Hoops

Dealing with Parents from Hell

I ain't any fan of sturt but as a supporter of basketball in this state 108183#, I don't get any satisfaction "when the wheels seem to be falling of the mightly "baby blues"" nor any other club for that matter. You don't have a game without the competition and all the clubs offer an opportunity for kids to be off the streets doing something healthy and for this and the social outlets to move through to the senior ranks. The "from hell" group is not everyone, so don't bag them all together. The cycle of club hierarchy - if that is the name for it - changes continually and aren't little minded people easy to jump on the tall poppy syndrome. 10 years ago, Norwood were up there, then after them, north took the mantle, thrown in somewhere in between where sturt and now you could probably say it is forestville's day in the sun - all clubs have issues, all have whingey people but they would all have some damn hard working dedicated people and supporters. We don't need less people playing this sport - we need more.

business arising - how do you figure that taking "the parents money" out of the game is going to make the game better and get rid of the from hell minority in coaching, parents and players??? Really - after too many years of involvement in this and other sports, the issues are global and mostly it is only a minority who are pains in the a... so why kill it for the majority who have some fun and enjoyment? If your club is not doing the right thing by your kid and your kid is unhappy (Not the parent)- use the door.

What about the "players from hell" -and we have a trifecta! Hang on, what about the "volunteers from hell" - so is that a quadfecta!Seriously, seems that one common thread is coming through here - there is a core element of people out there who are working for the kids and the enjoyment of the game,whether they be coaches,volunteers,the kids themselves or parents and they all recognise that there are a minority that have massive ugly egos and are hellbent on making what should be a good time, into an ego trip and self- destruction for themselves and/or their kid. Seems to me there are enough of us that don't like what we see, so suggestion - you ain't going to change ugly people, but you can reinforce positives to your kid, openly acknowledge the efforts of their teammates AND the opposition. Walk away, don't give these ugly people the opportunity to whinge. Be there when the committee roles come up to ensure that the right people are looking after this great game. Be active by putting in place a team culture and as a collective group let the club and coach know what you want under the banner of "good sports" e.g. equal respect, equal acknowledge of effort etc., as all players deserve to be encouraged. Maybe we might then see more kid players become adult players. Remember, dont whinge about it, do something pro-active - there are enough of us...... And it ain't easy but you can make a difference and let the folks from hell self destruct and isolate themselves.

The solution seems to be that the only kids who should be allowed to play sport are orphans - no ego driven wannabes but never were, so my kid will be a super star afflicted parents.