The Continuing Strange Saga of the 9 Wayne Hills HS Football Players
The school board in Wayne NJ announced right after Thanksgiving that they were now going to enforce the ban on the 9 varsity football players who were arrested and charged with the aggravated assault which left two kids from Wayne Valley HS seriously hurt after a party some weeks ago. The coach of the Wayne … Continue reading
Continuing Education for Youth League Coaches (Part IV): Written Disciplinary Rules
By Doug Abrams My last few columns catalogued important issues that are likely to arise during a typical season. I urged youth league coaches and boards of directors to treat these issues during the preseason period, before disagreement or uncertainty threatens team harmony. This column discusses the team’s written disciplinary rules, which coaches and boards … Continue reading
When HS athletes are charge with serious crimes: Should they be allowed to continue to play?
The focus on the 9 Wayne Hills (NJ) HS football players brings up an age-old debate about whether athletes who are charged with serious crimes should be immediately suspended from all extracurricular activites (including state playoff games), or whether they should be allowed to continue with their affairs until they have their day in court. … Continue reading
Continuing Education for Youth League Coaches (Part III): More Issues that Youth Leagues Should Raise in the Pre-Season Parents Meeting
By Doug Abrams Last week’s column presented four important issues that youth league coaches or boards of directors should address with parents during the pre-season period – attendance, playing time, winning and losing, and injuries. This week’s column presents six more issues; next week’s column will discuss the team’s written disciplinary rules, which should be … Continue reading
Continuing Education for Youth League Coaches (Part II): Issues that Youth Leagues Should Raise in the Pre-Season Parents Meeting
By Doug Abrams Last week’s column discussed the value of state and local training sessions for youth league coaches. Sports programs from coast to coast depend on these public servants who, like the players themselves, are not professionals in the game. Training sessions typically cover skills, strategy, values and safety. As I mentioned last week, … Continue reading
A Parent’s Worst Nightmare: Protecting your kid from a sexual predator
Of all the sports parenting shows I’ve done over the years, today’s show was by far the most sobering. I had recalled reading a terrifying cover story in Sports Illustrated that ran way back in Sept, 1999, about how pedophiles from all over the country had become fully engaged in coaching young kids in youth … Continue reading
Colleges Recruiting is One Thing…But HS Coaches Recruiting Other HS Players?
The story out of upstate New York was both bizarre and stunning. It would seem to be yet another case of coaches who want to win at any cost. As my guest John O’Brien of the Syracuse Post-Standard related the details this AM on my show, as a result of some ongoing investigation by the … Continue reading
Continuing Education for Youth League Coaches (Part I)
By Doug Abrams A century ago, museum director John Cotton Dana said that “those who dare to teach must never cease to learn.” The challenge applies to youth-league coaches, who are teachers in every sense of the word, even when they volunteer their time and energy without receiving a stipend or other compensation. The players … Continue reading
Doug Abrams
Rick Wolff
Steve Kallas
Ask Coach Wolff 