The challenge of managing parents

by Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt Sailing News
I wrote the report, The Soccerization of Sailing, in 2009 which noted how the organization of youth sailing had been modeled after other sporting options (baseball, soccer, etc.). This trend began in the 1990s, and it was an observation of the improvement, but also of the unintended consequence.

There isn’t much that parents aren’t trying to improve, and that always heightens competition. Eventually, some parents lose the plot. In an ESPN report, they detail how youth-sport coaches are feeling burned out and fed up with verbal harassment and abuse, mainly from parents of athletes.

According to U.S. Center for SafeSport, the challenge of managing parents ranks among the top reasons coaches have considered leaving or decided to quit, with one coach saying of parents: “They created tension. They instilled distrust. They were worse than children.” – Full report