The most successful youth sports seasons are the ones that begin with a pre-season meeting for parents, players, coaches and team administrators.
A preseason meeting sets a positive tone for the season by opening the lines of communication early so that everyone - parents, athletes, coaches and team parents - understands and agrees on what they expect from one another.
If your child's coach calls for a preseason meeting, be sure to attend. It is never a waste of time.
If one isn't planned, ask for one.
What to Expect
A good preseason meeting:
- Gives parents the opportunity to find out the coach's style, philosophy (especially with respect to playing time, expectations and goals for the upcoming season.
- Gives the coach a chance to set expectations for parents in terms of sideline behavior, getting players to practices and games on time and in uniform, etc.
- Provides an opportunity for coaches and parents to develop a team charter
- Provides an opportunity to set behavioral boundaries to prevent abuse and harassment.
- Gives coaches a chance to educate parents on the rules (parents sometimes forget that the rules aren't always the same as the pros or older kids use; knowing the rules can prevent misunderstandings during the season) and, particularly in winter contact and collision sports such as hockey, basketball, and wresting, on the important subject of concussions.
- Allows for an exchange of important information between coaches and parents (e-mail addresses, phone numbers, season schedule, maps to away games etc.)
- Provides a forum for parents to have their questions or concerns answered
- Offers parents a chance to become involved in the team as more than just a spectator, such as by becoming a team administrator (a/k/a "team parent"), organizing a "water and orange" schedule, getting and distributing directions to away games, organizing car pools or helping out at practices.
Adapted from the book, Home Team Advantage: The CriticalRole of Mothers in Youth Sports (HarperCollins 2006) by Brooke de Lench, Founder of MomsTeam.com.
Revised November 25, 2011
