The Important Role of a Parent

I believe the parents' role is a big part in any success we will have this season. A successful team consists of players, coaches, and parents working together with effective communication. I feel we all share the same goals for your children, and it is important for us to work together to achieve these common goals. We appreciate the sacrifice of family time on weekends and vacations, the emotional support parents provide their athletes, and family support of our program.

In building a successful program, we believe that parents will be a huge part of any success we experience, and we encourage communication between coaches, players, and parents. We also believe that we must teach athletes to work through problems independently. We ask that the player come to a coach first to discuss any problem or concern he may have. If the player and parent(s) are not satisfied with the outcome, we then ask that the parent set up a meeting with the coaching staff after a practice or at an appropriate time (I feel that after a game is not appropriate). If the parent is still not satisfied with the outcome, we will then set up a meeting with our administrative team.

We communicate the role of each player weekly. It is very important that each player accept the role they are assigned. I have found that it is not very difficult to get our players to commit to their role. Instead, it is the parent(s) that often times have a problem with the role their athlete plays. I understand that we will not please everyone and we will always have parents who have a problem with the playing time or role of their athlete. What I ask of parents is to be supportive of your son and our program by keeping negative comments about our team or coaches to yourself. Why? If our goal is to be the best basketball team we can be, it is vital that each person on our team has a positive outlook on our team. I believe that "bashing" the program, coaches, and/or other players will only create an "out" for a player. If a player hears negative comments from their parents, it often times gives them the fresh idea that  it is all right to bash other people and blame others during adverse times. We try very hard to teach our players to pull together during adverse times and learn how to control the things they have control over. All they need to control is how hard they play, carrying out the role they have been given, and to be a productive team member.

Again, we want to make this a great experience for all our players. The role of a parent is a very important part of those experiences. Please continue to be supportive to our players, our program and your son. We want you to enjoy the experience that your son will have and appreciate all you do to make us a "TEAM"