Summer conditioning time is coming around the mountain, boys and girls. Time for a few Coach Hays rants to get the ball rolling. Of all the things about coaching high school sports I could miss, the sidelines, the dugout, the practices, etc., the one one thing I miss (besides the kids) is summer conditioning. I don’t think too many summer programs across the state did things the way we did back then. Every minute of summer had to be intense, focused, and productive.
Why?
- The professional teams draft the cream of the crop and then develop them.
- College programs recruit the best they can find and then develop them.
- High school programs (except for the few private schools) take what walks through your door and then drive and push them to develop into the best they can be.
We had to do things different. We didn’t have big kids, we didn’t have fast kids, and we had very few superstar raw talents. We had to work our butts off. We had to maximize what we had, which was tough, hard working kids. Looking back, I wouldn’t trade our kids for anything, though I wish we could have had their 22 year-old bodies when they were 17. Late bloomers.
I miss it. I miss the groans and moans at 6:30 AM. I miss the energy of 50 kids working hard. I miss pushing them to do things the right way, every time. I loved it and I did it every day from June to mid-August for nine summers for a whopping cumulative salary of $0.00. Best job I ever had.
I will always be extremely proud of what we were able to accomplish with the resources we were allocated and the meager school support. I am proud to have achieved the results we did through the incredible effort, the desire to improve, and the high level of buy-in from the kids.
Man, alive! It gets me excited just thinking about it. Get busy, Kids of Summer 2013. Take advantage of your opportunities. Get in touch if you have a question or need some help. I’ll be glad to help if you have something you want to work on.
Hard work is the magic.
Here’s a little something to roll around in your head until the next rant on “Easy”:
The Coach Hays High School Sports Roles
The Athlete – Show up everyday with the desire and effort to get better.
The Coach – Show up everyday with the desire and the plan to make athletes better.
The Parent – Be your athlete’s biggest fan and supporter.
The Official/Umpire – Please be patient and take into account that Coach Hays is an idiot.
THE COACH HAYS 