Dirty Little Secret
High school coaches, if you were to catch them in a candid moment at your local tavern, say some pretty nasty things about the parents. It is isn't often they say it in public. But I give the recently resigned soccer coach in Snohomish, Washington credit for admitting to the newspapers what so many coaches today believe: parents are too involved.
Many coaches who resign would leave it at wanting to spend more time with their family, which Coach Kesim does want to do. However, Kesim also stated clearly, "The parents' involvement was more than I wished." Which is a nice way of saying, "I hated the parents."
High school coaches faces a great deal of pressure in the high stakes world of varsity athletics. AAU and club-team coaches are promising scholarships and telling the parents only how great their child is on the field. If a coach actually begins to speak the truth, or worse yet, demand a structured and disciplened environment, parents flip out. For the varsity coach, this reality actually runs them out of coaching in order to "spend more time with family."
So thank you, Coach Kesim for telling the truth, for putting some of the culpability on the privileged parents.
posted by Mr. McNamar @ 4:36 AM
3 Comments
3 Comments:
There is a myth out there about the many scholarships in college money for HS varsity sports' team members. In many cases parents are driven by hopes of college $$ to get their child out front to the detriment of the group, school and ultimately their own child.
To the casual parent I never realized until the many colleges were picked for application purposes that NCAA level three schools do not give athletic scholarships at all.
I do hear the advertisement about autism and it tells us how few athletes make it from boy, to team to professional athlete.
Too many parents say- keep a coach (in some cases who is judged unfit by administration- as in New London) in the mythical perception that varsity sports is a pretty good path to $$$ in college and/or a career.
Reality checks are definitely needed. such a check loudly come early but a parents love is blind!
It seems to me often times that parents of highschool students often engage in what seems like "enabeling" behavior. And in the process do some pretty nasty stuff to good people.
Mike
CHARACTER EDUCATION KANSAS
Teachers do it too, as do parents about teachers, and coaches, etc. It's a vicious, vicious cycle...
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