My child and some of her friends have been looking forward to playing soccer at Gilbert for several years. Now that they have finally reached the seventh grade and can play, they don't have a JV coach. They say they are looking for a coach, but time is of the essence. Someone told me that the coaches have to be employed by the same district as the school. Is that true? If so, does it have to be an employee within District 1 or can it be anyone within the regional area. Also, if no one volunteers, can they recruit outside the employees? It would be ashame for these girls not to get the opportunity to play a sport they love so much.

I'd have to believe that if no one employed by the district steps up to take the job, then they would offer it to a qualified individual outside the district.

They will first look at someone inside the Gilbert schools. Then they will try and find at another school within the district. Being a Gilbert grad, way before they had any type of soccer program, I sure hope they can find a coach. I helped start the boys jv team and had a blast. Now I am coaching at White Knoll. Again, good luck in finding a coach.

They can also look outside of the district employee pool, as long as district policy allows it; High School League rules only require varsity head coaches to be employees of the district. Our JV girls' coach is a volunteer with a genuine love of the game who started assisting with the varsity when his daughter played for me and took on the JV coaching role when we introduced the team a couple of years ago.

Not all Varsity coaches are employees of the district...in essence (maybe on the sub list). I don't know how they scoot around that, but I know of several off hand. The coaches before me here at SA for example. Weird...

There is a provision for exceptions for varsity coaches if a qualified coach who is a district employee can't be found. The school can apply for SCHSL special-case approval to hire outside the district employee pool.

I heard they had a special-ed-case approval over there in Berkeley

Berkeley is so desperate they have an English teacher coaching soccer and a soccer coach teaching English.

Is this self bash the chass night?

I always figured if I can't laugh at myself, I've got no right to laugh at anyone else...and I do so love to laugh.

I'll bet that's some gramatically correct communication on that field!!

This week we're working on prepositional phrases:

Drop the ball [out of pressure]
Don't pass [across your own goal]
Heading the ball [over the keeper]
Pass [through the defenders]
Shoot [into the upper 90]