The Folder...Time Saver Tips....Finances & Responsibility

 This past Friday night our season ended against a very good CAL football team. As much as I wish we were still playing, I could not be prouder of our guys.  They worked, adjusted, and adapted to make 2020 a very successful football season. All of the KY HS football coaches and players did an extraordinary job to make fall football work in the middle of the 2020 Pandemic. I have never been more proud to be a KY HS Football Coach. 

Whenever the season ends, my "punishment" is to get out this folder, postgame:

Over the years, I usually start working, cleaning, etc. immediately after the game. There is no way I can go home and go to sleep.  In a step toward better mental health, this year I went home after the game. JCB & Caroline were here to watch Trosper play. They were leaving the next Saturday after lunch. Emma was home also. I don't want to be cleaning up after the season if my family is at the house... especially if they will not be there very long. Having my kids home has helped me understand better what is most important in those moments and forced me to make better decisions than when the kids were little.  It has been fun in 2020 because the kids come home to watch Trosper. That forces me to get home faster than I would in the  past. And, it did help in 2020 that we only lost twice. Trosper and his teammates played well.  Our team played some very good football this fall. Friday nights at the house after the game...most nights, we were celebrating a win. 

Due to Covid, we made a really good adjustment to our Monday meeting to turn in equipment. There was no meeting. We brought our guys in by class, separated by 30 minutes so that everyone would be staggered. They walked in the door for screening. After screening, they immediately went to the classroom and Coach Heasley instructed them how to vote for Captains and the council. After that, they went to the lockerroom to turn in gear and clean out their lockers. They had to be out of the building in less than 30 minutes.  They left out another entrance than the one they entered. It went great. Much smoother and faster. 

A couple timesaver tips for the young guys :

1- After you do the 2020 inventory ( I use an excel spreadsheet), make another copy of the same document and call it 2021InventoryPrep. In that document, make all of the numbers in gray instead of black. Go ahead and print it. Put it in the folder. When the 2021 season ends, you are ready to begin your inventory. You can see what you had last year at the end of the season, but since it is gray and not black, it is easy to write over it and document the new amount for each item as you inventory.

2- The "plenty" check mark. I use to count every single knee pad, thigh pad, etc. It was insane. If you look at an item that is relatively inexpensive and you have abundantly more than enough for the next season, don't count every item. Put a check mark in the column and keep on rolling. 

Also to the young coaches, and I cannot stress this enough, taking care of your football equipment is a huge responsibility. All of the coaches and student-athletes in your school are depending on you. If we don't take care of our stuff, we have to buy new stuff more frequently. That diverts money from other sports and those kids. I sure wish we had won on Friday, but I can tell you that Saturday morning, every single game jersey, all three sets (blue, white, red), was in the equipment room. The cost of a football helmet is going through the roof. Coaches Mike Johnson, Brian Rowland and Brian Sims made sure every single helmet made it to the equipment room.

A football program can't hide. You have to make money and you have to take care of your stuff. Every other sport is depending on you to do so. There is a big difference in replacing a tennis ball or a set of shoulder pads. We have a very small margin of error. We have to get it right. And, if you don't want that responsibility, you don't need to be a head football coach. 

So thankful our guys had a season. It was crazy, unpredictable & exhausting....  but it was 100 % worth it. 

Merry Christmas!