My last post (What Coaches Want Parents To Know) was by far the most read post so far on this site, with over 8,000 views. With this post, I want to talk a little more about parents and playing time.
I want it to be known, that as a whole, I had great parents. One of the benefits of this profession is all the people we get to meet, and I had lots of truly incredible people that had kids play for me. I really have had relatively few problems with parents. Off the top of my head, I remember 3 situations that did reach to the level of actual attempts to get me fired,with one going so far as to file a federalcomplaint. Comically, and sadly, we had federal tax dollars being spent to investigate my playing time decisions, while local tax dollars were being spent for our school district’s lawyer to defend those decisions……it was crazy. I wish I could tell some of the tales of parental interactions, either that I’ve experienced or heard about, it would be great reading. But, it’s not my intentions to single out or embarrass anyone…..again, it’s simply my intentions tocause taught. I have no doubt that there were plenty more that at least occassionally questioned what I did, but only 3 major issues in 29 years is a pretty small number.
I love Pop….he’s the best thing about the NBA. He hasn’t allowed the ‘me first’/’hey look at me’ generation of basketball players to infiltrate his team. They are about team first. But,I actually kinda disagree with his quote in this picture. Not in spirit, because a coach can’t care about who gets how many minutes…his/her priority has to be: ‘what’s best for the team’ period. But, literally, it wouldn’t be accurate if I said I didn’t care. I absolutely hated when I couldn’t give good kids, that worked hard, more playing time……..hated it! And so do most coaches I know. The issue of playing time is a brutal one for coaches and players. And, it will alwaysbe brutal. The only way to minimize it is by being as open and honest as possible with kids about their roles. I think coaches make a mistake when they assume a kid just knows. Parents and kids alike have a better chance of getting on board if there is honest communication.
Also, I implemented a substitution chart. I think this helped by taking emotion out of playing time decisions…..I didn’t sub a kid out because I got mad at them during a game or forgot to get someone in. I think this is really helpful on sub-varsity teams, and is something I will post more about soon.
Best of luck to those of you involved in the playoffs!