My Son Was Yelled at by Another Parent – Advice from our Youth Coach Advisory Group

Parent Question: My eight-year-old came off the field last week in tears. A father on the team had been yelling at and coaching him from the sidelines. He has done this before.  I have been tempted to confront him the next time he does but am looking for a better way to handle it.

Expert Responses

We received seven expert responses from Youth Coach Advisory Group members Cat Ruesch, Danielle Fagan, Allie Galoob, Hazen Sewell, Dai Drewood, Candice Fabry, Steph Hempen 

HERE IS ONE:

Parents are really important to the development process and are active participants in a player’s participation and development. Having parents who support a development mindset and a safe (psychological and physical) environment are huge assets to any club, and clubs should help support these parents. However, I would not recommend confronting the parent , but would recommend the following. 

  Let the coach know about the behavior from the parent. A club should have a policy that parents agree to for their behavior as spectators, so the coach should now address this behavior with the parent, remind them about the agreement, and educate them on the importance of a safe environment for youth players. 

Secondly, keep modeling good behavior; we need more parents who do this, and share this with the parents around you, so a positive, proactive approach will be more impactful than what could end up being a confrontation with another parent. 

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