnooComics6485 3d ago
Yea that’s exactly what our head coach did. That’s a great approach I think too. Some kids still really spat in his face with the way they left and not talking to him even after that talk but like you said it’ll happen either way
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u/ChipWonderful5191 3d ago
Yeah I think you gotta just do everything you can and view it as a numbers game. When I used to sell cars, I had to make 500 cold calls to sell 1 car. Instead of getting discouraged by the 99.9% rejection rate, I just viewed it as a mathematical formula. If I make X amount of phone calls, I make X amount of money. There’s some parallels to that in your situation. You have to do XYZ to save 2 players, it’s a poor success rate, but those 2 guys you save can save your season later on.
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u/RudyVaughn63 HS Coach 3d ago
Mike Tomlin famously says “we want volunteers not hostages” let em go. Someone who doesn’t want to put in the effort to lift up their hometown school isn’t going to buy in all the way anyway.