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Coaches and parents working together will only benefit your players. Learn more: #YouthSports #CoachLife #ParentEngagement #LongTermDevelopment.

🔑 Keys to working with parents in youth sport:. • Face-to-face season meetings.• Share a long-term vision.• Weekly updates for consistency.• Give parents clear roles.• Use relatable examples.• Parent vs. kids game.• Patience with skeptics.

😌 Be patient with skeptics . Parents may initially resist your approach. Give them time. Many will come around when they see real improvement in their child’s versatility, confidence, and understanding.

🎥 Video - Gareth Southgate’s positive coaching style vs an actors command style.

🏟️ Run a parent-versus-parents game . Let parents play while kids watch and scream instructions. It’s a playful yet powerful lesson in why consistency, calm direction, and clear coaching matter.

Examples include. - Screaming “Add, Takeaway, noooo Multiply! Multiiiiippplyyyyy!!!” in a maths class.- kid always being told what to do by Dad and then given their pro debut in front of 60,000 people. Or….

😆 Use relatable anecdotes . Light-hearted, absurd examples (like a parent coaching a child during an exam) help highlight the pitfalls of over-involvement—without shaming anyone.

🔬 Research: Parental involvement in youth sports: historical trends and links to generational, socioeconomic status, sport culture, and youth sport commitment contexts.

👨 👩 Assign parent roles . Harness enthusiasm by giving structured roles (e.g., timekeeper, sideline helper, manager). This channels energy productively and ensures one consistent voice for players.

📖 Study - The pro’s and con’s of digital communication between teachers and parents.

✉️ Send weekly updates . A pre-match & post-match email keeps parents aligned with your coaching intentions and reduces conflicting sideline advice. This supports consistent messaging and player focus.

🧐 Research: Parental support is linked to enhanced sports enjoyment, sustained participation, and higher self-esteem.

📈 Share the long‑term vision . Explain development goals beyond the season (e.g., high school, college, lifelong love of the game, leadership skills). This frames your approach into the bigger picture of life.

📚 Study: Two-way, honest communication fosters trust and cooperation in youth sport contexts.

📅 Meet face‑to‑face at the start of season . Establish your coaching philosophy, values, expectations and goals in person. It builds trust via eye‑contact, tone and body language—things email & text can’t convey.

📢 How To Get Parents Working With You For The Long‑Term Development Of Their Children 🧵 . A thread on strategies coaches can use to turn parents into collaborative allies, not adversaries ⬇

RT @RJPcoach: With the new season just around the corner, if you are looking for some inspiration to help your foundation phase coaching, l….

RT @SundayShare10: Coaching ideas for a match day #SundayShare.

🔗 Want to dive deeper? Check out our article here:

To summarise. • Consistent pre-game routine .• Visual formation setup .• Individual sideline chats .• Thoughtful, clear communication (ask, explain WHY, use visuals) .• Half-time as a two-way conversation.