Quote:
Originally Posted by GioforPM
In fairness, he may not have known he was contradicting (but what coach doesn't tell his defencemen to headman the puck up the ice as the first option).
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This is why it's just as important to inform the parents of a few things before the season as a coach (whether the coach is another parent or an outsider):
- Explain your philosophies and the basics of what you will be trying to teach the kids. Having the parents understand what you're trying to do is key.
- We would, in a nice way, proactively tell the parents to keep their coaching to themselves. We are the coaches, and any advice a parent looks to give could be contradictory. If a parent has questions or wants to help the improvement of their kid, go to the coach first and discuss your concerns. This way, your post game comments can be relevant and supportive rather than potentially confusing. We would always say that we are happy to discuss anything with parents as long as things remain civil. Yelling and stamping of the feet will be met with a swift turn-and-leave.
- Suggestions to the coaches for line combos, powerplay structures or really any part of the coaches will be flat out ignored. We may stand there and nod our heads, but we're not listening.
It's not a "I know hockey better than anyone so dont question" thing, it's an attempt at consistency for the kids and respect for each individuals roles.
Most leagues give a bunch of rules for coach-parent interaction (24 hour contact rule, talk to managers not coaches, etc..). I (We) always found those rules to actually drive tension and give idiot coaches an excuse to avoid contact with parents almost completely. We would basically say "Hey, these are technically the rules, but we don't want to deal with that nonsense. We're all adults and we're happy to talk with people anytime about their kids or the team overall, as long as the conversations remain reasonable. If you're angry about something, we suggest collecting your thoughts and coming to us when you're more calm. Otherwise we have to impose these rules which we really don't want to do."
Anyways, this is getting away from the "Elite Hockey" thing. Just want to point out that as your kid goes to higher levels, they take parents out of coaching and bring in people for specific reasons. As a parent, if you want your kid to get the most benefit out of these things, you have to let them go into it open. Even if you think the coach is a moron (there are plenty), telling a kid not to pay attention and do their own thing doesn't help anyone, hurts the team overall, and thus stunts the growth of the kids. Kids learn best when they enjoy what they do. Drawing the ire of coaches and other players through selfishness provoked by a parents need to see their kid on for each PP minute or whatever will not help them.
Not to mention, all coaches talk. All. If you're an idiot parent, word gets around pretty fast and it will keep your kid off teams they could rightfully deserve to make. Even if the kid is a gem of a human, having a crappy parent will deter some. I've seen it first hand multiple times. You want to give your kid an extra edge? Start by looking at yourself and how you treat them, their teammates, and their coaches.
/tldr
Parents, let coaches do their jobs and don't be idiots. Sounds pretty simple but apparently it's not.
EDIT: I'm also all for noisemakers . It's a sport, it's supposed to be fun and for the kids. And there's no doubt they enjoy it more when the fans (ie their parents) are loud. Use them to cheer your team, not jeer the others. If other parents are finding them annoying it's usually one of two reasons a) you're being obnoxious with it or b) their kids team is losing and their butthurt about it.