Over The Top Parents

The annoying parent comes in two basic models. First is the parent who knows it all. They never played the game they are yelling about, and they certainly don’t know the rules. They are venting a long seeded failure, whether real or not from their past journey through childhood and youth sports. You can tell these parents at a game because they are constantly chirping at the officials and yell out when it is quiet around them. They are usually hidden in the crowd so they have some sort of “protection” from the officials’ wary eye and ears. They comer to the game, no matter what game it is feeling that we, and by “we” I mean the children playing vicariously through these parents twisted emotions of entitlement and frustration.

            They have decided even before the game that the officials “suck” and they will not be getting a fair deal during the game. They also firmly believe that the officials favor the other team and are looking for ways to screw their team, and by “their” I mean their children’s team, a team of course they are not playing on.

The second kind is the one that wants everyone to think he knows it all. His son or daughter is the “best” player on the team, and by that I mean the father is TOTALLY responsible for that talent and he and his sibling are a team in the journey through youth sports. And By team, I mean the father dictates to the child what team they play on, who they hang around with and what coach should be coaching the next great player, i.e. Their child. If the coach is playing their child the most and putting he or her up on a pedestal the coach is a great coach. If they are losing he will haves suggestions, I by that I mean criticisms of the coach and will gladly tell people about the college coach who thinks their child is awesome. He will talk to you, maybe, if your kid is not a scrub. He holds court, mostly with fathers of other players who want to be able to tell their friends connected to the sport that they are close with the best player’s father and their son has been to their house.

 They will stand in the entrance, not to close, of the event their child is playing in making sure all who come in see them and if so fortunate, will be given a few minutes of the father’s time to tell them how great his own son is and where the D 1 scholarships are coming from as they decide on their children’s future, never once involving the child in this discussion.

IEvery team has one, and if you don’t see either one of these personalities on your childs  team, kit may be because……YOU ARE THAT PARENT

You can follow Vj on twitter @VJJStanley, facebook at frozenshorts, Linkedin, His website frozenshorts.com ( subscribe to his weekly newsletter) and his email vj@frozenshorts.com

His book Stop The tsunami in Youth sports is available throught his website in paperback and e reader.