Coach Al Groh

It has been obscurred by poor results in recent years but I wanted you guys to know that Al Groh is one helluva football coach. He had a grand plan for his alma mater and somewhere along the line the stuff he could not control did him in. He was never a great fit (or even a good fit) from a PR standpoint. He fashioned a "tribe" (his words) of coaches that captured the imagination of the UVA faithful. He then went about his business well, making progess at first; all the while structuring a public image that eventually would choke his program to its death.

Personally he was everything that you've heard. He did come off as arrogant, he did "grade" reporters questions in his mind and often answered accordingly. I found him to be very interested in what I had to say when we talked and I never really understood why other people didn't receive that same message that I did. He knew that people wanted a "back slapper" and that he was on the edge of being a hermit when compared to other Head Coaches. He didn't care; he had no intention of changing. To him, he would let the play on the field do his talking. I don't think he sees that connection even today; PR is part of the Modern Football Coach's job.

My phone rang 12 hours after he had been hired. We had never met. I had just been quoted in the RTD about Tech's success in recruiting the state. I guess he got my number from his son Mike who I got to know while he worked as a stock broker in Richmond. Mike and I had actually talked about doing a talk show together before Al had him join the Jets staff as a QC guy. We instantly hit it off and talked for about 45 minutes. At the end of the conversation he said; "well, Gary what do you think should be the first thing that I do to get all of this done?" I told him to hire Mike London and put him in the 757. He laughed and said; "I think I can make that happen". Of course that was already a done deal. He didn't need my advice or my approval. He made that perfectly clear. He invited me to come up to spring practice and told me to stay in touch.

Because the radio thing was doing enough to get me press credentials I went to about 7 games a year through 2004. Most of my one on one conversations with Groh from then on was at the the Spring game, All Metro banquet or around signing day. At that point he always called me "coach" (because of Arena Football) and I always thought that he enjoyed the fact that he could talk above the sound bites that he would reluctantly give the press. I don't count him as a friend because we never got close; we justed talked football and about players.

A lot of bad things have been said about Coach Groh. I will tell you that I think that he believed that you earned a right to have his attention. I think that is THE "Parcell" thing about those coaches that we now know so well. That is why he will leave a squad of players that HAD earned that right and will miss him.

I hope he coaches again. I hope he gets a job that allows him to just recruit, evaluate and coach "his guys". He was a true "piece of work". I am hoping that his assistants all get re-settled, I think they will tell you that they learned a lot from Groh.

Evaluating your Child's Youth Coach

I have already rubbed some people the wrong way just with the title of this article. You may have already dipped your toes into bubbling stream that is youth sports. You are asking yourself; do I EVEN want parents evaluating me when I am trying to coach their kids?

As you might expect from my background that I am “pro coach”; I believe that parents need to understand that there has to be some boundaries when they entrust their children to a coach. I can honestly tell you that I did manage to follow that advice myself when my children played youth sports for another coach. I set my own boundaries. Fortunately for all involved my parameters comfortably meshed with my kids’ coaches’ expectations. Make no mistake; the final word on that boundary must lie with the coach. Sorry Mom! Sorry Dad!

Evaluating your child’s coach will always be tied to your personal expectations for your child; whatever those expectations may be. Fortunately we are still a “results oriented” society and the “bottom line” exists even in youth sports. My advice is to evaluate the process more than the results. Different parents will view their child’s team’s “results” and come to many varied conclusions. Observing how your kid’s coach goes about their business is a much more objective way of measuring how successful they can be for your child. My experience is that the process of youth coaching done correctly inevitably takes care of the final results.

Here are some suggestions of what to look for when evaluating your child’s coach. They are not necessarily in order of importance; remember these are your expectations, not mine.

1. Organization. When I speak to youth sports coaches I tell them that they have to be more organized than their most organized parent. If you can’t manage that then “hire” your most organized parent! One of the most lasting life lessons of youth sports is that; “chaos is bad; organization is good”.

2. Curb Appeal. This is tricky; there are a lot of great youth coaches that don’t look the part, but are tremendously effective. I look for a coach that recognizes that this is a public relations job and they should approach the job accordingly. How far does a first impression go with your child? How about with you?

3. Communication. Proper communication puts you in partnership with your child’s coach. Boundaries, expectations and philosophy should all be a part of this conversation. How does your coach handle correcting and criticizing your child? Rest assured it will happen. A coach that puts it in writing has gotten off to a good start.

4. Entertainment Factor. Does my child have fun? You know that you have hit the jackpot when your kid has a coach that can make practice fun. I am told that the best advice I have ever given out is to find a fun way to see who LIKES to compete. It was a more “pressurized” situation; but I once took a Girls Softball All-Star team (11-12) bowling. I wanted to see who really liked to compete, even when there was nothing at stake.

5. Sports Knowledge. The older the child the more important this becomes for you and your child. The more advanced the coach is with his craft the more important it is for them to also aspire to qualities 1-4 when they coach your child. In other words; knowledge of a sport does not guarantee coaching success. This flaw exists at every imaginable level of play; even in professional sports.

6. Intangibles. When I played Little League I had a coach with a river place and a built-in swimming pool. Best coach I ever had!

Enjoy the game!


About the Author

Gary Criswell has coached and officiated multiple years in youth sports while making football his main focus. That has led him to coaching positions at the high school, college and Arena football level. “Coach Criz” currently is in his 14th year of broadcasting High School Football (Sports Radio 910). He also currently serves as the color analyst for football and basketball for the Virginia State Trojans for WVST FM and Campus TV.