How to Manage Difficult Parents | Grassroots Football Guide

tired of difficult parents interfering with your coaching? check out our guide on how to manage difficult sports parents!

[santiago-kqnd]

I appreciate your videos. I’m a 10 year girls varsity high school coach, first year competitive club coach in Phoenix, Arizona. These videos have helped tremendously .

[erhino]

While I see the agreement being a good option, I love the tips of what to say. I do use the what not to say…CLEAR IT being the first on the list. I have been blessed with great parents. Ended a run of 9 U to 15 U with the same core. Now back with an 11 U, again with great parents.

Now, opponents parents, they sometimes need work. I am our culture keeper and very protective. I will address an opponents sideline at halftime.

Talking to/at players on the sideline happens way too often. Worth that reminder. I am extra protective post pandemic. When one of my top backs wanted to get off the parent sideline I wrote down the things she heard and read them out loud. Another I heard them yelling to an injured player to stop faking it. They were sitting apart from parents of a player I had coached. They gave me a thumbs up after addressing them, and I understood why there was a gap between them and the rest of their team parents.

One other thing is letting parents have the freedom to check each other. Everyone gets excited, bothered by perceived missed calls, but they need to protect the kids experience, and there is nothing they yell can help.

One of my favorite parents was also a coach, couldn’t help himself, so I finally assigned him the owners box, and made him stat keeper. Anytime he got vocal, I added a stat to keep. He actually figured out when I tried to make him track missed passes.

[mcshaz]

Great video - thank you. The title of this video is obviously made for coaches, but it makes it hard to direct other parents to this video because that would suggest they are "difficult parents". In fact they are not, but sideline encouragement could become more finessed and beneficial for the players and team as a whole. What about something like "helping your kids develop as footballers from the sideline"? Potentially even another video if you are looking for content, with some discussion with a parent and young player? Thanks again - I love your content.

[josew.]

Some good tips, but I partially disagree on letting parents shout any instructions whatsoever. I was clear with the parents form the beginning "please do not give the kids any instructions, leave that to me! words of encouragement, cheering, yes totally!" and I stand by it.

I'm also clear at the beginning that if I'm not myself giving instructions every second, is on purpose, I need to let the kids make decisions on their own, part of their learning, which you briefly mentioned near the end.

So for me, is no instructions from parents of any kind, otherwise can get confusing, and can escalate quickly.

And I would like to get some help on how to approach parents politely that are not behaving, I'm really a non-confrontational guy, so help or wording greatly appreciated!

thanks for the vids, I really enjoy them and have picked up several good tips!

[Itsmechoua]

Thank you for the tips. I’m a soccer aunt and these tips are very helpful. I’ve never thought of asking a question before. I will have to use that at my nephew’s soccer season. Thanks again. 😊

[chrisreinholdt]

Silent sideline. 😅

Great ideas for shouty parents. Thanks

[jarlathoneill]

Just getting started in underage coaching. Great tips cheers

[eddygoodwin]

How do you deal with coach’s favoring there own child

[johnmackinnon]

Ben,
I noticed within the subjects of the parent agreement was philosophy. What is your philosophy on coaching your players?

[hayesdabney]

There`s a book called _Happy Feet_ that helped me!