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Why Are Sports Parents So Fucking Crazy? by ashlified

Honestly, I don’t get it.

Why do parents of children who play sports suddenly become the craziest people I have ever seen once their precious son or daughter steps on the field?

I know this has been an issue long debated around the blogosphere and on TV when cases pop up like “Crazy Dad Kills Coach at Boys Football Game.” But I have had several personal experiences with this in the last few weeks, and tonight was just the fucking ICING ON THE CAKE – and so I had to create this post to vent it all out.

I have been an athlete my whole life. I’ve played little league, I’ve played travel ball, I’ve played in high school and I now play in college. I have witnessed it all. Luckily, my Dad was the one who said “I fucking hate all these parents, so when I come to your games I will be sitting in left field behind the trees so no one talks to me.” But most parents are not like that. Most parents believe that their son or daughter is the greatest athlete to walk God’s green earth, and everyone should think so.

A girl on my college team – she is 21 years of age – still cannot calmly speak with her father after softball games in which she performs poorly. This is because her Dad REFUSES TO SPEAK WITH HER IF SHE DOESN’T GET A HIT. OR MAKES AN ERROR. She once told me that her Dad spit in her face after a game when she was younger for doing something wrong. This is an extreme case, but it happens! Parents are crazy!

In another instance, I am great friends with one of my former coaches in high school and I reguarly come to her sons’ athletic events. One is eight and one is fourteen and playing at the varsity level. Now she is very competitive with everything, because she was a coach and these are her sons. She can be calm one second and the next second she is yelling during a pee-wee soccer game! I have to duck away because I get embarrassed! Just let the kids play! Your son is eight and he is not the next David Beckham.

Finally, I have decided to coach a 12 year old girls travel team this summer. Now I am on the other side of the fence. These parents want to be my best friend. They call me constantly with questions. When I had tryouts, I felt like I was trying to get A-Rod on my team, because that’s how they see their daughters. “I’d love to have ___ on the team this year!”   “Yeah, well we’re going to be shopping around to see other teams so we’ll get back to you at some point and I will not specify when. Just hang in there and I’ll let you know if Derek Jeter will join the team.” NO FUCK YOU. I will not bow down to crazy parent demands.

So in conclusion – dear parents, there is probably a lower than 1% chance that your kid is the next A-Rod or Michael Jordan or whoever. You will not get a full scholarship to college unless you are AWESOME. And if your kid isn’t even in high school, please just let the coaches do their jobs which is to teach your kid the SKILLS to play.

/rant over.

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