Please. Let the Coaches Coach.

This is my first year as a football mom - but I've logged many hours as a softball, baseball and swimming mom - it seems the politics behind youth sports are pretty universal. The kids are awesome. The volunteer coaches are wonderful and giving with their time and encouragement. Some officials are fallible - but generally not evil and paid pretty much nothing to be frequently abused.

The parents can be a nightmare.

At Charlie’s football game yesterday, I saw parents during the game telling the coach to put their kid in and others telling him to pull their kid out. No one likes their kid on the bench - but during game time is not when to raise these concerns – nor in the case of a teenage child – should the parent be the one to do this.

Let you child be their own advocate - quit fighting their battles - if your child wants more play time - first earn it on the field, second let them talk to the coach themselves, preferably at practice. It’s part of growing up, and I would think to your average 13 year old boy it would be embarrassing to have your parent telling your coach when he should or shouldn’t play you.

I also saw my son's team get totally downtrodden based on some bad calls largely because of spectator reaction to those calls. Don't yell at the referees from the bleachers. It makes the team look like sore sports and this needs to be the coaches battle, not the kids and certainly not the parents. I have always told my kids it is not their job to worry about bad officiating – because it to easily becomes an excuse not to perform. It makes me nuts to have the kids more focused on how unfair a call was than getting ready for the next play or encouraging their teammates. Parents hollering on the sidelines about the officials just reinforces this.

Stepping down from soapbox now.