A Warning to Sideline "Coaches": Just Let The Players Play

Submitted by Barbara Bleiweis on Wed, 03/28/2012 - 19:57. | comments

Australian tennis pro Bernard Tomic made an unusual request last weekend to the chair umpire during his quarter-final match at the Sony Ericsson Tennis Open in Miami.

During a changeover he asked to have his dad "banished from the stands." Seems his dad was, according to an article in USA Today, "noticeably upset with his son's performance", which the reader and fans might conclude, would impact Tomic's ability to focus. "He's annoying me. I know he's my father, but he's annoying me. I want him to leave as soon as possible," Tomic reportedly told the umpire.

As a sports parent and an official, I have witnessed first hand the effects of inappropriate sideline coaching from parents. Players rarely perform better when adults other than their coaches bark commands, make faces, gestures or statements intended to motivate. While some would argue that such behavior is well meaning or overzealous, I respectfully disagree. Such behavior is disrespectful and detrimental to the game, coaches, team, parents, and most of all, the players.

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Jack a Single

Submitted by Craig Morton on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 18:40. | comments

Do what you can and trust your team. We learned that last week.

Boy we had a blast at out baseball tournament last week. Our boys showed a lot of determination, integrity, and ingenuity. They even trusted their coaches.

On our first day of the tournament, we lost two games. One was close, the other we got mercy-ruled. On the next day of pool play we won both games. Decisively! Going into bracket play then we had a 2-2 record, but with 25 runs scored in the previous day's play, we got a second seed.

Setting Boundaries But Supporting Independence Work Best For Sports Parents, Study Says

Parents who set boundaries and expectations for their teenage daughters but encouraged independence within those limits were better able to gauge their child's mood, provide feedback on their child's sports performance at the right time, and maintain open lines of communication, a Canadian study finds.

Game Day