Its important to take notes and answer the concern, not the emotion.. In fact, some coaches create a hard fast rule that they don't have conversations about playing time, ever. As you might imagine, that kind of approach doesnt lead to a solution. Explain it in various handouts, booklets, documents and newsletters. What: Teaches approach, philosophy, practice planning, drills, game management, communication skills, player development methods, and more. This gives them a chance to see the whole picture. If you do not have such a meeting, I highly recommend you have one. Were past the point of not talking about playing time. Tough job but you better be ready because the majority of your parent issues will be around playing time. Every athlete wants PT, yet only a select few will actually consistently achieve it. Its not a difficult task to have coaches explain to the entire team what goes into their decision of starters, and when and how substitutions are made. Your child may not be play. Sitting the Bench the No. 1 Issue Between Parents, Coaches Try to work in as many players as possible. If a player doesnt get the ball inbounds or turns the ball over, Ill handle that, Nance said was his message. But equally important is whether or not the coach is creating an environment that fosters mutual respect, appreciation, and belonging between teammates and the coach. Let your player do the talking first Another great life lesson learned from sports is how to handle a tough conversation. "Let us do the coaching." "Trust us." "No parents allowed at practice." "Don't come to us with playing time concerns." "I've dealt with parents like you." . The following six ideas provide a starting point to handling parents. Establish a standard for your parents that the issue of playing time and who starts a game is one area that is not up for discussion. Have specific questions. Survey questions included asking players to rank themselves numerically on the team and listing strengths and weaknesses. for high school student transferring. Coaches are pestered with questions about playing time, like "why didn't my kid start, or . Reproduction expressly prohibited. So why is that? And on it goes. Before the season, I told parents that players would not necessarily receive equal playing time the way they do in our house league. Sometimes, student-athletes know their playing time better than their parents in terms of the why aspect, Coe said. Deran Coe and Darryl Nance both know playing time for high school athletes is a hot topic that coaches must try and navigate. Often a player knows why he isnt playing as much, but hasnt explained the reasons to a parent. - it helps to look at whether the child is on a recreational or competitive team. Parents can instigate, comparing their child to another child or questioning the coachs decisions, and foster animosity between their child and their teammates and their child and the coach. Great! Coe, director of athletics for the Wake County (North Carolina) Public School System and Nance, district-wide director of athletics for Greenville County (South Carolina) Schools and past president of the NIAAA (2010), said it might be time to revisit how playing time conversations are handled. Luke Modrovsky was a 2019 summer intern in the NFHS Publications/Communications Department. Doc Rivers ( @DocRivers) is the head coach for the Los Angeles Clippers and a PCA National Advisory Board Member. All Rights Reserved by Baseball Almanac, Inc. Privacy Policy. Parents tend to overestimate their childs ability. Coaches will talk to their players; they are not eager to talk with the parents. It is really hit or miss when it comes to parents and organizations. My assistant went from boys basketball to girls volleyball and was able to use some of the same things we used on the basketball side., Parents are going to try to talk about playing time any way they can, Coe said. Be prepared to support your coaches by joining them when they meet with problematic parents. Mobility is limited by those in power who want to maintain power. Should I complain to my son's Little League coach about Playing Time? The term family is often described when trying to build a positive team culture, but Coe and Nance suggest it is important to include parents in that family. Let him make the decision as to whether you play this child at those positions. Also, if parents are paying in the form of fees and/or taxes then some will conclude that they have the right to speak up if they feel something is not being run well in the program that they are ultimately paying for. Some parents like to provide their own statistics and evaluations of other players to substantiate their position. It is unacceptable for parents to initiate this conversation and a coach never should be approached immediately after a contest. Deliver this message in your pre-season parents meetings. If you feel there isn't then i's only about winning Batting Order is not all that important when it comes to winning. For the #1 Best Tip for helping your kids get in the games more often you can do this one thing and totally increase the chances or your kids playing more. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, The parent will usually want to speak to the coaches in order to persuade them to put their kid in the game more often. At a practice, they might notice that their child doesnt have the same skill level or isnt putting in as much effort as another player who is getting more time. Holt Baseball Inc USA Experimenting or providing a chance to audition for more playing time during games may not be best for the team or even possible. As with grades in an academic subject, arm your coaches with the response that a coach cannot discuss other players on the team. Parents tend to overestimate their childs ability. Click here to upload more images (optional). Now, everybody agrees that when kids are in the youth level leagues, everybody needs to get equal playing time. But our thinking about opportunity should not be limited solely to individual playing time. In a recent newspaper survey of more than 200 high school coaches in Central New York, more than half said that they have considered quitting coaching because of unpleasant interactions with parents. Nance said the survey has proven critical in discussions with parents about their child. At the most recent National Athletic Directors Conference in December, Coe and Nance presented So You Want to Discuss Playing Time?, Often, policies that athletic directors convey to parents include: We do not discuss positions or playing time, Student-athletes must meet with the coach first, and/or Student-athletes must be present when a coach and parent meet.. The Message You Send to Your Kid When You Complain About Their Coach Out of bounds? When Palo Alto athletes and parents complain about researched and coached youth soccer and basketball, girls and boys from ages 3 23, for more than 15 years and has worked with collegiate teams to improve their communication, cooperation, and leadership. A mother I know, whose son did not play a lot until his senior year of high school and continues to struggle with a lack of playing time in Division II, recently told me that it is these times when parents have the opportunity to use sports as teachable moments, that dealing with adversity is a part of life. BLAH BLAH BLAH. Parents attempt to instruct, whether they are competent to do so or not. Option #2 - Do not discuss playing time with parents. The coach has your kid batting at the top of the order because he wants your kid to get more at bats, to give the team a better chance of winning. Enjoy this page? Just type!Your story will appear on a Web page exactly the way you enter it here. To Learn more about how coach Santiago can help you get your FREE Millionaire Booklet here: ----Where to follow and listen to Coach SantiagoInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachsantiago8Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coachsantiagobaseball/Twitter: https://twitter.com/coachsantiagoWebsite: www.coachsantiago.comWebsite: www.aspiringathletes.org LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dj-santiago https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/coach-santiagos-podcast/id1122850250?mt=2\u0026i=374453564----Thank you for watching this videoPlease Share it. So You Want to Discuss Playing Time? - NFHS He hasresearched and coached youth soccer and basketball, girls and boys from ages 3 23, for more than 15 years and has worked with collegiate teams to improve their communication, cooperation, and leadership. If you're sitting out again, we're going home.' it's not about winning, it's about all the kids getting a chance to develope. Is It Possible to Learn Soccer in Your 20s? Parents reaction to failure translates directly to how their kids will handle failure, according to Dweck. One of my boys basketball assistants was having problems with parents as a head coach for a girls volleyball team. Parents and the problems they cause due to the their childrens playing time is the No. Both teams also had a different pitcher every inning. The coaching staff, the player, his parents, the team, all the other parents, and the program as a whole. Playing Time can make or break your season, not to mention your athletic career. Three-time Academic All-American Stanford University gymnast on how she maintained school-sport balance. Many times this goes against what the coach is saying or doing. He is also the father of three athletes. However our Little League clearly dictates that it is a developmental league and that every kid should get chances to bat at the top & bottom and all over the lineup. Share on Twitter Individual performances are affected, in quantity and quality, as well - how they are treated by others; how they feel/see themselves in this context; what expectations they have of their activity and engagement; and their sense of belonging and significance to the team. Assistant baseball coach Dick Held -- a retired FBI regional director, former Paly parent and assistant coach for girls' basketball and baseball for the past decade -- shuttled back and forth.