Pitfalls to avoid as parent coaches

Here are 5 tips to help parent coaches be a better parent.

1.  Do not show favoritism to your child
This is one of the more common pitfall's that I encounter as a youth sports coach.   The best advice I can give is to create team rules and enforce team rules equally for all players.  Favoring one child above another can cause resentment and harm him or her socially.

2.  Likewise do not be overly hard on your child.
As a parent-coach it is easy to fall in to the trap of over-compensating for perceived favoritism by being too critical of your child.   Unnecessarily pressuring any child can result in negative outcomes, and hurt your parent-child relationship.

3.  Do not hold you child to a higher standard then the other players
This is much like being to hard on your child, but for a different reason.   Here the coaching parent may feel that their own child is some how a representation of his or her coaching abilities.   As a result you demand perfection while forgetting that your child is just that, a child. 

That leads us to the next tip.

4.  Leave it on the field
Try not to bring the game home with you.  Coaching critiques belong in practices and games, not the dinner table. If your child wants to discuss something about the game, try to discuss it as his/her parent not as the coach.

5.  Understand your child is not you.
You child is playing, not you.  The glory days of travel soccer, HS football or state championship swimming are well behind you.  Simply put, do not be disappointed if your child does not excel in the same way you did.  Keep the focus on the child doing his or her personal best and having FUN, rather than how the child measures up to your abilities.