Jul 19, 2023
10 Things Coaches Want Parents to Know
We ran across an interesting post on parents & coaches that we thought we'd pass along. Regardless of your player's age or sport, there are some good tips to keep in mind. Below is an excerpt with a link to the full post.
By Jason Greene - ONEGOODDAD
It’s another sports season and that means parents are running around and trying to figure out how they will manage to get their kids to practices and games. We’ve bought all the equipment, upgraded shoes, and knocked all the grass out of last season’s sports bags.
It also means coaches are planning out where practices will be, when they can use the fields, fitting time into their own schedules, and trying to remember each player’s names and unique things about them. This post will cover what the coach needs from parents.
1. Be on time: If a coach says practice starts at 5:00, that doesn’t mean you’re dropping the player off at 5:00. That means the player is on the field next to the coach at 5:00. Getting out of a car at 5:00 is late. It is always better to arrive at practices early. When kids arrive at practice, they mess around or chat with their teammates. Once practice starts, that’s when they stretch and warm-up. If they are walking across the field at 5, they missed stretching. Also, if one player is late, other players might believe they can be late. Lateness ruins a team’s dynamic.
2. Parents need to leave the coaching up to the coach. It is confusing for players when parents are yelling one thing while their coach is yelling another. Even if a parent knows more about the sport than the coach, they are taking credibility away from the coach while yelling instructions. The coach sees the field and knows the capabilities of every player. A parent knows their child. The coach has spent time with all the players. There may be a different plan than what the parents are seeing. Also, it does no good for a parent to yell during a game. Cheer, but other than that, keep the berating to yourself.
3. During team meetings, stay away. After a certain age, it is unnecessary for parents to listen in on the huddle. Once parents approach the huddle, the players begin to look around at their parents and believe the game/practice is over. Just stay away till it breaks. While I’m giving last minute advice or even coming down on a player for behaving in an unsportsmanlike way, I don’t need him looking around to see if his parent hears.
4. .....
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