Ten Years From Now: La Puente’s Brandon Rohrer

La Puente HC Brandon Rohrer

(We asked some local coaches where they saw high school sports/football being in the next ten years.)

“First, thank you for asking me to write this piece on the future of school sports.  The next 10 years is a great concern for many of us in the education and athletic business.  When you asked me to write about this topic, I thought I would share with you my feelings surrounding two focal points: athletics and coaching.

As the state budget tightens, we are facing the possible reality of eliminating sports at the high school level.  What most people don’t know, however, is that the budget, which are causing the constraints, are only getting worse. I know of a few districts that are already receiving late payments from the State in order to pay their employees (including their coaches).  This late payment is just creating a bigger deficit.

The major cost of athletics is transportation.  It costs anywhere from $400-$800 to take a single bus to a game.  That said, it is understandable why we are being faced with the dilemma of cutting Freshmen, Junior Varsity, and even Varsity teams to save money.  In 10 years, you could see only select Varsity level sports-if that! If costs continue to soar and budgets continue to tighten you probably won’t see as many Freshmen and Junior Varsity teams, that is unless you see parents donate money to help pay for transportation.

Another possibility is eliminating preseason games to help save money.    You might see shorter preseason schedules from teams in all sports to help save with costs.  Lastly, as Coach Bogan suggested we will likely see more “Club” teams in the future.  As a result, I think you will see more “club” coaches coaching high school teams instead of on-campus teachers.

We have seen a wild month of coaching changes in the San Gabriel Valley this past January, and with the state of how things are currently I think you will continue to see this trend even 10 years from now.

I don’t know if we will see many of the Big Lou’s or Greg Gano’s that coach over 30 plus years as head coach.  Coaching football is very demanding. It requires the development and organization of an entire staff focused on everything from lifting weights to getting players to perform at a high level.  Oh, I didn’t even mention the fun stuff like keeping students eligible, dealing with parents, administrators concerns, fundraising, time constraints, spring football, summer football, passing league, linemen competitions, etc.   That said, I can honestly tell you that I don’t know if I will be coaching in 10 years.  Currently, I am 29 years old and entering my fourth YEAR as head coach (notice how I said year and not season).  It is hard to imagine myself performing this job at a high level for fourteen years straight. My point is that you will see more and more coaches taking a hiatus because this has become a year round job.

So what can be done to help lengthen the tenure of a coaching career?  District, and even school administrations, can help extend the life of such a tenure by compensating a coach in a variety of ways.  Some schools are already compensating coaches by hiring assistant coaches to be teachers on campuses, finding ways to pay coaches year-round, teaching less in the classroom, and letting coaches become part of the administrative staff.  But enough isn’t being done now, and that is where the problem lies.  More must be done to support great coaches to stay in the profession and help make a lasting difference both in the students they work with and the community they coach in.  Not to mention that I personally love the competition!

The good news is, even though we lost some great coaches this past month, you will likely see a return from many of these coaches because they love teaching and guiding these student-athletes.  I think that they just needed a break for a while.

While I know most of this piece seems to be in a negative tone, I don’t want people to think that the world is ending.  Much of what we will experience over the next 10 years will be determined by the economy, state budget, and the positive solutions developed to address our concerns.

District officials, administrators, CIF, athletic directors, parents and coaches will have to work together to become smarter and think of more creative ways to sustain our programs.  There is still a very bright future ahead for everybody involved.

In 10 years, athletics will continue to help prepare our student-athletes to grow, learn, and succeed.  Another thing I am certain of is that in 10 years coaches will continue to be positive role models for our youth helping them become productive citizens in our society.

Finally, there is no doubt in my mind that in 10 years football will still be the greatest game played in America.”

 

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