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Jamie Newman and the role of personal position coaches: is it a positive or negative?
I do not know what role, if any, Jamie's personal QB coach had in the decision that was made yesterday. I've read the same info on Dawgnation that you have read.
But my son started working with a personal WR/TE coach earlier this year.....and I've learned a great deal about the process and the influence that these coaches have on some of the decisions that some of these kids are making.
I'm not going to use names but most on here know who the main WR, DB and QB trainers are in the Atlanta area (we are big fans of the WR trainer). South and central Florida, DFW, Houston and many other areas across the country are littered with highly respected personal position coaches. And many players that do not have a quality trainer near them will travel to find a good coach.
Much of the determining factor of whether the movement is positive or negative depends on the trainer and what role they choose to play in the athletes decision making. Does the trainer actually have the athletes best interest in mind? Some do.....some obviously don't.
High school and college coaches have very mixed opinions on their players using outside trainers......some embrace it, some live with it but don't like it and some coaches absolutely don't like it.
There are positives:
There is simply not enough time in a high school or college practice to work on detailed techniques needed to excel at a position. When you attend these prospect showcases ......it's usually clear which players are using outside trainers. The details stand out.
These personal trainers are very well connected and are able to get their clients early attention in the recruiting process. Usually much earlier than high school coaches are able to do. (Please note....ultimately the most important part of a player receiving a scholarship is game film and the opinion of his high school coach....not personal trainer)
And these trainers also play some role in how many of these players are rated. We have had numerous workouts with a 247, Rivals or ESPN recruiting evaluator/media person in attendance. The 247 guys usually represent a certain school like UT, TAMU, TCU, Baylor, etc.
But beyond the positives.....many of these trainers (but not all) are also involved in areas that may not benefit the player.
Sometimes they are heavily involved in all the transfers high school kids are making from one high school to another. High school coaches will reach out to them and say they need a WR or DB.....or they'll reach out and say my QB tore his ACL in 7vs7.....do you know of a QB that would be interested in transferring?
Trainers are also heavily involved in players entering the transfer portal. Until a player enters the portal......colleges are not allowed to reach out to the player or his parents. But colleges will reach out to the players personal trainer and let them know that.....if the player is interested in transferring.....we have a spot.
And personal trainers are very influential in where certain prospects decide to attend college. Again, not always a bad thing. But not always a good thing either.
Finally, I do not know if Newman's personal coach played a role. Some are suggesting he did. If it's true that he did influence the decision.....is that a good thing?
I'll just add that we are very pleased with the decision we made of having my son work with a TE/WR trainer. It's paid huge dividends in his development. And we throughly enjoyed the weekend we spent in Atlanta working with that WR/TE trainer. Both trainers seem to be very good men and have done great things for my son and many athletes......but I have probably heard or seen more negative things about other trainers than I've heard about positive.
My conclusion......I still don't know if it's a positive or negative.
Comments
Seems like the personal coach is a workaround to also have an agent while in high school/college.
How
I'm assuming these personal coaches are getting paid for their coaching. Can't pay an agent. Coach then does some of both job descriptions.
I'm asking what agent role are they fulfilling.
I’m assuming he is talking about being an advisor and influencer on the decisions these kids are making. Like what school you should go to or leave.
I'm just commenting based on the OP, don't know much about this. So copy/paste examples below. Maybe agent isn't the best description, but the point is they are doing much more than coaching.
"Much of the determining factor of whether the movement is positive or negative depends on the trainer and what role they choose to play in the athletes decision making. Does the trainer actually have the athletes best interest in mind? Some do.....some obviously don't."
"These personal trainers are very well connected and are able to get their clients early attention in the recruiting process. Usually much earlier than high school coaches are able to do."
"And these trainers also play some role in how many of these players are rated."
"Sometimes they are heavily involved in all the transfers high school kids are making from one high school to another."
"Trainers are also heavily involved in players entering the transfer portal. Until a player enters the portal......colleges are not allowed to reach out to the player or his parents. But colleges will reach out to the players personal trainer and let them know that.....if the player is interested in transferring.....we have a spot."
"And personal trainers are very influential in where certain prospects decide to attend college. Again, not always a bad thing. But not always a good thing either."
So a mentor? Doesn't sound too scandalous. I see agents as people who seek out financial opportunities for their clients and negotiate contracts. Not an agent if you don't do that.
Don't really know much about it but from the outside looking in it appears to be more of a Consulting role vs Mentor.
You're right. Consultant might be more accurate for some of these relationships
I think these are the paragraphs from the OP that are drawing the attention:
“Sometimes they are heavily involved in all the transfers high school kids are making from one high school to another. High school coaches will reach out to them and say they need a WR or DB.....or they'll reach out and say my QB tore his ACL in 7vs7.....do you know of a QB that would be interested in transferring?
Trainers are also heavily involved in players entering the transfer portal. Until a player enters the portal......colleges are not allowed to reach out to the player or his parents. But colleges will reach out to the players personal trainer and let them know that.....if the player is interested in transferring.....we have a spot.”
Is it agency in the legal sense of the word? No. Could it be used by high school or college coaches to skirt tampering rules? Yep, I can see that.
The main role is to develop the player.....but they also help promote the player...
Hopefully it stops there. For some trainers it does.
Yeah... naturally my next question was are the bagmen connected to these personal coaches...I don't see how they couldn't be.
Honestly, everyone of you are taking this discussion exactly where I wanted it to go.
Some of these trainers do an incredible job of doing what they should do.......help make a player better and help promote them to college recruiters.
HS coaches are uncomfortable with the process because they don't want an outside coach unconnected with the program having influence over the kid. If it was just about improving skills.....I'm sure they would be all for it.
College coaches have the same concern. Yet college coaches reach out to trainers all the time to see if there is any young talent they should know about.
Parents just need to be careful when choosing a personal coach to work with their son.
I certainly have not seen this. Not saying it does or doesn't happen. Just never heard about it.
Mentor is a great euphemism for what I was saying. It’s what I would call myself if I were in that roll I guess. But they seem to be more heavy-handed than what the word “mentor” would suggest, but I’m looking from the outside in.