Evolution of coaching

If you're not moving forward, you are falling behind the competition.It has led to the advancement of training, equipment, game strategies and schemes in football. The same applies to how coaches adapt to a changing generation of players and parents.Prep football coaches have evolved over the years, striving to balance the integrity of their program philosophy with the ability to relate to different players and their parents.“Every season is different,” said Cedar Rapids Washington Coach Tony Lombardi, who is starting his seventh season with the Warriors. “Every team has its own personality.“I think that's the job of the coach to identify how to make that particular group of kids better. Make them achieve a little bit beyond whatever parameters they might put on themselves and maybe perform above those levels.”Lombardi said he has had to provide rides for some players to weightlifting when parent schedules or family dynamic hinders a player from getting to practice.Iowa City High Coach Dan Sabers has been a longtime head coach and assistant for the Little Hawks. He said coaches have to identify the needs of specific players, finding ways to overcome or accommodate them.“That has been certainly something throughout the years that has changed how I go about things a little differently, trying to be a little more understanding of everyone's back ground is,” Sabers said. “What may limit them from doing all the things I would like them to do as far as football.”The game has become faster with quicker and stronger players. Their aptitude have progressed as much as their physical skills. Coaches have to deal with more intelligent players and parents.“People understand the game better today,” said Union Coach Joe Hadachek, noting the accuracy of video games can school players and lead usable ideas in games. “There are so many things out there that teach people the X's and O's.”With more knowledge, players hold coaches more accountable. Instead of blindly taking orders, some players want to know the reasoning behind the given tasks.“It used to be you could tell a kid this is what you want them to do and they said, “OK” and they just did it,” Lombardi said. “Now, they want to know why. How will this help me improve?”The game has produced more aspirations of earning college scholarships. It is one of the reasons many athletes continue training in the off-season. In turn, the role of coach extend beyond the fall and starts before official practices.Coaches are increasingly involved in off-season lifting, camps, 7-on-7 drills and traveling for events.Cedar Rapids Prairie Coach Mike Morrissey took the Hawks to a 7-on-7 camp at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind, in June.“They do train year-round. If they're not in a sport, they're doing something else,” said Morrissey, 29, who played for his father, Ed, at Pleasant Valley High School. “We didn't even train like this when I was in high school. You'd do what you needed to do. It wasn't this year-round specialization stuff that you're going to see more and more of here as we evolve.”Technological evolution has added a new element to how coaches interact with students and parents. Many complaints surround playing time and how coaches handle practices and games. Lombardi, who was a target of parent complaints for conduct with players earlier this year, said Twitter, Facebook and email have opened a new avenue for parents and athletes to contact coaches.“As far as parents, I think that's kind of an evolution we're going through right now with the invent of social media and all the electronic communication that goes on at this point,” Lombardi said. “Parents just want to know how their kids doing and they want feedback. They want to feel included in the process.”Electronic media has broadened the spotlight players. Sabers said players are just as tough and dedicated as those decades ago. He said teenagers remain teenagers and are prone to mistakes. Those errors in judgment are brought to the surface more.“I think the big thing that is changing is we find out a lot more,” Sabers said. “I try to tell kids they have to make good, smart decisions. You have to stay away from things that are potential trouble. With today's world of communication and pictures and all kinds of things that happen, including tweets, things are found out easier than they used to be.”Hadachek reached out to parents before he took over the Knights varsity program. Something Morrissey said has to be handled delicately at times.Hadachek started the youth football program in Dysart, and encouraged fathers to get involved. He helped develop and bring them in, which led to positions in the middle school and high school programs.“There are approximately 20 dads that will coach in our youth programs, third through sixth (grades),” Hadachek said. “I like having the fathers involved in the program.”Coaches need to foster relationships with parents. They are a resource, providing various forms of support for the program. Morrissey said with budget restrictions threatening a preseason banquet parents rallied and found donations for the team gathering.“Having a solid community like this that we have at Prairie goes a long way,” Morrissey said. “Parents look out for each other. They look out for each others' kids.”Hadachek is a Dysart native. Living and coaching in a smaller community means less separation from the players and their parents. That doesn't necessarily mean it is tougher.“You're always going to carry that with you no matter if you're in Cedar Rapids, Marion or Dysart,” Hadachek said. “You're out in public all the time. People know who you are, and I know the players.”Morrissey is one of the youngest head coaches in the area. A former Upper Iowa University player who coached a year in Illinois, Morrissey has provided an enthusiastic approach that has related well with his players. He has learned what motivates players from his younger brother, a junior at Pleasant Valley, and applied it to the Hawks. He said players share the same traits. Morrissey said he hasn't run into much friction from parents, who are older or have been exposed to the game for a longer time.“For the most part, they've been pretty respectful,” Morrissey said. “Anywhere you go you're going to get a little bit of that, whether you're my age or older.“I've been very fortunate because they've let me do my job.”A job that will continually evolve.