Sorry folks, you missed the boat on your “A memo to Coach:” editorial. You see, I’m one of those coaches–youth baseball and basketball for the past 13 years. Parents should not be simply sitting in their sedans or SUVs waiting for practice to end so they can pick up little Johnny or Suzie from practice. Every parent should participate to some degree. Offer to help the coach with practice, shag balls, help the kids pay attention.
As you rightly point out, the coach is a volunteer. But he (or she) is not a babysitter. When the coach is left to handle a dozen kids by himself, keep them all interested in what’s going on, make sure no one gets hurt, make sure they all are busily learning and, most important, make sure they are having fun, he can easily lose track of the time. Or, when the kids come straggling in late, or half don’t show up and don’t call ahead to say they can’t make it, it disrupts the coaching (teaching) process and it takes longer than planned.
One of the problems I’ve seen in the past few years is that too many parents don’t want to participate in the work involved with the team. But they are the first ones to complain. Remember: If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. My advice: Be a part of your kids’ sports teams. You’ll be rewarded, your kids will be rewarded and you become part of the solution.
