Institute for Sport Coaching

One of the greatest challenges in sport today is the relationship between athletes, parents and coaches.  Parents get involved in the sport activities of their children in so many ways–coaching, officiating, league leadership, and of course being the supportive parent of an athlete.  If it not for these positive contributions of sport parents, many communities in the US would little or no youth sports available.  Unfortunately, we often hear about when parents go to the “darkside” (sorry, I am a big Star Wars fan…) in the media, and not the unsung parent heroes who raise funds, run leagues and coach teams. 

Over the past 20 years or so, we have witnessed the switch from how our children get their physical exercise from free play to adult-led organized sport.  With this switch, the pressure on parents has increased.  For any parent out there, the Institute recommends the sports parenting resources recently added to our Essential Bookshelf which provide information on how to navigate the intense world of youth and interscholastic sports in a manner that allows a parent to maintain their dignity and support their child’s efforts in whatever sport they choose to play.

While a bit dated, the SportsParent book by the American Sport Education Program is a good primer prepping parents for becoming sports parents.  Amy Baltzell’s book is very good in guiding parents through the various stages of sport their children will progress through–sort of a “What to Expect When You are Expecting” book for the sports aspect of being a parent.  Amy is a sport psychologist and professor at Boston University and a parent.

The two books written by retired pro athletes (Cal Ripken Jr. and Karl Mecklenburg) provide a great perspective on sports parenting from those who reached the pinnacle of sports in America–the professional level.  Their views and information will help parents remain grounded regarding their youth athletes.

Dan Doyle’s work is a huge one stop resource for sport parents.  Dan, the Executive Director of the Institute for International Sport, has a second volume of this resource in development.

Lastly, Rick Wolff has been a champion for positive sports parenting for years.  A collaborator with Dan Doyle, he was instrumental in starting up the Center for Sports Parenting.  His work is also very good.

Love to hear from anyone on what resources they would recommend for sports parents especially DVDs, movies, etc.  We will be adding those types of resources to the Essential Bookshelf later this year.