A few days ago, I was in the middle of penning (or computering) a few words on the new high school fall soccer season and the subject of parents, when -- lo and behold -- news broke about an Indiana varsity boys’ coach abruptly resigning due “parental interference.”
The coach in question, Bashir Birany, led Zionsville to its first ever state title last October. He was quoted in the Indianapolis Star as saying that said interference “had been going on for a while,” had undermined him, and was affecting his ability to do his job.
It was his lone season at the Eagles, where he went 20-3-2 after taking over from Mike Smith in 2009.
One of the biggest problems with parents of high school soccer players is that quite a few of them never played or were immersed in the game as youths and are therefore not that well versed in its laws or tactics.
So, when opinions are expressed in a public or aggressive fashion, they are not helpful to referees, players or coaches.
Partly because of this ignorance – and partly because of glasses of the rose tinted variety -- their views of the talents of little Johnny or Mary can also be a little skewed, causing problems with off the field with coaches.
Some of the parents are even involved in the team set-up in some way, which causes additional conflict when their influence is used in a manipulative way.
Don’t get me wrong: I love the fact that people who never had an interest in the sport suddenly do, even if it is solely because their child has chosen to play the sport. The more the merrier.
And a number of these parents have actually made the effort to educate themselves, and are also of great benefit to their respective teams in terms of the work they put in each year.
There will be a few new head coaches of our area high school soccer teams when the season kicks off next week. They include Brandon Rogers (Providence boys), Carson Webb (Jeffersonville boys) and Jeremy Pickerell (Jeffersonville girls), while Dutch Vigar returns as New Albany boys’ boss.
Hopefully they, and those who return to coach your kids and mentor them over the coming months, will be allowed do their jobs as best they can without too much outside interference.
If you are new, or relatively new, to the game and are willing to learn more about it, one very useful website is Soccer for Parents (www.soccer-for-parents.com), where you can also download an e-book entitled, “Ten Simple Soccer Rules for Baffled Parents.”
Watching as much soccer as possible, either local games or those on TV, is also recommended, as is seeking out a referee soccer course.
As your knowledge increases, so too will your appreciation of the game. You won’t be disappointed and the game on a local level will be that little bit better for it.
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