Just Asking Part II?

We were talking about this yesterday at another post and I thought we might bring it up front today to see if anyone else had insight on this subject.

Here’s what I was asking:

If I am a coach, can I not make a respectful comment to a player saying, “I wish I had a couple of players on my team like you and your brother”, and it not be a recruiting statement?

It would seem it could be considered a comment of praise or respect and it would then not be considered recruiting. Maybe a bit naive here, but let’s all be honest, what can you say or not say to a student-athlete that borders on the lines of recruiting and do we have a Guilford County Athletics Handbook with the listed by-laws that we are supposed to follow?????

On another subject within the academic realm, I have heard of teachers at one school that have sent their children to another school within the cross-over boundaries of a school district.

The reason given was that the school the student was in, was considered an at-risk discipline school and that the parent/teacher wanted their child to attend what they considered to be a safer school.

This came my way back in September of 2008…..

35 thoughts on “Just Asking Part II?

  1. The comment in the other post did not say “I wish I had a couple of players on my team like you and your brother”, it said ” I would love to have you AND your brother at NE”. There is a difference in the 2 statements. One is general, the other is specific. I think if the first statement would have been said, it would have been fine. But when you specifically say who you want and where, thats recruiting. IMO

  2. Whether or not it is specific, this is still a compliment. I do not see anything wrong with saying to a parent that “I sure I wish I had your two boys over here at _____.” The difference would be me asking to work something out like, “Look, I sure wish I had your two boys over here at ______, so what can we work out to make that happen?” The latter statement would be the recruiting part. When coaches start looking into ways “to make it happen” is recruiting. Just making a general statement to show that they like your kids and would love to have them on your team is nothing more than a mere compliment. Can it lead to more? Sure, but that would be when coaches start looking at ways “to help make it actually happen”.

  3. Yes, I was talking about the general comment that I made yesterday on the subject without mentioning a specific school.

    A good topic and it is already evident that you have to be very careful with your overall presentations.

  4. Here is another statement. This statement is actually taking place by the way, which would be a form of recruiting. So, if you are being investigated for recruiting, then you may want to tell your coaches (just know of one coach specifically) that is telling kids this statement below:

    “Look, I sure wish I had your boy over here at ________, and you know your coach over there at ______ don’t care for him like I would. I’m a much better mentor than your present coach would be. I mean that coach over there at ____ should have done more for Joe Schmo and got him into a better college. Now, if you come here to _____, then I’ll make sure that I will get you noticed and connected to the right people.”

  5. The fact is as a coach you know what is right and what is wrong. If you want to compliment the kid tell them you see they are doing good things and good luck in the future.

    The very statement sayiong you wish you had players like them is implying in my eyes that you can’t make do with the players you have therefore making it a recruiting issue.

  6. Make the friggen school system free choice…that will solve everything…you are responsible for your childs transportation if he/she wants to attend the school of their choice….this is such a waste of time and money…we hire Mo Jo 300mm a year to investigate sports at a new school that is trying to build a program from nothing? Investigate a custodian..and interrogate him for 5 hours about sports at a school…a custodian????Have they lost their minds… Northern won the friggen basketball championship..WOW what an accomplishment, ( beat Dudley 3 times) oooohhh noooo must be something wrong…they beat the worlds greatest high school team 3 times….let’s investigate..that’s the answer.. everyone is friggen jealous and greedy …..give me a break…why doesn’t Mo Jo investigate why kids bring guns to school..or drop out or flunk out or get pregnant..or want to transfer out of a school because it’s to dangerous or why the teachers are incompetent…instead of worring about baseballs ,footballs, basketballs….Let’s have FREE CHOICE…no one wants to talk about that….another thing… why would anyone moving to N.C. want to go to school in Guilford county after seeing this crap in the news…beats me

  7. Here is a guestion I don’t understand. When and why would coaches be running into players from other schools. If you are a coach the vast majority of your free time is at your school. This is why they ought to make it illegal for coaches to coach AAU etc.

    It has gotten out of hand, this isn’t the pros kids need to go to one school where they live throughout their high school career. Whatever happened to community loyalty and pride?

  8. Hey only way,

    You are a prime example of why things are the way they are. You want to point at all the “bad teachers” and problems in the schools but I gaurantee you haven’t spent a day in some teachers shoes who are handcuffed by whiny parents that don’t discipline their kids and your not allowed to becuase these kids are so privileged.

    That is what this recruiting crap is all about. These kids are so “friggin” privileged it is pathetic. How about this, parents start doing your job as parents and teach your kids that everything in life doesn’t come free and that sometimes there will be things that they don’t like but they have to learn to deal with them the best possible way there is like staying at the school you’re at and doing the the right thing instead of pointing the finger at your coaches and teachers.

    If I would have done half of what some of these kids get away with I would be eating fom a straw right now because I wouldn’t have any teeth to chew with and there is nothing wrong with that because it made me a tough, hard worker who learned how to deal with ADVERSITY by working harder than the average person.

    Grow up an deal with problems not run from them.

  9. Go ahead and investigate ALL of the schools thoroughly about recruiting. Those schools that are CLEAN give their coaches a bonus from funds available by DOCKING those coaches running DIRTY programs.

  10. Dear Problem – so you are saying that when the kid goes to work and his/her first job is at McDonalds that he/she should just stay there and be happy? It would be terrible to not show loyalty to McDonalds by jumping ship and taking a job as an Exxon executive. Really, stay at Mikey D’s and make the best of it. Great advice for a life lesson. Lastly, where did you play college ball?

  11. Baseballfan, your point I can agree with MOST of the time. I also believe kids should learn to work through tough situations. Those traits will bode them well later in life. But there are a few situations where a different environment may be better.

    What should a kid do if they have a coach who does the bare minimum. Doesn’t have off-season conditioning ( I realize you can do it yourself), doesn’t have a spring practice, doesn’t have summer workouts and doesn’t teach you except in season. Where there is another coach thet has summer workouts, or 8 man workouts in the winter or morning training. Should a kid stay in that situation?

    Now let’s look at teh same situation except in academics. What if you had a math teacher that did the minimum? Would not come in early or stay late for extra help, didn’t push the kids, didn’t go the extra mile, didn’t take an interest in a kid that needs it. Should a kid stay in that situation?

    What’s the difference? It’s Ok to transfer for academics but it’s taboo to transfer for sports? Is that what you’re saying? Stay put and stick it out even though the kid would be better off in a different environment? Is that what you’re saying?

    My point is there is a time when a different environment may be better for the kid, whether it be for academics or athletics.

    I appreciate your comments and your position and agree with that position most of the time, but not all the time.

  12. Wit,

    How about showing a litte wit and understand that what you are talking about is two totally different things. The problem is the shipthese kids are jumping are no different than the ones they are jumping from.

    Oh and by the way I played D-I college baseball I would reveal even more but there is no point in it. By the way what does that prove?

  13. Many tranfer players I have seen play in the past had one common trait, a lack of Mental Toughness.

    Some athletes transfer from a program that’s just not up to Jrs. talent level , ussually this is pushed by parents that don’t want to put the angel in a situation where they may have to become a Team Leader and carry the weight of a team on their shoulders.

    Eventually, these parents will have to stop wiping these athletes noses, and at that point, the true potential might might occur for their child.

  14. You all are just making way too much of this. Who cares? This is HIGH SCHOOL. A coach can ask, but ultimatley the parent/guardian has to be the decision maker. WHATEVER THE REASON, it all comes back to the parents. A minor can’t sign his/her own paperwork. If the paperwork and whatever else is needed is in order then so be it!

    Now if you began talking money and favors that it is different.

  15. Per N&R all non falculty coaches who’s sport is not in season has been banned from NG.

    I will not comment on that subject but I will go back to my original post. There is a difference when you say,’I wish I had…”I like to have to have someone like you at…’ then when you say ‘I want you to come to…”I would like you to come to…’. The first would be a compliment, the 2nd would be a complimentary recruiting. IMO

  16. clarification non faculty coaches who’s sport is not in season are banned pending the completion of an investigation

  17. I am sorry I have to disagree with you basketball fan. By saying that I would like to have someone at my school like you is planting a seed and IMO is recruiting just not as blatent.

  18. Good comparison

    IF a girl that is fairly attractive comes to you and says I wish I had a boyfriend like you wouldn’t you give it a shot or at least think about it. It is still considered flirting

  19. Football coach could be gone soon.
    Out of district athletes may have to return to correct schools and may not get to participate in athletics for a year.

    This is NOT OFFICIAL but was heard from a high school principal earlier today.
    The next month could really get ugly at NG.

  20. spoke to a volunteer coach this evening–he did not know about the ban, but he did confirm that there was a meeting @ 8:00 am or some early hour tomorrow. his comment and i quote ” if they BAN me from going on campus and coaching, then they better have their guns loaded because that will say to everyone i know in the community that i did something wrong!!!! i know he was livid ’cause he even said he would run for the school board. that would be crazier than being a volunteer coach for this ungrateful county and school system!!!!
    singling coaches at northern out will certainly not be very smart in my opinion. i hope they are smart enough to have the same rule @ every school in the county implemented at the same time now what makes me think that would be true!

  21. clarification—comment meant they need to have lots of information whenthey totally embarrass these violunteers by banning them from campus—

  22. I think banning coaches from the campus simply is a move to prevent them from meddling with the athletes. One coach already has a histor of that.

  23. I am not at all sure that anything in the end will be proven by GCS at the conclusion of this investigation. Maybe Maybe not. Regardless, I can assure you that whether you think it is fair or not fair, the boys basketball coach and probably the football and baseball coach will absolutely not be coaching at Guilford County Schools next year. If you think that is not already a done deal, you are kidding yourself.

  24. Hey Going to Go,

    If they let those coaches go without any evidence of wrongdoing, they will pay thru the nose in lawsuits from the parents and the coaches. GCS has no idea how many wrong turns they have made and they better hope that they have enough E&O coverage to pay out all of these settlements or else the school system will be bankrupt. Mo Green picked the wrong school to try and build his reputation.

  25. Problem-if a girl comes up to me and says that I would I have to figure out why she would want her boyfriend to be a woman 🙂

    But I see where you are coming from however I guess it would matter how it is exactly said. People know how to play with words.

    Scenario-Team A, with good/great players, is beating the breaks off team B,with good/medicore players.And the coach of team B tells the coach of team A, “Good game. You sure have a good team. We need more players like yours. Your #11 lit us up!” Then he sees #11 and says,”Young man nice win. You play very well. You lit us up. I wish we had players like you”

    Now would that be a compliment or recruiting?

  26. An observation. Guilford County Schools did not do things right when Northern was staffed. They should have gone for 1/3 Northeast teachers,administrators and coaches, 1/3 Northwest teachers, admistrators and coaches and 1/3 new teachers, administrators and coaches.If they had done that then there would be some instant credibility in the new school district. Many times individuals settle into their former high school district. I teach at a GCS high school and have taught many parents of students I currently teach. There would be much parental security when a kid could have come home from the 1st day of school and say,” I have Coach So and So for PE. Didn’t he coach you back in 1987 at (NE or NW whichever the case may be)?” This may have been a deterrent to doing dishonest things in sports since the Coach already had a long and positive reputation. Just reflecting on my long career in GCS.

  27. They don’t have to fire them. Coaches are hired on a year-to-year basis. They don’t HAVE to renew their agreement, that is how it works, they just have to reopen the job. Whether they did something or not, GCS is making an example out of NG and cleaning house. Lawsuits from coahes will carry ZERO clout legally because they never have to actually be fired. So them threatening to do so is just a way to try to get people to back off. Problem is, nobody is going to back off. NG got arrogant and careless and got caught doing SOMETHING. It is like an embezzler. You take a $100 and don’t get caught so you take a $1000, then $10000 and on and on and then eventually you will take so much that people can’t help but notice and people start to investigate and question things. I am sure all of you can see the comparisons.

  28. Sorry is right. That is my point. A lawsuit could work for the principal and Athletic Director though resigning instead of being fired could work against them. The coaches don’t have the same type of contracts. They are not terminated. They are just not renewed. The football coach can sue over losing his teaching job or whatever else he does there but not his coaching. The non-faculty coaches have no recourse. It is the same thing as if you hire a contractor to do work and he has completed the work that he was contracted for. You don’t have to hire that contractor back to do additional work next year and you don’t have to have a reason. They can sue if they want, but they still won’t be coaching and they won’t win anything in their lawsuit. As for parents, they can’t legally sue over the letting go or non renewal of another person. The law does not work that way. Again, I am not saying it is right or wrong or fair or unfair. I am just telling you the way it is.

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