Coach to Coach: How to Make Your Child's Sports Season a Success

A dad of four and veteran coach shares his insights on how to make your child's next team season - whether you're coaching or cheering from the sidelines - a success.

New Yorker Sean O'Neil has coached his kids' soccer, baseball, and basketball teams over the past eight years. His children (twin boys, age 12, and two daughters, ages 6 and 8) are in season almost continuously. We chatted with O'Neil to discuss important issues coaches and parents will face this season, whether on the baseball diamond, soccer field, or basketball court. From coaching strategies to playing-time concerns, here's the drill:

Most parents are pretty concerned about whether their children are getting to play enough. What's your approach?

Playing time is tricky, because it depends on the expectations that the team has for the season's outcome. For many teams, this can correspond with age. If it's a recreational team for very young kids, for example, then winning ought to be much less emphasized. As children get older, there will be more of an emphasis on the ability of the players and whether the teams are winning. Travel teams are also more competitive, regardless of the age level. Few people would argue with those two extremes, but meeting expectations is a real challenge, and one that I've seen terribly mismanaged.

 Generally, I'll lay out my expectations and policies to the kids and parents before the season begins. This lets everyone know where you're coming from and tends to reduce complaints and bad feelings. I usually remind the parents, especially when the kids are young, that although I'm sure their kid is headed to the pros, the rest of the team won't play past the 6th grade. I tell them that my sole objective is to make this as fun as possible and to keep all of them interested enough to want to play next year.

What kind of support do first-year coaches need?

You'll need volunteers to help you have a successful season. One mom or dad should be in charge of snacks and provide a snack for the first practice. Then get a snack schedule together for the remaining practices.