Eh. They are "friendships" of a sort, but situational, casual friendships. It's fine. You only need to get along well to facilitate interactions between the kids.

Youth sports in general is cut throat especially if parents are paying good money for their kids to play. Northern VA is an intense, type A driven area. Parents are brutal...watch out for the ones who cozy up to the coaches to ensure their kids continue to play. We have one Dad who acts like an ass clown on the sideline, talks about other kids play ,but hob knobs and drinks beers with several coaches. It's obvious to anyone watching what he's doing. There is something to the advice of sitting away from the other parents on the sideline and just focus on the game and your kid. Stay out of the drama that often unfolds

Coaching will likely be my retirement “fun” job. Give something back. Teach kids etc.

Anonymous wrote:More true at bigger clubs but yes. what do you think any of these 'coaches' make?

Depends on license level, experience and they are paid per team. Bigger clubs pay more. I've heard of some with as little as a C license making about 15K. i've also heard the same level coach or better making about $10k at a smaller club. There was a thread on coach pay in the past and I think clubs like Loudoun, Arlington, McLean and Bethesda paid the highest.

The parents are either normal or intense and negative. It is similar to all samples of families. The only difference is that in sport that intesity and negativity is on display much faster and is more obvious.