The other day I was consulting with a parent board of directors.
I mentioned that a surprising number of gymnastics coaches are nervous to speak with parents and terrified of parent Board of Directors.
Wag Stephen Neal interjected, “They are PARENTnoid.”
The perfect word!
Successful coaches over the long-term learn to work closely with parents. Once parents understand the goals of the program, once parents are on-side with the goals of the coach, success is almost guaranteed.
Athletes all have ups and downs during their athletic careers. Every once in a while almost every athlete has the urge to quit. (Often later greatly regretting it.)
But I can think of dozens of times over my coaching career when myself and the parents were so committed to the goals of the program, that the athlete had no option to quit.
If the parent has questions about the program, the athlete is far more likely to drop out at a low point.
Related post:
Gymnastics Coaching.com 