Many times coaches are surprised and/or angry when they are confronted for the first time by parents who seem to be ungrateful of what they are doing, or have no knowledge of the game, yet find fault and criticism in you. It is a fact that coaching is not just teaching kids. Coaching also involves managing parents as well. This can be a challenging endeavor and requires some careful thought and planning.

The Positive Coaching Alliance, a nonprofit organization based at Stanford University is a great resource for this topic. The Coach-Parent Relations, Part 1: Preventing Conflict provides useful information and tools on preventing conflict, and Parents Are of Paramount Importance, Win or Lose, offers information you can share with them so they can be better supporters of their children in sports. www.positivecoach.org