Players play, parents support, and coaches coach. Simple rules; complex roles.
Sports parents won’t agree with every decision the
coach makes. You may not like the coach,
the style of play or personnel decisions.
But if you trust the coach with your kid’s physical and mental welfare
then please allow the coach to coach - they earned the title “coach” through
many hours of unpaid time on the field away from family, paying and traveling
for coaching education safety clinics and studying game film on the
weekends.
While parents focus on their child, the coach focuses
on the big picture which includes your child and another 20 + kids depending on
the sport and season. That’s a lot of
responsibility, decisions to make, and competing interests to balance among the
parents. And for every team parent that
wants their child to focus on a single position all season there is another
parent that wants their child to play as many positions as possible during the
season. Bottom line is that it is the
coaching staff’s role to decide who plays where and when.
If you want to work with your child on technique
outside of practice, definitely talk to the coach beforehand and find out what
to focus on so you are in step with the coach’s expectations. Teaching your child a skill set that
contradicts what the coaches expect just creates confusion, frustration and
divided loyalty – don’t put a twelve year old in the position of deciding
whether to disappoint mom/dad or the coach with performing what has been
taught.
As a football coach, I’ve watched inexperienced sports
parents with good intentions working with their sons before practice teaching
“wrong” technique. Talk to the
coach.
Keep
in mind that the best way to create a positive experience for your child is to
be the emotional backstop before and after rough practices and games. Especially
in a difficult divorce situation where the child is “ping-ponging” between
households and conflicting expectations.
Kids need consistent expectations so they can feel confident in what
they are trying to learn. Be the
emotional backstop and allow the coach to coach. Stay focused on providing unconditional
support for the ups and downs of youth sports.More tips in my book, Zero Offseason, available at www.amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Zero-Offseason-Divorce-Sports-Parenting-ebook/dp/B00PLY51RW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440175265&sr=8-1&keywords=zero+offseason
