Stop Backseat Coaching!

“Hey, Johnny, play deep!”

“Sally, watch out for the changeup!”

It’s human nature to want to help your son or daughter succeed.  We’ve all been around, and some of you might be, the mom or dad that likes to shout instructions during a game.  I have to confess, I’ve been guilty of doing it,but I’m getting better.   It’s almost as if there’s an internal fire that forces me to help when I feel they aren’t doing what I feel is correct.  This isn’t a bad thing, it’s just something that has to be controlled, especially when you’re not the coach.

We all want our kids to be successful, but sometimes success can come in different shapes and sizes.  Success might be learning a valuable lesson about how not to position yourself in a certain situation or maybe it’s figuring out the hard way not to hang an 0-2 curveball.  You have trusted your sons and daughters to coaches who have given up their time to try and help them enjoy whatever sport they are playing.  Granted, sometimes coaches may not be the most knowledgable and you might have to have a conversation with your child at a later date, however, if at all possible, support what the coach is doing during the time he/she has with the kids.  By supporting the coach and not working against him or her, your son or daughter will have a more enjoyable experience and believe it or not, so will you.  Believe me, it’s not easy to sit back and be a spectator, but it gets easier when you keep everything in perspective.  You selected your team for a reason, let those resources do their job and I promise, everyone wins.