Building a Successful Relationship with Athlete's Parents

One of the most important speeches every coach gives doesn't happen in a locker room, on the field, or at practice. It occurs weeks before the first game, usually in an auditorium or cafeteria, of course I am talking about the preseason parents meeting. Although dealing with parents is often the last thing any coach wants to do, every experienced coach knows that it is a major part of building a successful program.

Mastering the task of communicating with parents will greatly increase any coaches approval rating, which means better job security. Where most coaches mess up when dealing with parents is by treating them like there kids that you coach everyday. You must take into account that parents are not at practice everyday, they don't understand technical jargon, and most importantly you are not their superior.

To help improve your parent communicating skills follow these guild lines and you can't go wrong:

• Always treat parents with respect and remain respectful, even if they don't do the same
• Always keep things positive, especially when talking about their children
• Set up a time and place away from games and practice to meet with parents
• Always give them your undivided attention
• Allow them to voice their opinion completely before responding

If you follow these five simple rules of parent communication, both sides will remain happy and you can stay focused on leading your team to success. Every coach knows that winning is the easiest way to solve any problem. Hope you found these tips helpful, check back next week for more.

Coach Nicholson