Each week on ResponsibleSports.com we ask the Responsible Sports community to weigh in and give us their comments on a challenging scenario question that many youth sport parents have experienced. This weeks question is:
“After a rough collision, you notice your son is trailing the play and is limping. The coach isn’t calling timeout or getting a sub ready. What should you do?”
Approaching your child’s coach about any subject can be a difficult and intimidating task. That’s why Responsible Sports and our partner, Positive Coaching Alliance, have devoted an entire section of our content to this subject: Responsible Conversation: Parents and Coaches.
Research shows when parents support our children's teachers, students learn more. This concept can be transferred to sports, where kids will have a better sports experience if we work in unison with the coach to create a positive youth sports environment. One of the first things you can do to make conversation easier if a problem does arise, is to make early, positive contact with the coach.
In addition to making positive contact with the coach early in the season, here are a few points that can aid in the Parent and Coach conversation:
• Recognize the coach’s commitment
• Fill the coaches “emotional tank”
• Don’t instruct during a game or practice
• Don’t put the player in the middle
• Observe a “cooling off” period
On ResponsibleSports.com we dive into detail about each bullet point above and how they can assist you in approaching your child’s coach. One of the tools we offer to parents is this downloadable PDF that you can print and bring with you to practices and games, Parent & Coach Intervention Strategies.
Want to get feedback from the Responsible Sports Community on an issue you're encountering? You can submit a scenario question and all submissions will be considered for a future question to be posted on ResponsibleSports.com.
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