Building A Positive Relationship With
Head Baseball Coach, Hillsborough High School What are the ingredients that transform tomatoes into a great sauce? Ask any good cook that question, and they’ll all provide you with a different answer. Ask a coach, a teacher, an auto mechanic or any successful business man what makes him or her successful, and they too, will offer different explanations. But there are several common elements that directly relate to the success of that sauce or any business, sports team, or group, who are targeting goals and objectives. After 40 years of teaching and coaching on the high school and college levels, I’ve suffered through the perils of disgruntled parents, abuse of fans, and over inflated egos of players who were little league All Stars but didn’t make our cuts. I can speak from a business man’s view since my wife and I owned several businesses, and I can value the compassion and stress of being a parent of three married daughters. Hopefully the information provided in this article will assist in making others more tolerant and appreciative of the good things that can be enjoyed by coaches, players and best of all the parents. As we progress through this article, I will focus on the changes that I had to make in my coaching career to not only benefit the win loss category, but to allow myself more pleasurable coaching, strengthen the unity of my players, and encourage my parents to support all of the players in an unselfish manner. Let’s go back to the tomato sauce and relate it to a team concept. It’s not only the base of the tomatoes that make it so tasty, it’s the combination of spices, harmonious additives, and the patience to simmer that make it unique. Sports teams are no different. It’s not just the base talent that enters the pot, it’s the blend of extras and how they are nurtured that make it a success. Let’s review some of the ingredients which we have found, that may create a more prosperous and rewarding atmosphere in your program. To communicate, you must first develop a roster of those interested in playing for the season. We have an initial registration within the first week of school’s opening in the fall. It includes the parents’ and player’s names, phone numbers, addresses, and emails. It also includes the player’s academic schedule. Now you have the information to communicate with both the parents and players directly. Parents can now be updated through the coach or the Diamond Club of activities, announcements, or concerns which may be pertinent. This is a must for me since I am retired from teaching, but try to remain in constant contact. ANNOUNCEMENT BOX HILLSBOROUGH DIAMOND CLUB UPDATED HANDBOOK A MANDATED PARENT/PLAYER PRESEASON MEETING BUILDING PARENT UNITY THROUGH FUNDRAISING • RENT A RAIDER: Players serve our community by doing odd jobs and yard work. (Out of season in the fall) We advertise throughout the community and our players fill the requests for a fee. We have a central email, and our coordinator does the assigning. Senior citizens love this. Moving furniture, raking leaves, tearing up old carpeting, these are but a few of the tasks in which we participate. All proceeds go to the Diamond Club. • PANCAKE BREAKFAST: Parents, along with coaches, cook and plan, and our guests are served by our players, who are dressed in white shirts, ties and shoes. This year’s breakfast was again a huge success. The compliments about our young men, their appearance and their courteous manner earned our program much respect. Our parents totally enjoyed their time as a coordinated team, and the dads had a terrific time flipping pancakes. It was loads of fun, and brought our parents together as a team. • DIAMOND DANCE: Parents only. Relatives of parents, friends, and coaches all spend a night together sharing friendship, food and drinks. It’s a great way for parents to relax with coaches outside the arena of the game. It really strengthens the Coach/Parent relationship. Many of our previous parents attend regularly. • SPONSORSHIP ADVERTISING ON OUR OUTFIELD FENCE: For a fee, merchants advertise with banners on our outfield fence. Our Diamond Club has a committee that pursues these options. • CAR WASH: The final fundraiser of the year.(Usually upon completion of season. No seniors are involved) DEALING WITH PROBLEMS and TEAM SELECTIONS MILE RUN: Mandated 2 weeks prior to tryout STRENGTH CARD: Mandated 2 weeks prior to tryout TRYOUT FORMAT…25 Criteria of measureable skills FRESHMEN TRYOUTS: Selecting a freshmen team may be the most challenging of all. For many, it is the first experience with competing for a spot on an interscholastic level. It is humbling and nerve racking at the same time. Parents are stressed and players are very nervous. It is imperative that impartiality must be the main factor, or all of the initial effort to establish credibility could be devalued. At Hillsborough, we try to put our parents at ease by eliminating the often delicate term…POLITICS. We evaluate our freshmen as an entire group. We delegate a time when our entire coaching staff can be present. This is not a time to place the entire responsibility on one coach. Our numbers usually approach 40-50 candidates, making it nearly impossible to fairly judge talent. To balance the process, we bring in 6-8 evaluators who have either played on the college level or are former players of mine. They are provided an evaluation card and are assigned to an area of their expertise. Fielding, throwing, pitching, catching and hitting, agility and speed are evaluated. Two sessions usually narrows the team to a manageable number for our two freshmen coaches. Our parents seldom complain after the team is established. They appreciate the thorough process and while disappointed at times, they understand our policy of fairness. It builds great respect for our reputation throughout the community. PLAYING AN ACTIVE ROLL IN RECRUITING ESTABLISH SUMMER CAMPS SPECIAL INCENTIVES To increase parent/player interest and team effort, we implemented a preseason weekend trip to Virginia to strengthen our program’s inner relationships. It’s intended to bond parents, players and coaches, and provide an incentive for successfully executing our fundraisers. My staff and I have set forth a scrimmage schedule which enables us to better evaluate our candidates, as well as unite our group as a whole. Money raised from our fundraisers is utilized to pay for this trip in its entirety. Parents and players pay nothing, and hotel accommodations, travel fees and food expenses are all covered through the combined efforts of our players, parents and coaches working in the off season. This is a major boost for players to prepare in advance, and encourages our parents to become active in our Diamond Club. As previously mentioned, there are requirements set forth to become eligible for this trip. Some parents make the trip and appreciate the opportunity to share time and fellowship with each other. END-OF-YEAR BANQUET FRIDAY NIGHT PASTA DINNERS AT THE COACH’S HOUSE Additional incentives include: after game sandwiches and snacks supplied from a local deli and delivered by a designated parent, purchasing equipment, uniforms, and announcing all home games via a PA system. SETTING A POSITIVE EXAMPLE HONORING YOUR WORD PASSION Enthusiasm and spirit are the energy of life. Players and parents are easily excited by positive spirit and enthusiasm. If you want to be good at something you need to like what you’re doing. But to be great at something, and endure success over a period of time, you need to be passionate. If I have any regrets in my earlier days of coaching, it is the fact that I didn’t allow myself to enjoy my role as a coach. I constantly remind my younger coaches to enjoy the moments of coaching for it will eventually end one day. Demonstrate excitement and your love for the game. Laugh a lot, smile, and use humor as a tool for your players. It creates a relaxed atmosphere and relays the message of fun. We’re pretty intense at times, so use your opportunities wisely. Be a cheerleader and use praise frequently, it encourages your players to keep improving through hard work. Let your players know that you care both on and off the field. And when one gets into trouble or makes an unwise choice, you can either abandon him, or help assist in finding a remedy to his dilemma. Find out what’s causing your player distress. Teenagers are extremely sensitive and may have no one but you to confide in. The pressures to succeed, a girlfriend’s bad news, or even the use of drugs, can end a bright future. I’ve counseled many players and parents from direct experiences. Talk to your players often and relate to your own experiences to assist in communicating. You will be received much more humanly. Call the parents when an injury or concern occurs and let them know you’re there even outside realm of the game. THE FINAL WORD |
About the Author... |
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NORM HEWITT HEAD COACH Hillsborough High School Hillsborough, NJCoach Hewitt attended Watchung Hills High School from 1961-65, where he earned 10 varsity letters in football, basketball and baseball. He was named to the All County Teams in all, and to the All-State team in baseball. He attended tryouts with the Minnesota Twins, Pittsburg Pirates, NY Yankees and the Houston Astros. Norm attended Salem College on a baseball scholarship, and helped lead Salem to the NAIA Eastern Regionals in 1966. The Warren Lions Club named Norm Athlete of the Year in 1970. Norm was the first baseball coach when Hillsborough High School opened its doors in 1969. He also served as a football and basketball coach until his departure in 1980, to take on the head coaching position at Drew University. While at Hillsborough, the Raiders captured a conference title in 1977 and two SCT titles in ’77 and ’79. During that time, the Raiders appeared in 5 SCT finals and were ranked #2 in New Jersey in 1977. Since returning to Hillsborough in 2000, coach Hewitt has taken the Raiders to 6 additional SCT finals, winning the crown in 2005 and 2012. The Raiders have also added some credible feats such as: Skyland Conference titles in 2003, 04, and ’06. In 2005, the Raiders captured the most prestigious crown of all, the NJ Group 4 State Championship, and were ranked #2 in New Jersey. Since then, the Raiders have appeared in 3 additional Central Jersey Finals, in ’07 and ’09, captured the 2012 North 2 State Sectional title, and finished as the runner up to the Group 4 New Jersey State Champions. Norm was again awarded the Courier News Coach of the Year. In his only season at Drew University, Coach Hewitt took the Rangers to their only NCAA appearance in baseball, while capturing the IAC crown. That year, the Rangers set a new seasonal win record, of 17, and recorded the first winning record in 26 years. Norm served as the pitching coach of Rutgers University in 1983 and ’84. In 1986, Coach Hewitt took over the reins at Bridgewater Raritan HS. From 1987-1999 the Falcons and Panthers won 6 conference titles, 2 SCT titles, a Group 2 State Championship in ‘89, and appeared in 5 SCT finals. Coach Hewitt is a member of the NJC Hall of Fame and the WHRHS Hall of Fame He has been named Coach of the Year 8 times including New Jersey Coach of the Year in 1989 and again in 2005. He was also recognized by the NJSIAA as the State’s representative for National Coach of the Year in 2005, and has served on the NJSIAA rules committee. Norm was recently named to Strathmore’s International Who’s Who. He has written articles for Jugs Sports’; Coaches’ Corner, and has accumulated 607 career wins. Coach Hewitt has proudly advanced over 150 of his high school players to the collegiate level and coached 16 future collegiate All Americans. Three of his pitchers have been drafted from his high school level. He is currently preparing for his 20th season of summer camps. Beyond coaching, Norm was named: Hillsborough High School’s Teacher of the Year in 1992, and served as the mayor Millstone in the 1980s. He was the founder of the first Central New Jersey indoor baseball training center; Touching All the Bases. He’s been married to high school sweetheart Peggy for 44 years, and has 3 daughters and a grandson. Norm is most proud of the great young men who have passed through his programs and have achieved remarkable careers. |