Reply to Rec sports -- ever have a coach that is condescending to kids?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The problem is there is always a shortage of Rec League Coaches.  I have coached and have been an assistant.  And I assisted on a team where the coach only wanted help when he could not make it.  Rec Coaches do not get paid.  [b] If you are not happy, volunteer.  [/b]You know as much as the coach does.

[/quote]

+1   I've known parents with zero experience of soccer coaching at this age.  It's house soccer, for goodness sakes.  My kids, now in HS have had everything under the sun in terms of coaches in several sports.  Some good, some bad, just like their teachers.   Somehow they've managed to survive without me hovering or interceding.    If you're worried this guys style you can discuss it with him or pull your kid.  This is just recreation, after all.

What I would say from what I have seen is that coaches, like teachers, appreciate those who are easiest to teach -- these are going to be the kids who are into the subject/sport and not goofing off all the time.   I know sometimes with my boys, coaches have started out very stern to set the tone, then loosened up as the kids have shown they can follow the rules and everyone knows each other better.  Your son's coach may be doing everyone a favor by actually laying down some rules and structure.  The kids who are into the sport are going to appreciate it and the ones who aren't won't feel so out of control or anger from their teammates.  I can remember my oldest griping about kids who goofed off when he was on a rec league at 8.  Think he might have appreciated your son's coach.  [/quote]

+1.  When I coached, most people thought I was a asshole after the first practice or two.  Once I got the structure and the sense of discipline I wanted, I eased up a lot.  But I needed to set the tone that while the sport is "fun," it still requires hard work.  I also told all of my teams (and their parents) that during practice and games, they were to listen to me and the assistants first and their paretns second.  I would not not have worded it the way that coach did, but I made it clear that I was not going to battling a parent for a kid's attention during a practice or a game.

As a fellow parent, I think you have to look at your personal goals for the season. If you want your son just to have fun and hang out with buddies under the guise of soccer, that is fine.  A coach like this is probably not the best situation.  If you want your kid to have a more intense experience, develop and take the sport a bit more serious, a more serious minded coach would likely be better. As the parent of kids who played from early childhood through college and who played rec and club ball, the things you describe would not trouble me just yet.  I would need a couple more training sessions to make a decision.

Signed,

Former Rec and Club coach[/quote]

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