Honestly there are a ton of coaches that either don't know how to play the game or just have misconceptions on how to do so, I see plenty of people recruiting 20 ath big men with 10 defense or guards with 10 ath and 15 def.  And they don't get better, but some even move up to D2 and continue to recruit players who would get dominated by a bunch of 10 year olds in the YMCA "daycare"

I don't want to sound like an ***, but would if be bad if we just went around sending players messages and posting on their conf walls offering to help?  It would make the game more fun...

I sent in a ticket awhile ago about having a forum message notification in the game overview and got the typical "we review these suggestions at the end of the month" bs.

Also it would be great if the only good guide that I'm aware of could be stickied to the front page and make force new users to read it before they can actually do anything, like a pop up ad forcing you to go to the forums and read this guide before you are allowed edit team settings/recruit or anything.

It is really hard to start out playing this game without someone basically mentoring you and/or bombarding the forums with question and even then you still may not become that great.

And also y'all need to be fun and talk more, I feel like I'm talking to myself half the time and probably am, makes all  the new people not talk as well.  I'm blowing through all my coke that I brought and rarely anyone else brings any to the party.  Either that or I'm the super drunk guy dancing alone in the middle of a party while everyone just stands around and watches me.

I totally agree, this game is much more enjoyable when you actually have a grasp (or somewhat) of how things work and how to recruit, gameplan, scout, etc. effectively. It seems like there are a lot of coaches who give up early strick because they don't know and aren't taught how to actually coach a team.

I believe the 'How To win at D2 and D3'  thread used to be pinned on the first page, but it's not now. 

It's frustrating when people have no idea how to play, but you can't force them to learn good strategy. I make offers whenever there's a newbie in one of my conferences, but it seems kinda condescending to offer to mentor some of the folks who have been playing this game for ages and still suck at it. 

Everyone can't be a good coach. Not everyone will win a NT, or even have perennial NT teams. I think issue number one for new coaches is to figure out which division suits them best. I suck at DIII, but thats all I played when I first started and was close to quitting, then I gave DII a chance and realized I was much better there. Some new coaches think its a storybook game, start at DIII then dominate all the way up till high DI, not realizing that the difference between divisions is substantial and takes time to adjust.

Me being a relative new coach and still learning every recruiting period. The biggest thing I see and I didn't do for the first couple seasons was visiting the forums and learning. To many coaches do not come here and learn. I didn't know crap and recruited a guy with 1 we in my 4 or 5 season. When we was going backwards was it then I came here. Most of the guys here are great and offer much help. I had one coach help me with pull downs/drop downs and how to know what to do. So I agree in trying to get new coaches to the forums.

I feel like I'm rather self-taught. Learned a few things the hard way and only asked enough/a few questions to figure out how I wanted to play/how I thought I could be successful...that's the only way to play if u ask me

I have been playing for awhile now and still am learning every season. I find that the hardest thing for me is recruiting. Until recently I always wondered how someone could get 4 or 5 guys considering them in the first couple cycles where I was struggling to just get one. Then I was told about the $110 dollar special which I will use for the first time when recruiting starts. Hopefully this will help me get some of the guys I couldn't get before.

Posted by colonels19 on 4/28/2015 7:59:00 PM (view original):
I feel like I'm rather self-taught. Learned a few things the hard way and only asked enough/a few questions to figure out how I wanted to play/how I thought I could be successful...that's the only way to play if u ask me

I agree.  Totally self-taught myself.  The coaches who struggle and want to improve will learn how to or they'll quit.  But let everyone learn on their own instead of spoon feeding them everything.  Much more satisfying that way.

You can lead a gamer to the FAQ, but you can't make him read it.

I, for one, rather enjoy being the one doing the dumb things that people say can't work.

Posted by emy1013 on 4/28/2015 8:45:00 PM (view original):

Posted by colonels19 on 4/28/2015 7:59:00 PM (view original):
I feel like I'm rather self-taught. Learned a few things the hard way and only asked enough/a few questions to figure out how I wanted to play/how I thought I could be successful...that's the only way to play if u ask me

I agree.  Totally self-taught myself.  The coaches who struggle and want to improve will learn how to or they'll quit.  But let everyone learn on their own instead of spoon feeding them everything.  Much more satisfying that way.

I agree. A lot of the fun is experimenting and learning what works for you and what doesn't. I like doing things my own way, right or wrong. I've certainly made plenty of mistakes, but its a learning curve and makes success more satisfying. If you want to find information, there are plenty of resources to do so. I have gone through the FAQ a few times, and read the forums all the time.

The coaches that want to learn will do so. I'm not sure forcing information down their throat is the way to better the game.

Posted by uncnick157 on 4/28/2015 9:49:00 PM (view original):

Posted by emy1013 on 4/28/2015 8:45:00 PM (view original):

Posted by colonels19 on 4/28/2015 7:59:00 PM (view original):
I feel like I'm rather self-taught. Learned a few things the hard way and only asked enough/a few questions to figure out how I wanted to play/how I thought I could be successful...that's the only way to play if u ask me

I agree.  Totally self-taught myself.  The coaches who struggle and want to improve will learn how to or they'll quit.  But let everyone learn on their own instead of spoon feeding them everything.  Much more satisfying that way.

I agree. A lot of the fun is experimenting and learning what works for you and what doesn't. I like doing things my own way, right or wrong. I've certainly made plenty of mistakes, but its a learning curve and makes success more satisfying. If you want to find information, there are plenty of resources to do so. I have gone through the FAQ a few times, and read the forums all the time.

The coaches that want to learn will do so. I'm not sure forcing information down their throat is the way to better the game.

This is totally fine, but it would be worthwhile if the people knew where the good information was. When I started the game, I read the players' guide, which said that the most useful skill in a SF is WE. Apparently this was written pre-potential, and I almost made some serious mistakes because of it. I think I actually signed some players unscouted. And I definitely thought the "he's immediately recruitable" message was a "he's not interested" message. It can be confusing for a new coach. 

I don't mean to shove information down people's throats or tell them what they are doing is wrong, but to just make sure everyone has awareness+access to help them understand the game better.

This is more in response the OP -

As much as I like this game, some aspects of it make me crazy.   No official docs.  It absolutely defies any type of methodical evaluation, because there is no way to keep 100 other variables constant while you measure the effect of one or two.    Also, the forums search engine is either terrible or I am doing it wrong.

However . . all that is largely mitigated by the content of the forums, and the character of the individuals who play this game and post here.      Being very new here I have learned a lot from the other coaches and appreciate the willingness to share and teach.     Compared to other online gaming forums this forum is very cordial and informative.

Having said that, as a couple people have pointed out, you can't force people to learn, you can only be willing to teach.   insulting or berating them in any way would not be productive, IMO.   The answers are there for those who take the time to look.

Wait a minute, did I say 'answers'?   My mistake.   there are no answers here, only concencus opinions.

I am self taught and am a mediocre coach at best.  I do own the PIT with UW Oshkosh!  Even though I have been doing this for years I am open to advice..in fact...I need it.