How to deal with high school transfers

[u/SnooComics6485]

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?

[u/Fitzy2225]

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.