One of the biggest battles a youth coach faces is not one of managing the children and making sure they learn how to communicate and work together on the pitch, but rather one of managing the parents and making sure they understand how to communicate and work together off the pitch.

Of course all parents are their to support their children and to offer the best advice they can, and in an ideal world this would be great – we actively encourage and even coach parents and teachers on how to effectively support and boost their child’s self esteem, confidence, and teamwork skills.  The main issue during a sporting event is that there are inevitably conflicting instructions being shouted from all areas of the playing area.  One parent will be shouting “pass”, another parent shouting “get rid of it” another shouting “run with it” all at the same time.  Who should the child be listening to?  What will happen if they listen to the wrong advice?

Usually in this situation the child will panic and make a snap decision, or not make a decision at all, instead freezing.  Which ever he/she does, there is usually a chorus of sighs and comments shouted back from the parents again.  This only serves to compound the feeling of fear and apprehension in the child’s mind, making the situation even worse the next time, and the time after that etc.

What we should be doing is leaving all instructions for the coach to calmly communicate to the children.  Parent’s participation should be limited to encouragement and support of both teams, keeping instructions to a level of “good play”, “nice try”, or if words are not fitting, just a gentle applause.  Even if they don’t succeed in a particular move, you can still encourage the intent behind it.  The coach will have worked with the children to establish a formation and playing style, and will have built a working rapport with the children, and this structure and routine should be apparent in the game to give the children a foundation to develop their skills.

At game intervals the children should be with the coach to receive further instructions, and to gel with their teammates.  As much as parents would want to encourage their children and give their own advice on tactics, the child should be getting instructions from the coach.  It’s only fair on the rest of the team that they work as a team and follow the same plan.

So, next time you’re at a game, try to leave the match instructions to the coach, and let all of the parents pull together in support for both teams.  You’ll be surprised how much fun the children will have, and how soon the successful results will start to flood in for your child both on and off the pitch!