Table of Contents
Introduction: Don't Ruin Her Big Day
Mom & Dad's Job
All the World's a Critic
Is Now a Good Time Coach?
Meet the Parents
When Social Media Plays Dirty
If You Ask Me, Sweetheart...
Don't Get Me Started on Your Coach
What's Your Coach See in Emma?
Apples & Oranges
Remote Control Dad
The Parent Coach: Enter with Caution
Perspective: Hard to Keep, Worse to Lose
Check out the excerpts below, to help give you an idea of what kind of content you can expect to find inside the book.
Chapter 3
All the World’s a Critic
We know how hard refereeing is just by listening to sports announcers on television, who, after watching a close play over and over at super slow-motion from five different angles, still can’t figure it out and say something like: ‘I don’t know Jim, that could go either way.” Or one of my favorites: “That’s a good no call, he did get there early and hit him, but you don’t want to call that at this stage of the game.” What? Now referees are supposed to have two sets of rules depending on the time of the game, where it happens on the field or the score of the game?
I think we can cut our youth sports referees some serious slack; they do a really good job overall.
Chapter 7
If You Ask Me, Sweetheart...
When I finally took my friend’s advice the change was very noticeable. After the game I would tell her I loved her, I was proud of her, and that I loved watching her play. That was it. The rest of the time we talked about other stuff, which wasn’t hard, once I remembered that sports were only one part of our total relationship.
Usually, after a while, she would start to talk about the game and how she wished she had done this or that better. I just listened, and by the time we were home the game was behind us and we were ready to get on with our day.
Chapter 6
When Social Media Plays Dirty
Let’s start with the “local sports blogs” or community forums. You know the ones. On the surface, they seem innocent enough: a place for sharing team updates, game photos, and positive recognition. But dig just a little deeper, and you’ll find comment sections that make you lose faith in humanity. What should be a highlight reel too often turns into a roast session. Of course, it is anonymous, unfiltered, and usually written by someone with a keyboard and a vendetta.
Here’s the thing: anonymity is courage’s evil twin. It gives people the confidence to say things they’d never dare say out loud. It’s easy to spread rumors, trash-talk a coach, or ridicule a kid’s performance when you don’t have to put your name next to your comment.
Chapter 13
Perspective: Hard to Keep, Worse to Lose
Here lies the challenge when someone like me writes a book asking parents to “keep youth sports in perspective.” Most parents believe in their heart they are keeping it in perspective, but they see it from their own experiences, their knowledge and their emotional connection to the child on the court. In other words, their perspective.
To illustrate how perspective works, allow me to pose a question. Is duck hunting a good thing? Well, that depends, are you asking from the hunter’s perspective or the duck’s? At the risk of irritating my son-in-law, I am on the duck’s side.
Have you ever watched a game where you have no emotional stake? You don’t know anyone on either team and don’t care who wins or loses? Maybe you are waiting for your daughter’s game to start so you are just sitting on the cooler chillin’. A bad call by the ref? A player’s mistake? A questionable coaching decision? It barely registers. Sometimes it’s even amusing, and you may even have a moment of empathy for the ref or coach.
