One night after an away game, I get off the bus to go in my office and I have an unexpected visitor, who had followed our busses home. It was the mom of a female student from the HS of our opponent. She was not happy with one of my players and began to make threats. A good friend of mine was an attorney in town. So I called him, around midnight, to get advice on the best way to proceed.
Fortunately, there was nothing for her to pursue and my player had done nothing wrong. I can speculate as to why she made that trip. But, from the incident, we began an annual meeting with this attorney and my players. He said he didn't want any more midnight phone calls!
So, first at Mason County, and now at Mercer County, once during our preseason "camp" an attorney will come in during lunch and talk to our kids about what types of stuff will get them in trouble. It usually gets real quiet. You can tell by the looks on their faces that they are often surprised at what choices can lead to problems.
Of course there is no way to know for sure, but my guess is that these annual meetings have kept a bunch of guys out of trouble. It is one of the best things we have done to prevent problems. As a Dad, I am glad that my sons have sat through three of these meetings, each. It never hurts to be reminded that there are serious consequences for poor decisions. And, those consequences can be life-changing and longterm.
At Mercer County, Richie Bottoms gave us or talk this year and has done so, going back to 2016. He is the Commonwealth Attorney and played for my Dad, in the early 70's at Boyle County HS. My Dad was very proud of Richie and it is always good to see him.
This annual meeting is done to protect our kids now and in the future. It is a great way to communicate to them that we care about them and their well-being, off the field. However, it also has a very practical part that can impact on the field success and winning. Players getting in trouble, the distractions, and even being removed from the team can most certainly impact the success for that particular season. Yes, we care about our kids AND we want to win!
Entering season 30 as a head coach, this is one of the best things we have done to help our kids. I would certainly encourage head coaches to do something similar for their student-athletes.
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| Trosper w/ Richie Bottoms |
