By BFS
This past year I had the unique opportunity through 30 BFS clinics to travel extensively throughout the nation. Having met and worked with hundreds of coaches and thousands of athletes from every section of the United States, I would like to share my observations. Attendance Generally. attendance is going down at games. Dick Dilts is closing in on 200 football career wins at Kiski Area High School in Western Pennsylvania and he reports that big games which used to draw 20,000 people now draw 6,000 to 8,000. Winning is no longer the solution for attendance problems. There is more and more competition for entertainment dollars.
More girls are doing their sports thing and are doers not just watchers. Home video and entertainment machines will continue to take a bigger and bigger slice of attendance. Coaches who want better attendance will have to be competitive, innovative and creative like never before. Money Lack of funds is causing serious problems. Some athletic programs have been ordered to live off gate receipts entirely. Some schools are asking athletes to pay to play. Some schools are dropping athletics. A large percentage of schools are operating with less money while inflation continues. Fund raising is having an increasingly more important role in the coach's job.
Many booster clubs are taking up more and more of the money responsibilities. Successful coaches are having again to be more competitive, creative and innovative. Job Availability Enrollments are generally dropping and ex-coaches remain teaching. This creates problems in hiring new head coaches and especially assistant coaches. Versatile coaches who can teach more than one subject are at a premium. Many districts are now hiring coaches who do not teach. I n Texas t his summer. t here were eightj obs for every man looking. Free Weights vs. Machines A tremendous surge to free weights and away from machines was seen this past year. Coaches are getting olympic weight sets, not machines.
The biggest questions seemed to be, "What do we do with our machines now that we have free weights'}" Here are my suggestions in order:
I. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Sell them to your competition. Give them to your Junior Highs. Sell them to health spas or individuals. Trade them for free weights. Make them available to girls sports and! or P.E. classes. Spirit and Enthusiasm of the Athlete and Coach Remarkably, I don't see a change. A coach might have to work harder and be more creative to spark their athletes enthusaiasm, but kids still want to strive, attain, progress and be the best they can be. Athletes will put forth a total effort to achicve their goals. The dedication and commitment of the coaches I was with was very great. 1 am absolutely positive about the future of high school sports and have great faith in the youth of America.
Metrics Dan, a 120-pound 8th grader, bench pressed 189 kilos and long jumped 9.15 meters. Now, if you reacted like I think you did, you reacted without much enthusiasm. Yet both these marks, if true, would be world records and Dan's efforts would go down probably as the most remarkable in sport's history. I hate metrics in Americansports. I believe track and weightlifting have been hurt by it. Spectators, coaches and athletes don't have any idea what's going on during competition. 'don't see thischanging this century. At the National Teenage Powerlifting Championships this summer, , asked 100 spectators, athletes and coaches how much weight was on the bar.
Not one person knew.' Metrics in science-yes: metrics in American sports-no. Fight it. Resist it. Don't buy metric plates unless they have pounds marked on them also. I don't even like a 20 kilo plate because that's 44 pounds (uneven). I'd rather have a 45-pound plate with 20.45 kilos marked on it. I may get tarred and feathered, but that's how I see it. Different Weight Programs by Position in Football I don't like it. It does not promote team unity. It's really great when the QB's and receivers are busting their rearends with the linemen. , like a QB who is an example and who has sweated the same sweat as everybody else. It promotes respect both ways.
I believe it is especially wrong at the high school level when a coach uses some college program and has four or five different programs for the different positions. If you aren't convinced, read about Scott Runyon on page 13. The basic program should be the same. Size, Strength and Speed There is no doubt. High School athletes are getting Bigger, Faster and Stronger. Weight training IS considered important by the majority of schools and athletes. Ten years ago. this was not the case. I remember what the grea tat h letes of t he Sa n Diego Cha rgers were d oi ng in the mid-1960's. The Chargers at that time under the late Alvin Roy were the pioneers in football strength training.
Incredibly, , now meet many high school athletes who equal and surpass those past Charger greats in sile, strength and speed. Our expectations of greatness have grown and athletes somehow mentally and physically fill this gap quickly. Below are the B. F.S. Power Standards. I can testify that if athletes are challenged with these standards, it is always ama7ing how fast they are attained. THE BFS POWER STANDARDS* CI.EANS I'I}.\" Bod." WI. 2 X Bo(!.\, WI. 21/, x Bud.\ WI.
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From BFS Magazine — November/December 1981. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).
