Today we won’t go as deep into this conversation as I really want to. We’ll save that for another day.
Parents come in all shapes and sizes, just as your kids do. Some are supportive, some are not, some are beginners to the sport and won’t know what you’re talking about and others will know “everything about the game.” I’ve had parents that were stuck in the methods of the 80’s (because that’s when they played the game and it’s all they know of the sport). I’ve had parents literally taking notes at practice so they can work on the same things with their kid at home. I’ve had parents thank me for the teaching I do and have had parents confront me for teaching their kid “the wrong way.” But two categories of parents that are the biggest problems (and often one category fits the other) are the “sideline coach” parents and the “contradict the coach” parents.
To save us all time here, and wait until the full conversation on each category, we’ll skip straight to the answer. If you want to confuse and overload your kid during the game please coach from the sidelines. If you want to create distrust in your teachings and in the coach’s teachings (the kid won’t know who to believe) please contradict what the coach says when driving home from a game or practice or in other sports conversations with your kid.
Trust me, almost every youth coach wants to do the best he or she can for the kids. If you have something to add, please don’t bad mouth the coach in front of your kid and, if you’re confident enough that the coach is doing something wrong, bring it up with the coach after the game or practice. I don’t know any coaches that think they know everything.
Comments