Current and Potential Coaches

Overall Philosophy

The goal of the athletic department at Robert F. Kennedy High School is to provide the best opportunity for personal and team success within the governing and moral guidelines inherent to high school athletics and the community of Delano.

Robert F. Kennedy High School athletics should be a positive learning experience where athletes are given the opportunity to develop the intangibles that will be essential throughout their lives. Intangibles such as work ethic, commitment, responsibility, respect for self and others, sportsmanship, and teamwork are just a few.

Athletics is a competitive experience. Athletes must compete for everything they achieve, including playing time. All athletes do not receive the same amount of playing time. All athletes are given the opportunity to earn playing time in practice sessions, however. It is the coach's responsibility to weigh all the factors and determine what will give the team the best opportunity for success.

Athletic Code

The Athletic code is the cornerstone of our athletic program. It outlines what is expected of our athletes by both the school and the community. It's a contract that holds our athletes to a higher standard than the rest of our student body. We expect our athletes to be positive representatives for Robert F. Kennedy High School.

Please take the time to read and familiarize yourself with the code. There are many policies in the document that a coach needs to be aware of. A copy of the athletic code is posted below.

Team Policies

Each coach should develop and publish his/her own set of team policies. These policies should establish guidelines for the idiosyncrasies of your sport not covered in the athletic code. It's a more specific document that details your coaching style and philosophy. It's a document that supplements the athletic code, not replaces it.

Team policies should cover at least the following: attendance, excused and unexcused absences, team discipline (and behavior), care of equipment, and the coaches' expectations. Please make sure you turn in a copy of your team policies to the Athletic Director at the beginning of each season.

Supervision

It is extremely important to use sound judgment with regard to the supervision of the athletes on your squad. Coaches should be in the immediate area when athletes are meeting, changing or practicing. If an injury occurs while an athlete is in the area you aren't supervising, you are leaving yourself open for a lawsuit. Make sure a coach is in the locker area before athletes arrive for practice and that a coach is the last to leave the locker area at the end of the day.

There have been many instances in the past where the gym or the locker room has been left unlocked overnight or over the weekend. Please take the time to secure the gym and/or locker room if you are the last to leave the facility. Check to see that all doors are securely shut and locked. Students often leave paper, pebbles, etc. in the door to make it appear secure when it actually isn't.

Safety

Make sure your coaching methods are performed in a safe manner. Follow the rules and guidelines for your particular sport. If there is a doubt about the safety of a certain drill or technique, it's probably unsafe. Find an alternative way to accomplish your goal.

Informed Consent

Informed consent deals with an athlete's awareness of the risks and dangers of athletics. It means an athlete and his/her parents have been informed of the risks involved in interscholastic sports and give their consent to participate with full awareness of these risks. Part of the athletic clearance packet has a warning statement regarding the risk of athletics. Both the parents and athletes must sign the form to be cleared.

As a coach, it's a good idea to review potential risks with your athletes. It's even more important to teach techniques that minimize potential risks.

Academic Eligibility

To be academically eligible an athlete must have passed a minimum of 20 units the previous grading period and be currently enrolled in 20 units or more of new work.

An athlete must also maintain a 2.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale. Regardless of an athlete's GPA, if he/she has three F's he/she is ineligible. If an athlete drops below a 2.0 GPA, but higher than a 1.66, academic probation results. An athlete may be on probation for only one grading quarter per academic school year. Grades will be checked by the Athletic Director once they have been officially entered into the school's computer system.

Summer school may be used to remediate academic deficiencies from the spring semester. If the same subject is taken during summer school, the grade from summer school may replace that subject's spring semester grade. If the subject was not taken during the spring semester, the grade will be averaged in with the spring semester grades.

If an athlete is on academic probation, their eligibility is determined weekly by the means of a grade check. The athletic grade check forms are available in the shelving in front of the Athletic Director's office (and attached below). Students may pick the grade check up themselves or the coach may distribute them to your athlete(s). In either case, it is the student's responsibility to have the grade check form filled out every Friday. He/she will receive a plus or minus for work done that week in every class. If a student receives two or more minuses, he/she will be ineligible for the following week's competitions. The coach will collect the grade checks at the end of the day Friday and turn them into the Athletic Director on Monday. That way, you will be the first to know the status of your athlete for the following week. If a grade check isn't received, the athlete will be ineligible for the following week. This procedure will continue until the next sets of official grades are released.

If an athlete is ineligible, he/she may not compete in any interscholastic contests. He/she may still practice with the team and dress out for competitions at the discretion of the head coach.  

Academic probation may only occur for the "C" average portion of the eligibility rules. There is no probationary period if an athlete does not pass 20 units of new course work. 

Student-Athlete Clearances

When an athlete has completed all the necessary paperwork in the clearance packet, passed a physical examination and has been screened academically, he/she will receive their grey emergency card signed by the Athletic Director. The athlete will give the emergency card to the coach. Do not allow an athlete to practice or compete until these procedures have been completed.

An athlete will need to be cleared by the Athletic Director for every sport he/she competes in. An athlete isn't cleared from his/her previous sport until he/she takes care of all obligations for that sport, i.e. equipment. To be cleared to participate in another sport, the athlete's emergency card must be signed by the Equipment Manger verifying all equipment has been turned in, or if lost or damaged do to intentional abuse or neglect, has paid for the gear to be replaced, followed by the Athletic Director's signature and an academic grade check.

Parent Relations

It is recommended that you have a parent meeting before the season begins. This can be a valuable forum to disseminate information about your program, meet the parents in a relaxed environment, and gain support for your program.

Most of the problems dealing with parents are directly related to a lack of communication or ignorance regarding team policies and procedures. A parent meeting can be a proactive method to prevent misunderstandings before they happen.

The days of what is said in the locker room, stays in the locker room are gone. What you say to or about a student often gets back to the parent rather quickly. Be careful. Try not to say anything to an athlete that you wouldn't say to their parent.

Responsibilities of the Head Coach Regarding Assistant Coaches and Staff

It is the head coach's responsibility to assemble and coordinate his/her coaching staff. The Athletic Director may provide input and make recommendations. However, the coach is the one who has to be able to function with his/her staff.

A few situations may preclude a head coach from being able to choose his/her own staff. If a credentialed staff member desires a coaching position, the staff member is given preference over a non-credentialed person as outlined in the CTA Collective Bargaining Agreement. In addition, all coaches must also be approved by the Athletic Director and/or Principal and then the School Board.

To Coach at Robert F. Kennedy High School

To coach at RFKHS the following steps must be completed:

1.     Complete a DJUHSD Athletic Application (Certificated DJUHSD employees need to complete an In-house Application).

2.     Obtain Adult/Child CPR and First Aid Certification or provide proof of current certification.

3.     Complete NFHS Fundamental s of Coaching Certification and provide a copy to the Athletic Director.

4.     DJUHSD will pay the fee and provide an access code to proceed with the training. If you already have completed the course, please provide a copy to the Athletic Director. If you have not, request the information from the Athletic Director.

5.     All coaches paid or volunteer must be fingerprinted through both the FBI and the DOJ.

6.     Finally, successfully interview with the appropriate RFKHS administration team. Once all of the above has been completed, obtain DJUHSD Board approval (Athletic Director takes care of this).