athlete with cancer...coaches don't want liability of her playing????

Submitted by lisa lewis on Fri, 11/14/2008 - 08:47.

Our daughter has gone a round with cancer in the last year--just as she entered high school volleyball...her health is good but we do travel away fairly often for scans and care which creates alot of misinformation and gossip about her status. Our daughter's coaches are under tremendous pressure to play some of the girls who have insistant parents, regardless of their child's ability. They seem to cave to this pressure and the result is that our daughter sits and her "perceived" health is used as a convenient excuse. The team is suffering by all this--not just our daughter. We also wonder if there is some liability issue lurking or that has been planted in the minds of these coaches..?

Does anyone have experience with a child w/disability or illness? Anyone here who has sought a legal remedy? How would we go about this?

BTW--we have the same coaches for school and club ball. It's a small town. The athletic director is one of our coaches dearest friends so we have no recourse there.

Who are the oversight entities for high school sports beyond my town? How do I figure out who these are for club?

Thanks for any advice...appreciate

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I usually stay away from playing time issues but......

Submitted by Kirk Mango on Sat, 11/15/2008 - 15:50.

Normally, I shy away from commenting on playing time issues. There is just so many different scenarios and opinions on the subject, and it is hard to get an accurate picture through just reading someone’s post. You have some that believe, even in competitive high school sports, that not only should everyone make the team but all should play equally. On the other hand you have others that believe cuts in high school at all levels are a normal part of the competitive sports experience but also that playing time should be strictly based on what will help the team "win" games. Two very different perspectives, both of which seem to be supported by the individual making them. In addition there are countless other issues and variables that seem to factor in - perception of favoritism, lack of ability, lack of effort/work ethic, behavioral issues, etc. etc. Throw in the issue you present and everything gets even more complicated.

Even though I do not normally comment on this type of issue, in your scenario, I felt compelled to make a couple of points.

1. Are the coaches truly aware of the issues you and your daughter are facing? If not, it is a very important issue that they should be made completely aware of.

2. If there is no issue regarding her safety because of her condition the coaches should be made aware of that as well. If there are no issues, her condition should not be used to judge whether she should be able to play or not, unless, of course, she is missing practices.

3. Has your daughter had any discussion with the coaches on how they feel she is performing at practice? She wants to get questions answered like: whether they believe she is putting forth the efforts they want to see, has the ability to excel in the position she plays (and if not where she should concentrate her efforts), anything else they would like to see her do, and what exactly she will need to accomplish in order to make the competitive floor, starting line-up or whatever it is that she is looking for.

4. If your daughter is not clear on the answers she was given regarding the above then it might be time for you to ask. This only after your daughter has made the effort herself and still comes away with an unclear picture of what she needs to do. And, most importantly, that you are absolutely sure your daughter is fully vested in wanting to gain more playing time and is OK with you getting involved. If so, I would always keep your questions centered on what your daughter needs to do and nothing else. Stay completely away from making judgments or coaching type of "decisions" that involve other players on the team or your daughter.

I hope this helps at least a little. I am open to a much more detailed discussion if you wish, and if what I have presented does not seem to fit your needs.

All my best

Kirk Mango
Becoming a True Champion

Replying to athlete with cancer

Submitted by Donald Collins, J.D. on Sun, 01/11/2009 - 23:38.

Lisa:

     You raised a lot of issues here.  Let me break them down and see if I can offer any guidance.

1. Playing Time: You mentioned that there are a lot of insistent parents involved in your school and your club program.  Well, that's a problem - both for the non-insistent parents and for the coaches.  Think about it.  Would you want to coach if a bunch of parents were constantly pressuring you? 

     At the school level you may be able to get some help as your school's coach probably has a strong interest in being left alone and not pressured by parents.  What you need is for the school's principal and athletic director to produce a written document that sets out parent expectations.  One of those expectations should be that playing time is off-limits, and there should be some sanction for any parent who broaches the issue with a coach or other school official.   

     Barring discussions of playing time doesn't mean that the parents have no right to speak.  There should be a preseason, midseason and end of year state of the team meeting with the coach.  The coach can also hold in-season discussions and field questions - just not about the off-limit areas like playing time and any other off-limit area that your school sets out.  It is also very important for the parents to have an end of year forum to let the school administration know how they felt the year went. 

     The procedures set out above protect everybody.  They protect the quiet parents from believing that verbal pressure translates into increased playing time.  They protect the coach from pressure, and they protect the loud parents from resentment.

     You can try to implement these procedures at the club level.  However, you should note that clubs are private entities.  They are governed by so many different factors that it is hard to tell what will work in a club and what won't: it depends on the club.  That's one of the things that makes school sports special.  For the most part, school sports can reflect the values that people in most communities hold dear.

2. Health Issues: Most schools require athletes to have some sort of release from a physician.  This is commonly part of a preparticipation physical exam.  If your state - or school - requires a preparticipation physical exam and part of that exam is the disclosure of a medical history then your school will benefit from knowing whether you have a physician's clearance to play.  Now, some schools may still be wary of some of the issues that you raised.  If that is the case, a consult with the school's risk management team or legal team will generally allow you and the school to implement travel protocols for your road trips.  Please note that this answer may or may not apply to your club as clubs are run in so many different ways that one would need to know more about the club to give the best answer.

     You will notice that I separated your issues.  The playing time issue is distinct from the cancer issue.  Separating the issues will hopefully let you see that there is a possibility that you can resolve each issue separately by working as a team with your school.  When you combine the issues, things appear more hostile than they might need to be.  Now, having said this, I'm not part of your school so there may be facts that I am not privy to.  However, if you separate those facts into their distinct components and attack them one at a time you may find success in addressing them.