Home visits give Burnet families insight into 2022 players’ goals

After the 2021 season concluded, Burnet High School head football coach Bryan Wood took stock and evaluated himself on what he can do better.

Top of the list was to strengthen relationships with his players and their families. So he took what might be an unusual step for a high school coach. He offered to meet with his players’ families at their dwellings for home visits.

“The comments I’ve gotten are that people are excited about them,” Wood said. “It helps our kids and the football team. I’ve had a ton of positive feedback.”

Wood said he hasn’t taken home visits while coaching at other schools. But being a parent himself, he thought about what he would have wanted to do if the option were available to him.

“I always felt like I wanted to be in the know as a dad,” he said. “For the parents, it’s informative; for the coaches, it’s educational. I’m out of my comfort zone, too. I’m asking our players to do things that may be out of their comfort zone.”

The idea for the home visits came from conversations Wood had with others in the profession “on how to build relationships,” he said.

Before he scheduled the home visits, Wood had one-on-one meetings with each player where the two talked about the goals for the 2022 season, both individually and for the program. Wood completed a questionnaire that also included players’ comments on academics, other interests and hobbies, names of their family members and friends, and what the athlete wants to accomplish in the next few months that includes improving their bodies and minds for the upcoming school year.

Meanwhile, Wood used a computer application to offer scheduling home visits with families. Once the player and coach completed their meeting, Wood shared that conversation with the athlete’s parents during the home visit. Oftentimes, offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Tyler McIntosh accompanied Wood to the players’ homes.

“I let the athlete have the floor, how I can help them reach their goals,” Wood said. “I end the talk with how proud I am of their kid. It’s good for parents to hear cause they don’t hear it a lot. Some are as short at 15 minutes and some lasted an hour.”

The visits also allowed Wood and McIntosh to establish an important part of coaching that may be taken for granted — building rapport with the athlete’s very important adults at home.

“That is a time for that parent to realize I am human being,” the head coach said. “I want to build a relationship with you.”

Some families extended invitations for supper, but Wood declined. He scheduled multiple visits in one night, so he left one home to arrive at the other on time.

One visit he had completed before the end of the 2021-22 academic year was with Kurt and Carrie Jones, whose son is junior Grant Jones. Kurt Jones is the Burnet Consolidated Independent School District athletics director.

“We have a good relationship already,” Wood said with a smile. “It was a really good night.”

He completed 25 home visits before the beginning of the summer. The goal was to complete them all before the start of fall training camp Aug. 1. To better accommodate families who weren’t able to meet at night, Wood offered to meet them during the day at his office at the field house.

“Some (athletes and families) may not choose to,” he said. “I want to be able to tell them what their kid is doing; they deserve some bragging on. It’s a good time to step back from the grind to love their kid. I’m taking the time to do this — it’s a privilege for me.”

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