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Parents Connecting With the Coach

1/16/2012 2:25:45 PM

Each month Responsible Sports takes a look at a topic in youth soccer that they receive a lot of feedback about, then highlight in their weekly articles. This past month they had a large amount of questions center around the best way to approach a child’s coach, and how to do it in a productive way that doesn’t put the child in the middle, or cause the parent/coach relationship to become strained.

Responsible Sports has an entire section dedicated to this topic, Responsible Conversation: Parent & Coach. Research shows when parents support their children's teachers, students learn more. This concept can be transferred to sports, where kids will have a better sports experience if parents work in unison with the coach to create a positive youth sports environment. Here are some tips:

• Recognize that being a coach is a commitment and they are volunteering their time
• Meeting the coach early and establishing a positive relationship will make conversation easier if a problem arises during the season
• Empower your child to speak: there are several advantages to having your athlete, rather than the parent, speak directly to the coach. Many coaches are more open to suggestions from players than from parents. The biggest plus is that this can be an empowering experience for children, even if they don't get the change they want

We have a number of other tips to practice as well as an intervention strategy to help for when parents need to approach the coach on a subject.

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