Parent Politics
- Thread starter thatch62
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It comes with the territory, and if ADs and administrators don't back up coaches, then parents will cause problems. The typical process:
1) Complaining parent causes problems, maybe going to AD and principal.
2) Coach must meet with parent, with AD in room if it seems warranted
3) Parent then goes to AD
4) Unsatisfied parent goes to principal
Given that athletic directors in public schools have many programs to supervise and not much time to do so, it's possible the AD will buckle. And a parent who's well connected with the school board and superintendent may have more juice than the principal, so the principal might fold too.
At that point, the coach either resigns or gives in ...
Usually, though, there's enough support administratively that a single parent eventually loses. But if a bunch of parents are involved, different story ...
1) Complaining parent causes problems, maybe going to AD and principal.
2) Coach must meet with parent, with AD in room if it seems warranted
3) Parent then goes to AD
4) Unsatisfied parent goes to principal
Given that athletic directors in public schools have many programs to supervise and not much time to do so, it's possible the AD will buckle. And a parent who's well connected with the school board and superintendent may have more juice than the principal, so the principal might fold too.
At that point, the coach either resigns or gives in ...
Usually, though, there's enough support administratively that a single parent eventually loses. But if a bunch of parents are involved, different story ...
When things go south, it's usually due to a combination of failures from parents, coaches, and administrators. Getting kind of tired of the string of superficial articles dumping all the blame (or 90% of it) on parents. Let's face it. If a coach really knows the job, and is backed up by administration, there aren't going to be that many disgruntled parents, and the exceptions aren't going to get much traction.
Parents now days are so worried about playing time and what can you do for me syndrome that the coaches are put into a position where they can’t please everyone. Once one parent feels that their child is not the special one they begin to undermine the coach. Parents need to let the coaches coach and let the student athlete earn the playing time.
Coaches could never please everyone ... I've been at this a while, and there have always been, and always will be, parents who want more for their children than their children deserve.
What's changed, I think, is that the administrative structures in schools -- especially public schools -- are much more sensitive to parental pressure, and all in all, that's probably a good thing. Coaches with weak ADs and wimpy principals are, sadly, the primary collateral damage.
What's changed, I think, is that the administrative structures in schools -- especially public schools -- are much more sensitive to parental pressure, and all in all, that's probably a good thing. Coaches with weak ADs and wimpy principals are, sadly, the primary collateral damage.
Another huge factor: Walk-on coaches have little or no leverage these days. It's much easier to jettison a walk-on than a full-time, tenured teacher/coach. And there are lots of walk-ons coaching girls' basketball.
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It's interesting ... back in the '60s and '70s, before teachers' unions (which I'm in favor of, just to be clear), P.E. teachers were required to coach as part of their job description. The union contracts, however, prohibited making extracurricular activities mandatory, so all of a sudden, schools no longer had a dedicated pool of on-campus staff as coaches.
Given the compensation for coaching -- which has changed little in 50 years -- as P.E. teachers got older, they became less interested in coaching and opted out, thus leaving ADs and administrators scrambling.
So if you want better coaching with more administrative support, one way would be to increase coaching salaries (I know it won't happen). If coaching paid more, then more on-campus staff would be interested, and the quality of off-campus coaching would rise. And administrators would now have more invested in their coaches and perhaps support them more.
Given the compensation for coaching -- which has changed little in 50 years -- as P.E. teachers got older, they became less interested in coaching and opted out, thus leaving ADs and administrators scrambling.
So if you want better coaching with more administrative support, one way would be to increase coaching salaries (I know it won't happen). If coaching paid more, then more on-campus staff would be interested, and the quality of off-campus coaching would rise. And administrators would now have more invested in their coaches and perhaps support them more.
Additionally, in the '60s and '70s, there were no comprehensive sports programs for girls. Now, with girls getting an equal shot at competitive athletics, the need for coaches has doubled, compounding personnel issues for schools. Furthermore, new sports have been added as well. Lacrosse comes to mind immediately.
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