Coaching parental support

Thanks, coach.

Those are two magic words that probably aren't said enough, or with enough earnestness.

Unless you're at the university level or the pros, no coach is in it for the money. What do you suppose a high school football or basketball coach actually receives on a per-hour basis? A buck? Half that? What about the multitude of volunteer coaches, from toddler soccer on up?

So the rewards must come from elsewhere. They have to come from the kids, whose growth as athletes, as teammates but most of all as human beings is the measuring stick that every good coach judges her or his effectiveness upon.

But the rewards also should come from those kids' parents, who can show their appreciation by supporting the person or people entrusted to oversee that particular athletic program and, if they're dissatisfied, waiting for the appropriate time and place to express that dissatisfaction. This is extremely important because coaches aren't the only ones student athletes learn from and emulate; the kids are watching and learning from their parents' behavior, too.

In-season, unadulterated parental support is also critical because today's coaches face different challenges than their predecessors did. And sometimes the challenges are magnified by parents who turn into impatient critics.

We live in an era of instant gratification, and nowhere is it more apparent than with students and their smart phones, their Facebook pages and their seemingly boundless appetite to communicate with friends via text, Twitter or - to be really old-fashioned - a cell phone call. The doctrine of instant gratification dictates that when you want something, you get it, and you get it now, whether it's a response to a text question, a lightning-quick song download or more playing time on the volleyball team.

Coaches can have their hands full, and then some, with student athletes who have been told since they first strapped on shin guards that they are special, and the kids have a wall full of participation medals and cheap certificates to prove it. Add the burden of overbearing parents and the job that's merely short on sincere thanks is quickly untenable. And when it becomes untenable, nobody wins - especially the kids.

Support and encouragement, even during the toughest of times, often pays the greatest dividends. In other words, a little thanks can go a long way.