Blogger's note: Received a couple request from Observer-Reporter readers to post my column from Thursday's edition.
One day after being hired as Carmichaels High School football coach, John Menhart spoke of the high quality and quantity of applicants the opening attracted.
And Menhart, the Mikes’ coach for 14 solid seasons through 2002, should know. He’s the principal.
“You wouldn’t believe the people we heard from,” Menhart said back in mid-June. “It says a lot about what people think of Carmichaels. This is a place where people want to coach.”
These days, not many other places are on that list. Coaching high school sports in tradition-rich and sports-crazed areas like Western Pennsylvania has become increasingly difficult.
A few meddlesome parents spend more time whining about playing time and questioning the coaching staff’s abilities as than they do developing the talents of their children. Hey, how hard can it be to coach when that parent led these kids to some tournament championship back when they were in fifth grade?
From parents to apathetic athletic directors to school board members with agendas to anonymous and unwarranted criticism on the Internet, coaching is hard. Heck, it’s becoming nearly impossible.
In light of recent events, one must wonder why anyone would want to forge into a high school coaching career. With the exception of Carmichaels, where coaches hang around for decades more often than not, it’s far more trouble than it’s worth.
Take the recent action by the Peters Township School Board and the circumstances surrounding opening the varsity softball coach’s position previously held, and with a certain degree of success, by Bea Rhodes.
Following the 2009 season, one in which a previously moribund program qualified for the WPIAL playoffs for the fourth time in five years, Rhodes received approval for the 2010 season by athletic director Rich Relich and principal Dr. Thomas Hajzus.
That’s usually all it takes for the school board to approve the hiring.
Not in Rhodes’ case.
In an unusual move, a group of players’ parents met with superintendent Dr. Nina Zetty to discuss issues concerning Rhodes’ handling of the team. Most of the information Rhodes received came from second-hand sources.
“There weren’t any real specifics to let me go,” Rhodes said. “They said I was calling games off too late. Just crazy things that had nothing to do with the team. The funny thing is I never had much of a problem with the players.”
That’s not where most of the problems come from, at least not for high school coaches.
They come from parents, some determined to take any action to garner more playing time or recognition, whether deserved or not. One thing to keep in mind: Postseason awards such as the Observer-Reporter’s annual softball all-star team – with two Peters Township players on this year’s first team and three others on honorable mention – are not determined by coaches.
Those sure seem like frivolous reasons to oust a successful, respected coach.
“I have a pretty good relationship with the coaches and umps around the area,” Rhodes said. “And I have a great reputation. I demand my teams be respected and well-behaved. That’s something that others noticed about Peters Township softball.”
Too bad that wasn’t enough for a coach who took Peters Township to the WPIAL semifinals, an unthinkable achievement 10 years prior, in 2007.
Then again, it’s coming from a district with a growing reputation for being difficult on coaches.
So, who’s next? Whether it’s in Greene County or Washington County, bet it won’t take long to find out.
32 comments:
As a coach, coaching is easy. Dealing with the delusional parents is the problem. More often than not parents cannot realize that their child is just not that good. Coaches know who should and shouldn't be playing. Message to parents: If your son or daughter is not playing its not the coaches fault. It is either 1. your child is not good 2 Your child is a slacker. And for genetic or personal reasons that is your fault. Not the coaches
As a parent, parenting ISN'T easy. Dealing with the "nice guy" coach is a problem. More often than not coaches cannot realize that some of their players are hanging onto every word that they say. Message to coaches: If you aren't going to play a child, don't say that you will. Don't say that playing time will be taken away for bad behavior, it won't. Don't say that school work comes first, it doesn't. Don't say that you'll bench the slacker, you won't. When you say one thing and do another then the problems that you create are your fault, not the parents.
this could get ugly. parents look out! You've unleashed the sleeping giant!
In response to the comment about "nice guy" coaches saying one thing and doing another. I think more problems with parents happens when you actually DO what you say you will DO. Many parents don't give a crap about what you say or do as long as THEIR kid is playing ahead of the others. As has been seen..winning and making playoffs does not mean much cause there are only nine happy softball parents and 11 happy football parents, etc.
IMO here is how this should work.
Coaches run the team, right or wrong
Players play, and should learn that have to earn a spot and even then politics can still get in the way.
Parents need to honestly assess their kid but also always encourage them in a realistic manner. High school sports is more about learning life lesssons than gaining a scholarship.
I have told my son from day one, if you want to start play so hard and so good that you leave the coach no choice but to play you.
Good coaches make it work and don't cry about parents. Many coaches are lazy and unskilled, they wish to dedicate their time to working with the better players. I have news for them- it takes no particular skill level to "coach" the great players. The skilled coaches coach ALL the kids. They develop talent. Instead of making excuses about the talent level in their community they hold skill camps, they work with feeder programs, they teach and coach all the kids. This will be a heated discussion for sure. I think it is like any other profession- there are good coaches and bad coaches. Simply pointing fingers at parents is not addressing reality.
I think the school districts need to do a better job in researching their candidates. Too often it seems that if 5 candidates get selected for interviews at least 3 of them are being interviewed because they are close with an administrator or school board member. It is certainly possible that candidates fitting this criteria could be extremely qualified for the position, but many times they are not at all qualified. Instead, many "good" coaches are overlooked and left without even an interview.
Administrators and board members are like congressmen- they are supposed to represent the voice of a collective group of people. But instead, self-interest usually takes top billing and decisions are made without the best interests of the masses in mind.
It is difficult to be a good coach. The job requires one to have good knowledge of their sport, be able to communicate that knowledge clearly, and be able to interact well with players (and in high school, parents).
My friend's son graduated high school in 2007 and I asked him about the coaching he received. First he told me that his head coach really did not bring anything to the table. He was not knowledgeable about the sport and when he did have good points to make, he was not able to phrase them in ways that could be understood. Additionally, the head coach was a fiery guy that would yell and scream over negative plays, but then make no effort to explain why things went wrong and attempt to correct the mistake.
So I asked my friend's son if he felt his time for that sport was wasted. He told me that if the head coach was the only coach he had, then yes it would have been a HUGE waste. However, he said the team had one excellent assistant coach that was able to teach him a lot about the game and could communicate in ways that were understood.
The point is that the best coach in this case was not the head coach (who was hired by the administrators/school board). Instead it was an assistant (technically hired by the head coach) and someone that never put in for the head coaching job in the first place. As a result, the school got lucky in that the team's results were solid and the kids did improve albeit from a coach that wasn't the one the district felt would lead the team to glory.
high school coaches do not get paid enough nor do they have enough time to live up to some of these unrealistic expectations i have read on these posts. most high school coaches have full time jobs. they do not just coach.this is not division I college athletics or professional sports we are talking about.
All of the high school coaches I know in various sports are very dedicated and do the very best job they can do as well as spend time developing their players before they get into 9th grade. tell me where in a high school coach's job description does it say that HAS to be done? it doesn't, but because they care about their sport, program, and school, they do it. same goes for off-season and pre-season workouts. it's not in the job description, but it is done so the players can get better, develop, etc.
for those who say that these coaches are in it just for the money, please think again. with the amount of time the high school coaches i know put in, they actually end up making about 5 cents an hour, if that.
good and bad coaches are in the eyes of the parents and players who start or don't start. i have not known too many parents and/or players who either didn't make varsity or sat the bench who say their coach was good. it is all about playing time 99% of the time. if you kid is starting, they are happy, and you are happy. if you kid is sitting, they are not happy and you are not happy.
For the parents that REALLY care about the team as a whole it's not about starting and playing time. My child either starts or gets a huge amount of playing time. Am I a happy parent? No! The coach is and idiot that couldn't coach his/her way out of a wet paper bag. Why has the coach hung around a long time? They are a teacher with friends in the right places to protect them. In a lot of cases the school board/administration could care less about the good of athletic program. Get and keep the teachers in and hope no one makes any major fuss.
Ask Russ Moore who was forced out at ringgold for a idiot who left the next year.When will we see a woman coaching a high school football team.She could judge talent get all the kids in the game keep all parents happy and win games.
"The coach is and idiot that couldn't coach his/her way out of a wet paper bag."......
it's easy to be a monday morning quarterback. i am sure you could do a much better job that the idiot coach your son/daughter has. and of course, there are no teachers out there who are also good coaches, right? good coaches DO teach.
you must be the exception (the 1% who don't like the coach and it's not due to playing time). again, the other 99% of the time, parents of starting players are happy and parents of the kids sitting on the bench are not....AT ANY LEVEL IN ANY SPORT. i see it in pee wee football, youth baseball, youth softball, etc.
no, parenting is not easy. but unfortunately today, there are many parents who want to buy their kid playing time. or they buy their kid the best equipment thinking it will make their kid better. and ultimately, the coach is the one they blame when their baby isn't playing.
I am a parent and a coach. There is no wrong side there. Coaches want to win, parents want to see their child succeed. The problem is the administrators. Any warm body with a bank account can become an administrator these days and it is showing. Few of them have a backbone. The coaches with longevity have ADs, principals and superintendents who support them and back them. If PT superintendetn would have asked that group of parents, "Did you talk to the coach, AD and principal about these issues? No, well then why are you talking to me?" If that would have happened instead of the super protecting her own butt, no one would have been caught off guard and if it makes it back to the superintendent, then there is a problem. Look at the administrators, not coach or mom and dad.
Sorry. I didn't say all teachers are bad coaches. There are quite a few teachers who are excellent coaches.In my case the teacher/coach is clueless as to how to play the players he/she was handed by another coach. I'm not putting down teachers as coaches in general but just a few I have seen locally. And remember, every dollar a teacher earns as a coach counts toward their retirement. How much of a reason is that to coach as much as they can with no expectations!
By the way.As the parent of a child with an idiot coach, most parents don't care enough about the team as long as their child is starting or playing. The really sad part is they grumble in the stands but don't have the balls to speak up because their kid is playing.Trust me, I know of what I speak!If I'm in the 1% then I'm proud of myself as a parent and an advocate for better play.I'm sure there are more of us out there.
Here is a huge problem with high school coaches at our school. They don't get involved with summer programs/feeder programs. I have been around the youth programs in the district and in the past 15 years we have never seen a high school coach come to watch his/her upcoming prospects. How can a coach evaluate talent when the kids haven't been seen by them? Every successful high school coach, in any sport, gets involved with the youth programs. They don't need to spend an enormous amount of time there but if you don't ever give a bench player a chance, how will they ever get evaluated? How will a coach ever know that he has a "lock down" defensive guard in waiting, unless he sees him/her in a summer basketball game? How will a coach ever know that he/she may have a tremendous defensive infielder sitting in the dugout, if that player is only given a chance to pinch hit/run? If a high school coach wants to sustain a successful program, coaching just during the season won't cut it!
AMEN BROTHER!!!
where in the job description is it listed that you must get involved with the feeder or youth program? most coaches i know do get involved in the youth programs, but it is not a requirement to do so. it is another example of unrealistic expectations and parents expecting more and more and more out of high school coaches. this is not college or pros!
take the typical baseball season, for example. "official" practices start in march and the salary is say about $4000 (before taxes...just a rough estimate..i am sure some make more, some less). The season is about 10-12 weeks long. So you are looking at say about $300 per week. Now let's take into consideration that you actually start pre-season workouts in January (an extra 2 months). right there your salary is now down to about $200 per week. Most coaches actually start earlier, though. Some have lifting and/or other strength training workouts in the fall. (other sports have more extensive off season programs...summer league basketball games and practices, indoor soccer, fall league softball, just to name a few). Again, there goes your salary. So who in their right mind is actually doing this for the MONEY? you don't see that most of these coaches are actually LOSING money, not to mention time with families, etc. because more than likely, they LOVE the sport they are coaching and that's why they do it!
So now we are EXPECTING this high school coach who probably works full-time somewhere (possibly teaches)and maybe has a family of their own, to now work with the local youth league, put on free camps, clinics, etc., go and watch all the up and coming superstars all the time, etc. It is not fair at all to expect that from a high school coach unless that is stated up front that it is part of the job.
also, just because little johnnie or susie does well on his/her summer league teams or AAU teams in the off-season does not mean that is what the coach sees at his/her varsity practices. when you spend 2-3 hours per day with your teams/athletes, i would like to think that you have a pretty good handle on what the kids can and cannot do and what you feel your best chance of winning is. to say that seeing a kid a few times in an off-season capacity would even begin to equate to spending all the hours with them at practice is not realistic!
also, coaches would be lynch-mobbed if parents even thought for a moment that positions were being determined before the official tryout because the coach saw them do something on their summer/off-season team! there are coaches out there who have had problems because parents have brought up these types of things like "my kid was being judged before the real tryout" etc. or "you are basing your decision on what he/she did in summer league". Ask any AD out there and they will tell you that they probably have had parents question this at one time or another.
and the number of teachers out there coaching just for the money in their retirement is so extremely small! i am sure there are a few, but trust me, to beef up the retirement, you would be better off and spend FAR less time and have FAR less headaches by doing some other extra duty in the school, NOT by coaching.
High school sports are overrated anyway. Hardly a topic to get too upset about.
where in the job description is it listed that you must get involved with the feeder or youth program? most coaches i know do get involved in the youth programs, but it is not a requirement to do so. it is another example of unrealistic expectations and parents expecting more and more and more out of high school coaches. this is not college or pros!
Nobody said that they need to get involved to the point of coaching or doing clinics. Maybe they should attend a preseason coaches meeting to explain to the youth coaches what they expect their players to know and what them expect them to learn so when the hit the high school programs they are prepared and know the system. All they have to do is come to some games. Sit in the stands and observe. Period. That doesn't take too much time away from their families. How in the world will they know what a player can do if they never see them perform? Case in point: high school baseball season is very short. The weather sucks in the spring. Most games are played in under 60 degrees. Sometimes in the rain or even snow. That means practice is limited to a few cuts in a batting cage and some grounders in the gym. Is that a good way to evaluate talent? Not in my book.
Second, they do get paid. They should spend time with their respective programs. They know when they commit to being a coach at the high school level that it means being with their teams and not their families. Too bad! If they are doing it for the money, shame on them, find another way to supplement their income! Most youth league coaches give up much more time away from their families than most high school coaches ever will. Coaching is something that a coach has to love. It can't ever become a job. If it does, they are doing it for the wrong reasons.
i am a high school varsity coach, and i have been rerading these posts on here every day and i finally wish to reposnd.
i have spoken to my local youth association MANY times about what needs to be done, and guess what?? they don't like what i have to say. a few parents listen and try to implement the skills i feel should be taught at each level, but most ignore the advice and do their own thing. i have offered free coaches clinics. guess who shows up?? those same few mentioned above who actually want to learn. the local youth association does not make it mandatory for their coaches to attend. i do go to local games to watch my upcoming players in my program to observe because i want to. i too also think it is important, and i bring my family with me. guess what?? it is great to watch but my cuts and decisions are based on my official tryout period, my practices, scrimmages, etc., not on what i observed. a kid playing against their own age group in most off-season programs in a sport is not as telling to me as them playing against and practicing against true varsity competition made up of kids in grades 9-12. i see the kids for several hours a day which gives me a much better idea of what they can do. all "official" varsity seasons are short. and guess what?? i do all of the things you mentioned, and i am still considered an idiot my many parents becuase their kid doesn't start!
most youth league coaches in my community in every single sport coach for one reason and one reason only....for their own kid, not for all of the kids. yes, there are a select few (and i mean few) that have all kids best interests at heart, but the ones i know do it so their kid can start at the position they choose and make post-season all-star type teams etc. yeah, they give up time, but they are getting something in return for their own kid...a starting position, playing time, and an almost guarantee to play all-stars. for this reason, these parents often cannot handle it when their kid gets to high school and is being evaluated by someone other than their parent because they can't control it.
do i make perfect decisions all the time? no, who does? not even NFL, MLB, NHL coaches! but i believe in what i do, i love what i do, and coaching to me is not a job. however, a parent such as you will always second guess and think i am an idiot, even though i do all of the things you mentioned that need to be done.
it looks like the previous poster an i will never agree. i am sorry you feel you have an idiot coach (again i am making an assumption that you are the same poster as a few other posts). i hope your situation changes for the betterment of your son/daughter's program, but i have a feeling that no matter who is in there, you would not be satisfied, and that's where most of the problem lies.
I am a coach and a parent. My son happens to be one of those "has the head and the heart to make the plays and contribute to the team but doesn't have the physical size and speed to shine in a try out situation." I understand when parents feel that their child is being underestimated. I also know that most coaches know more and understand more about the kids on their teams than we parents would like to believe...especially when our child is the one not getting the playing time.
Believe me...we do not coach for the money...the money helps keep our wives from divorcing us on the spot! I put in more than 15 hours a week in my off season time and easily double that during the season. I have coached in youth sports of all ages and not just in the sport I coach at the varsity level.
I coach because I love the atmosphere and the rewards of taking a group and turning it into a team. I coach because I love being at practice and games. I coach because I enjoy the student/athletes I get to work with. I believe that the athletic process allows the kids a chance to learn how to succeed or fail, find a role or be left behind, interact and deal with emotions, learn to work with others, learn to do what it takes to improve or get the job done, and learn to work for the boss.
all things we have to do in our adult lives. Those are many of the reasons sports are considered to be an important part of the educational system. My son is learning those lessons now.
Yes winning is alot of fun too but sometimes we lose simply because the other guy was better.That doesn't make us idiots or failures.
ESPN has convinced us that winning and plays of the week are the only reasons sports exist.
To the blogger who said that youth coaches put in more time away from their families....How many youth coaches are not coaching their own kids??? That's why I did it.
In regards to the evaluation and tryout process: there are many sports where a good coach can spend a few days with a group and see alot about their ability and attitudes. There are some that don't lend themselves to that. Baseball is one of those and coincidentally is one that shows up on this forum alot. In a typical take some swings and field some balls baseball tryout the bigger, faster, stronger usually stand out. The parent who mentioned the shutdown defender/heads up fielder has a point.
I would not want to coach high school baseball, even though I love the game, because of that.
On every high school bench is a kid who could shine if given his chance and who probably has done so at some level in the past.
How that athlete and his parents deal with the situation is another chance to learn life lessons even when they are not the desired ones.
Parents support your kids but don't push your own agendas. Don't be afraid to communicate intelligently with your coach but try to see the big picture.
High school sports are fun,challenging, frustrating, exhilerating, and more. Winning and losing are all part of the process and experience.
They are not an easy road to a college scholarship. If that is the only reason for playing....working hard on academics is a better way to go.
There is more academic aid out there than athletic.
Both sides have issues and both sides have points in this discussion.
Blog on!!!
I would never be a coach, unless it was for my daughter's community softball league and then only as a part-time volunteer.
Why?
1. Because I can no more judge talent than anyone of you who have no coaching experience. Parents are especially guilty of this. They believe they know the game and most are totally oblivious of the rules.
2. School boards are so misguided to believe they have to be involved with athletics. Why do you have an athletic director? If the board wants to make those decisions, then don't hire an AD and save the salary. Politics can ruin a program.
3. Look around, see how many coaches aren't even in the building as teachers. That was rare when I was growing up in the 60s and 70s.
4. Let's go back to parents again, who put pressure on their kids to succeed. When I see an athlete suddenly quit a sport, I look to the parents first. It's nearly always the case. I know of a lot of horror stories about kids being pressured by their parents. You know them too.
5. I always tell parents that if they want to help their child, make it fun. When it comes to the coach, you should sit down and shut up or become a volunteer assistant.
To the two coaches in the prior posts I commend you. You sound like the type of people who should be directing our youth at the high school level.As to never being happy about a coach that's not true. My child is a multi sport athlete and I do think the other coaches do a good job. My problem is with a coach that either can't because of lack of knowledge or won't change their style of play to suit the players they have.All they do is run a system to set up their "chosen" ones. Team play is thrown to the winds. This same coach would never go watch the upcoming team play while under another coach. Fear of being made look bad? Probably. It's not just with this one coach at this one school. I hear quite often parents from other schools with the same problems. And once again it is NOT playing tume issues but lack of knowledge and lack of caring issues. Thankfully the majority of the coaches are in in for the right reason-love of the game and love of the players.
We have actually seen high school baseball tryouts, where the coach isn't even looking at what the kids are doing at the tryouts. He was in the corner talking to other coaches and none of them were watching. You are right, there is very little time to prepare for baseball, but at least make it look like you are evaluating. Why was this done? Because they already had the team picked. Kids who parents are all over the coach, pressuring them, running the boosters and the team.
Again, three levels of atheletes........the top ones, or the superstars as some would say, they will play, no matter what they do, what trouble they get in, what their grades are, etc etc. Then you have the third level..........basically, they may or may not try hard, but they do not have to much athletic ability. Then there is the middle players..........they are all about the same, maybe in different areas, but anyone of them could do the same job. What happens here? Well, it is all about the politics. This is were the problems arise. Someone is not given a chance because little johnnies dad is running the boosters or is pressuring the coach or whatever, but it happens.
Anon,
The most fair tryout for baseball I have seen was in 2007 at Canon-Mac. Hitters were evaluated against real pitchers and vice versa. In this scenario a hitter might get to face a sure-fire varsity pitcher, a borderline varsity/jv type pitcher, and a not-ready-for-varsity type pitcher. I think this allowed the staff to see which players could handle "varsity level" pitching, those that could handle "JV level" pitching, and so on. From a pitching perspective, it showed how those guys might do against varsity, jv, and freshman type hitters.
In addition to the hitting and pitching, all of the catchers were put through individual skill workouts (blocking balls, receiving live pitching, throwing, footwork) while infielders and outfielders were put through drills to test relevant skills for those positions.
I also think running speed and endurance were tested (not 100% sure on this though).
All-in-all, I felt that the staff made an effort to put together a uniform tryout with the hopes of coming up with as close to an objective rating system as possible. I'd like to see all teams adopt a uniform tryout philosophy in which as many skills that pertain to a particular sport are tested.
As a former athlete and current coach in the area, I figured I would write in a few ideas that I thought up.
1. Who is responsible for making players better: the coaches or the players themselves? With a minimal amount of assistant coaches in SOME sports it can be difficult to utilize practice time to develop their players as well as some parents would like. As a baseball coach if you only have one assistant coach, how can you give the individual attention that you would like to each of the 18 players on roster, while teaching the team to learn to play together for the first time. (Given that most kids play AAU) This in itself is a double-edged sword. (Noone is to blame for it either) Shouldn't kids be more responsible for bettering themselves individually? How would a business treat the lazy worker who didn't want to do their job? They would probably fire them, but as coaches the blame is often misplaced on them not helping the player enough.
2. What do you feel is more important to have in a good coach, someone who wins or someone who teaches kids life lessons while teaching the sport? Most people feel that winning is the most important, but how does that help a kid down the road? Does the attitude of winning at all costs in HS football make a kid a better person after graduation? Personally I don't think so, because I have seen fantastic HS athletes that were teammates go on to have major problems coping without their sports an fell into problems that they could not overcome. So to me the emphasis on win at all costs is a little crazy.
3. Do you think that the only time coaches spend coaching is the time that you see them on the field with the players? MANY coaches spend hours discussing the sport and working on it outside of what you see. On top of that, I can assure you that it does not leave my mind and I often lay in bed thinking about how to better utilize players and be a better coach.
4. The following post was above and I think it needs addressed: "She could judge talent get all the kids in the game keep all parents happy and win games." This is called a utopia and it does not exist. If this were the case, coaches would not have all of the issues they have. Balancing all of those in a way that will keep parents is well, impossible unless you are a great coach and you are playing against completely inferior teams.
5. (And Lastly) As we can tell many people care a lot about HS sports here. Do you want to send the message to your kids that sports are life? You may think I am stupid for suggesting this, but if you think that a coach should coach for 20+ hours per week, scout youth games and setup youth clinics that pay them about $2,500/ year in many cases (Mine for one sport as an assistant), it sounds to me like that would be the coaches life. Should it be that for the player to? How many of you put that much emphasis into a child's education? As a former all-conference athlete, I can assure you that my athletics while I enjoyed them and learned from them, did not provide me with a job after HS and it only got me a small scholarship to play a a Division-II school. I love sports and support them all the way, but we need to make sure that they stay sports and not full-time jobs to all involved: coaches, players and parents.
Sorry for the length of this post.
I personally think that Bea Rhodes getting fired was the best thing that could have happened. she is an unfair coach who favors certain players over others especially if your a player that stands up to her. She didnt take peters to the play offs the girls did because she was never around to coach she was to busy smoking during games and practices to be of any help.
Wow! In all of the times Trinity played Peters I don't think she was ever NOT on the field....she must have done her smoking when it was our turn at bat.
Sounds like sour grapes to me. To sum it up, PT parents are whiny rich cry babies and if they don't get their way then they try to make sure someone else is to blame! It happens at all levels of sports in that district.
Wow!
Sounds like Jim Leyland?
He was a lousy coach too!
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