What Experts Wish You Knew: Sports Talk Edition

Sporting scandal is our issue du jour. This is actually the only part of sports that interests me. The off-court “he said, she said, they did what?!” part. Honestly, the only reason I know about Tom Brady is because of his baby mama drama.

But today we’re not talking about scandal from the big guns, we’re talking about drama from the sporting sidelines. The drama that, gasp, we -- as spectators and parents of athletes -- cause. For today’s “What Experts Wish You Knew” I have wisdom from Keith, a high school basketball coach. Here’s what Keith has to say…

There’s a new kind of parent out there, and coaches can spot them from a mile away: the lawn mower parent. These are the parents who go ahead of their kids and mow down any obstacles in their path. This is not a good thing. This is, in fact, a very bad thing. Almost as bad as hanging a quarterback towel out your front pocket if you are attending a football game and not playing in it.

(This is actually not a complaint from Keith, but a complaint from my friend Teresa. As guru girl has never actually attended a professional football game I’ve never seen this travesty in person, but it sounds bad & should probably be stopped.)

Lawn mower parents call the coach and tell him when their kid is sick and can’t make practice. They’re also the parents who complain to the coach when their kid isn’t getting enough playing time.

These complaints and communications need to be coming from the athlete, not his parents, says Keith. If a kid’s man enough to strap on his own helmet/cup etc. he’s man enough to call the coach himself.   

Let your kids assume responsibility for their lives as athletes. Yell encouraging things from the sidelines but not actual plays, as this is just confusing. Almost as confusing as trying to keep track of the baby mamas of various professional athletes.

Kick back and enjoy the game. Be a good spectator. One who doesn’t wear quarterback towels. Ever.