Ramona Athletic Department John Tibbels Athletic Director “Success is a peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming” John Wooden

Building and Maintaining Successful Sports Programs Develop a coaching philosophy -Why do you coach? What is it that you want your athletes to learn from being part of your team? -This will give you a purpose to what you do with your athletes each day.

Select a coaching staff that shares your philosophy of coaching. - Check with Coach Tibbels before hiring any coaches. -Teach your coaches how you want things done. -Communicate their responsibilities and hold them accountable. -Monitor coaches during the season and evaluate them at the end of each season.

Have an information meeting prior to your tryout date. -Inform students what your qualifications are for selecting your team. - Explain the procedures for physicals, insurance and obtaining a pink card prior to tryouts.

Select your team wisely. -Base your selections on 1)skill/ability 2)Attitude 3)Work ethic 4)Ability to get along with teammates and coaching staff. 5)Academic performance 6)Behavior on campus

Communicate with athletes and parents your expectations and policies. - Be specific -Cover all scenarios that could come up during the season. -Explain the policy of earning a Varsity letter in writing. -Provide a calendar that shows all practice times, games, and meeting times. Create a phone list. Let players and parents know when they can call. -Explain in writing your fundraising policies. -Keep a written log of all communications with parents. -Let parents know if their child did something wrong. What their child should have done and what consequences their child may have. Make suggestions on how their child can improve and what is expected in the future.

Develop a practice plan each day. - Start your practices on time. -Demand that your athletes are on time and have penalties for tardies or unexcused absences. -Be professional in your approach to practices. Your athletes will take them seriously if you do. -Expect from your athletes their best effort. -Treat your athletes with respect at all times. -Teach your athletes how you want things done. They are your students and it may take time for them to get things right. - If you have a contact period, make use of the time each day.

Communicate with your athletes what their role on the team will be. -Have conversations with your players often and reinforce what their role is. It may change during the season. -Let parents know that you will not discuss playing time, coaching strategy or other players with them. -Develop relationships with all members of your team. Show no favoritism. -Keep a professional coach/player relationship. Never discuss problems you may have with co-workers or players with members of your team.

Games -These are opportunities for your athletes to perform. Make sure they are prepared thoroughly during practices. -All Ramona Coaches and Athletes represent Ramona High School. Discuss travel attire with coaches and players. Hold yourself and your players accountable for appropriate behavior during games. Be professional in your interactions with opposing coaches, players, and officials. You will be a model for your athletes to follow. Call all game results in to the Press Enterprise. (951) Monitor all players after games when they shake hands with opposing teams. Display the highest level of sportsmanship.

Eligibility, Insurance, Emergency cards, Injury reports Ask your players if they attended a school other than Ramona last year. Paper work must be filed with CIF. Do not let students tryout or participate in any activities until they have a pink card indicating they have a physical, and insurance on file. Report and follow up on all injuries occurring at practice and games. Follow all CIF rules regarding out of season contact and recruiting. Monitor all student-athletes progress in the classroom. Progress reports, attendance reports. Take steps to keep all athletes eligible.

Transportation *Keep STA phone #s with you at all times. Dispatch pager.*Assist in collecting Transportation fee. Hold players accountable for turning in their money or cafeteria #. *Come up with a policy for riding the bus and communicate this with your athletes. *It is best to have all players ride the bus home from an event, but if you allow a student to ride home with a parent you must get a written note from the parent and keep this with your files.

Fundraising *Keep an accurate account of all fundraising money and work with Sandy Ferguson to keep a running tally of what is in your account. *Don’t buy anything unless you have enough money in your account to cover the PO. *Communicate your fundraising policy with students and parents so they know exactly what is expected of them. *Send a fine list to Sandy Ferguson at the end of each season. In Today’s world fundraising has become a vital part of running a sports program.

End of Season/ Banquet Select awards and honors carefully. Think it through. Expect all athletes to be in attendance. Let Athletic Department know when and where the banquet is taking place-give advance notice. Check in all equipment and uniforms in a timely manner. Communicate your expectations of athletes for the off- season.

Professionalism “Teaching our nation’s youth is one of the most serious responsibilities one can accept as a career. A leader, particularly a teacher or coach, has a most powerful influence on those he or she leads, perhaps more than anyone outside of the family. Therefore, it is the obligation of that teacher or coach to treat such responsibility with grave concern. I consider it a sacred trust: helping to mold character, educate, instill productive principles and values, and provide a positive example to those under my supervision. Furthermore, it is a privilege to have that responsibility, opportunity, and obligation, one that should never be taken lightly.”John Wooden

-Be professional in your attire, language, behavior, and relationships with your players, coaches, and parents. -Make decisions based on what is logical and not based on emotion. Keep calm and think things through. -Learn from other coaches who do things the right way and incorporate their secrets to success into your program. -Present a clean and professional image and be a positive role model in terms of personal habits, language and conduct. Expect and demand the same from your team and coaches. Use of tobacco and use of alcohol any time before a contest on the day of a contest in not acceptable.

Athletes at Ramona High School should be positive leaders on our campus. Coaches should be aware of and assist their team members in exemplifying excellent behavior, attendance, and academic progress. Coaches should be passionate for their sport and be living examples of what it is and who it is you want your players to be. Giver purpose to everything the team does, and communicate that purpose clearly to the team members. Be very clear to your team what you stand for, why you are doing what you are doing and what everyone’s responsiblities are.

As coaches we have a tremendous opportunity to touch and change athletes lives. Build programs that demand your athletes have character. They will become positive leaders and role models and over time your program will have less problems because of the things your program demands from its members.