ODAAT
Registered User
I coached at various levels for many years, absolutely loved working with kids, teaching them while at the same time placing an emphasis on enjoying the game.
I won`t say the only reason I stepped away from coaching was the parents but it got worse over the years, often many of them calling me at home stating their case for why their kid should be on the ice every other shift etc....
My dad was not a hockey dad in the sense that he`d interfere with coaching and coaching decisions but the moment I stepped into the car he was on my a** for something. I`m not a shrinking violet, constructive criticism I can handle but I recall one incident where my only responsibility was to shut down a kid from the other team who was their biggest offensive threat.
I did just that and chipped in a goal (remember it like it was yesterday), my coaches after the game gave me the "game puck", I was on cloud 9, got into the car and Dad (may he rest in peace) pointed out the 2-3 times that the kid I was suppose to shadow was able to get a bit too much space on me and how those times could have cost us the game if he converted his chances. While perhaps not untrue, it was comments like this that just took the wind out of my sails eventually.
Parents need to stay the he** out of their kids way, let them enjoy this beautiful game
I won`t say the only reason I stepped away from coaching was the parents but it got worse over the years, often many of them calling me at home stating their case for why their kid should be on the ice every other shift etc....
My dad was not a hockey dad in the sense that he`d interfere with coaching and coaching decisions but the moment I stepped into the car he was on my a** for something. I`m not a shrinking violet, constructive criticism I can handle but I recall one incident where my only responsibility was to shut down a kid from the other team who was their biggest offensive threat.
I did just that and chipped in a goal (remember it like it was yesterday), my coaches after the game gave me the "game puck", I was on cloud 9, got into the car and Dad (may he rest in peace) pointed out the 2-3 times that the kid I was suppose to shadow was able to get a bit too much space on me and how those times could have cost us the game if he converted his chances. While perhaps not untrue, it was comments like this that just took the wind out of my sails eventually.
Parents need to stay the he** out of their kids way, let them enjoy this beautiful game