An addendum, this from my friend Lisa. Nice to see it from both sides!
Dear childrens' sports people:
I am happy to be the best sports parent possible. I am excited to watch my child and want to help out as best I can. It is so wonderful to see my children learn a new skill and grow and I am so grateful there are people like you who are so dedicated and willing to make such a difference in my child's life. Having said that, please consider:
My child's sporting activity is not the only thing in his/her/our family's life. We have other children with other activities and we, our child's parent, actually have jobs and lives of our own. This may be difficult to process, but our child even attends school for many hours a day, which requires that he/she get to bed at a decent hour and may even have homework. Please try to avoid giving us less than 24 hours notice when there is a practice, game or scrimmage, or when our child needs a certain item like very specific socks that can only be purchased during the hours of 6 and 7 on the third Tuesday of the week with the new moon.
My child may not actually know how to play the sport you are coaching him/her in. He may come from a family of nerdy book-readers who neglected to play catch, shoot hoops, or kick balls with him/her from the day that he/she was born. He may never even watch sports on TV because his father is too busy watching Turner Classic Movies. Please remember, you are his/her only hope to feel successful in team athletics. His parents probably feel horrible that they have set him/her up to be outcasts, but that is why he/she is on the team in the first place. Please do not ignore him or her or decide from the beginning that he/she is not worth your investment. He/she is a sweet child and if you give him/her a chance, he/she may actually find his/her inner aggressiveness and kick some serious butt.
I would love to help out as a volunteer. Please don't make me coach. I tried that once and all the other parents yelled at me and made fun of my shoes. I tried to sell popcorn too, but the person doing the scheduling kept calling me at the last minute. (See first item.) I know you are super busy too, and you are also a volunteer, but I am just wondering if perhaps you would consider something like a calendar. You could figure out ahead of time when all the games are then let people sign up for different shifts. You could even put it online. Just a thought.
Finally, I promise not to abuse the authorities. I am so embarrassed when other parents mistreat refs and coaches. I just want to cheer our child and his/her team-mates. I don't even care who wins, as long as everyone has fun. Thanks for remembering that not all parents are rude, lazy, and unappreciative.
Sincerely,
A nerdy Mom who quit t-ball halfway through the season and has never been comfortable with team sports but wants her kids to be.
1 comment:
I remember well the Nativity grade school softball games at Groveland playground more for the activities of one parent than for anything else that happened. I think this guy's name was Cruz. At any rate, he was a classic nightmare T-ball parent, to my memory never cheering anyone, but correcting and berating everyone. Some of the tirades he loosed on his own son might be considered child abuse in today's world. If his kid was out at first, he'd cut across the mound to return to the bench rather than risking passing in front of his dad in the bleachers. Wonder what ever happened to them.
Tom Summers
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