Gifts to coaches, what's OK?

[Anonymous]

My high school freshman plays two sports. Both sports have multiple coaches, all of whom seem like great guys, but he has one assistant coach who coaches both sports and seems to concentrate on the JV athletes, and has gone above and beyond in a number of ways for my son, such as helping him with his homework during the study hall they have with practice, or working him to help him catch up with the more experienced athletes. Recently, this coach has also driven my son and another boy who lives across the street to and from several matches and tournaments, including bringing him home at midnight after a late event. I don't have a car so this was quite helpful, although in each case I was fully prepared to figure out another plan for my son.

I was thinking of getting him a gas gift card as a way to say thank you, and to alleviate the cost of driving, but I'm not sure what MCPS's rules are. For the fall sport, I contributed to the team gift to the coaches, and assume that I'll do the same for the winter sport, or if no one's collecting, I'll get something small for each at the end of the season, but this would be just for the one coach. My concern is whether there are rules about them accepting a gift, or about how much I can put on it, and whether it would be looked at as an attempt to gain special treatment for my son. I also worry about the fact that I'm just giving it to one coach, but I feel like a gas card makes it more likely that it would be seen as "thank you specifically for driving" rather than favoritism. Finally, I worry that the coach might feel as though he's obligated to drive every time if I've given the card, and I don't want that.

What do you think? Good idea? Bad idea? How much would you put on the card?

[Anonymous]

I like the idea. Its original and necessary.