Developing Parents as Partners

From the Fall 2008 PLC Newsletter:

Undoubtedly one of the biggest issues that coaches discuss in our PLC workshops is how to effectively communicate with parents. In this issue of the PLC Newsletter we will briefly review the strategies in “Part 6: Developing Parents as Partners” of the SAM workshop and invite you to share your best practices or discussion topics on this blog.

1. Get on the same page. Parents and coaches want the same thing: for their children to become Champions! Parents should help coaches to become aware of their children’s particular needs, while coaches should make parents aware of the needs of the entire team. Coaches: send and introductory letter at the beginning of the year and invite parents to a preseason meeting (See www.playlikeachampion.org/coaches/parents.html)

2. Encourage parents to keep their expectations in perspective. The odds of a high school athlete becoming a professional athlete are less than 1 in 13,000 according to a study published by the NCAA: http://www.ncaa.org/research/prob_of_competing/index.html.

3. Encourage parents to act as parents. Children need their parents to positively motivate them. Coaches: help parents to understand the importance of PLC’s GROW philosophy.

4. Promote positive sideline behavior. Coaches: set expectations for positive behavior and clearly define unacceptable behavior.

5. Solicit parents’ input at the end of the season. Download copies of the Parent Survey on our website Coaches Page (www.playlikeachampion.org/coaches/surveys.html) or make copies of the survey from the back of your manual. This information will help you and PLC continue to improve.

Effective Communication Tips:

• Pre-season communication: letter and pre-season meeting.
• Establish specific times to be available to talk on the phone or by email.
• Appoint a parent liaison, a team manager, or Champion Committee.
• Collect post-season evaluations from parents and athletes.
• Host a post-season celebration.
• Send weekly email updates or create a team website. Do not communicate when either you or the parent is angry.

Please share your comments, best practices and strategies that you have used to develop parents as partners.