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In Fairfax, Virginia, the Associated Press reports, a volleyball player’s family is suing her non-scholastic team because she isn’t getting enough playing time.
In Billings, Montana, a student athlete shares tales of a coach being shouted at, threatened and cajoled by parents on behalf of their children.
In Staunton, Virginia, a once-popular coach walks away from the sidelines because of the way the job has changed – again, because of the impact of parents who confuse bullying with involvement.
None of this is new – in fact, aside from the volleyball, which was reported recently, the stories I cited have happened over a span of five years. It was more than a decade ago that a local school district was sued by parents who wanted their child on a varsity team; it was just a few years later the same school district fired a good coach because – wait for it – parents didn’t think practice and participation rules should apply to their child.
It’s not a surprise when coaching positions open at local high schools – they do every year. It’s disappointing when fewer and fewer good coaches want to apply, or reapply.
There will be a few new coaches in the area next fall, and the openings I’m aware of can be attributed largely to routine life changes – somebody moved, somebody’s kid is going to college, etc.
But next winter, you’re going to need a program just to keep track of the coaching changes. Mifflin County (boys), Mount Union (girls), East Juniata (boys), Greenwood (girls) and Midd-West (boys and girls) all have basketball openings.
This is not common – in fact, it’s an extraordinary number of changes that will take place in the same sport in the same season. Add to that the fact that three of the openings were left by first-year coaches, and none of the others were exactly long tenures, and you might start to see a pattern.
I’d even call it a problem. And it’s you, mom and dad.
You can’t expect to win games and build a program if you constantly step in the way of the person that’s been hired to do the job. And make it clear, the coach’s job isn’t to please you or to pad your kid’s resume in false hopes of a scholarship.
You want to do that? Put your hat in the ring for the coaching job. And then remember – as you should whether you’re the coach or not – that it’s about the team, not individuals.
Yes, you should be involved in your son or daughter’s life, in and out of athletics. Yes, you should want the best for your child, and should help them to achieve it.
But you need to have realistic goals, too. Fewer than 5 percent of high school athletes will be in line to get a scholarship at any level in almost every sport – often a smaller number than that, and in many cases the scholarships offered will be partial.
The coach is, at least in theory, choosing players based on demonstrated skill and proven talent. Sure, being human, coaches have flaws, too – but there is no successful coach in any sport who looks at last name or ZIP Code when deciding who’s going to play.
Accusations like that are demeaning, not only to the coach, but to the athletes, the person making the statement – and to the concepts of sportsmanship and fair play.
You think you have a legitimate beef with a coach? Sit down and talk about it – not at a game, not at practice, but in a formal setting, like adults. Talk to the school’s athletic director and other administrators. If you feel the need to go to the school board, air your grievances at a public meeting.
And consider the consequences of your actions. Chasing a coach away because you think your kid is getting a raw deal may – probably will – only make the situation worse. For everyone.
Early in my sports career, at a high school in the Susquehanna Valley, a school board decided to step in and run the football team because of parent complaints. The coach walked away – and one of the most successful programs in the region wallowed in losses for the next 20 years.
What’s that old saying? Let the players play, let the officials call the game – and let the coaches coach.
Sound advice.
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Jeff Fishbein is sports editor of The Sentinel. Contact him at jfishbein@lewistownsentinel.com.