5 Ways to Speak Up as a Parent in Sports

Keeping our children safe should be a priority of all parents on the field and off the field. What gets confusing is when you have a child in a sports program and you want to try and balance your concerns with their development, or even when you are trying to understand your role in supporting a coach but not the jeopardy of your child's passion or love of the sport.  At some point, you need to be sure you are a partner in the advocacy of your athlete's health and well-being by finding ways to communicate with coaches and administrators to be sure you are all on the same page. 

Approaching a team, coach, or league about your athlete can be intimidating and at times, stressful for you both as a parent and your athlete, so let's hit on five tips to be sure you can speak up as a concerned parent that will keep things in check when it needs to be done.

1. Use the 24-hour rule to give yourself time to reflect on what is going on before you jump into discussions. Also, find time to chat with the coach by scheduling a time. This might help everyone have an open schedule to communicate without distraction.

2. Remember always to thank the coach or staff. When you start by thanking people for spending time with your athlete and working towards common goals, it reminds people you recognize their work. This is supposed to be a collaboration, and starting with a 'thank you' will go a long way in building relationships.

3. Empower your athlete to talk with the coach respectfully, and be sure you do the same. Keeping it humble, respectful, and relational can let everyone dig into the situation at hand vs. feeling blamed or challenged.

4. Be sure if safety is involved that you make that a clear concern and vocalization. Ask for clarification on how this situation was kept safe or could be kept safe in the future. Safety is always a reason for concern.

5. Ask for clarification to understand the coach’s viewpoint, philosophy, or rules where they apply to your situation or concern. Asking them to educate you allows you to listen for understanding vs. jumping into any accusations or assumptions. So, ask and listen to find where the rub is or where their concerns need to be.