Coach Mommy and Daddy

        We probably all have experienced a time when we were on a team where the coaches son or daughter was your teammate. To many people that's where you draw the line in your relationship with your child but to others that's how you get involved and become closer as a family. The question is should parents be their child's coach?When talking about this situation there are many opinions but it really depends on how it is handled.

        There are two types of parent coaches. You could be the coach who draws the line between coach and parenting and treats your child like every other player or you could be the coach that favors their child and only wants whats best for them.

        The first type of parent coach knows how to handle the situation and doesn't favor their child. They treat their child like everyone else on the field. They actually know the tactics of the sport. This creates the least amount of favoritism on the team. But when talking about favoritism you cant be overly hard on your child to eliminate it because that will just create a horrible experience for your kid. They may feel pressure to be better with their mom or dad coaching them.This situation also creates conflicts between the parent child relationship. The child could be frustrated with your coaching tactics and avoid all conversation after any practice or game. Also tension could be created at home because the child may get the wrong idea and expect special treatment since it's either her mom or dad as a coach. The type of parent coach really draws the line between parent and coach and knows the difference of being a coach on the field and a parents at home making it the best experience for the child.

        The other type of parent coach is the one that wants to get involved and wants to create the best experience for their child. This could create a great relationship between parent and child but kind of eliminate the team chemistry that is essential. In this situation the parent doesn't know how to draw boundaries between being a parent and being a coach. The parent them self may not even take into account the sports tactics or anything they just want to be involved with their child. The parents wants whats best or their kid so they favorite them and may give them the starting position or more playing time not taking talent into account. This could improve the parent and child relationship because the child is getting that special treatment but creates an unfair advantage to them. The other kids may be better but aren't getting the playing time they deserve due to the favoritism. Also the kids may feel uncomfortable talking about the team or give an opinion since the coaches child is on the team. This type may create a good experience for their child but doesn't create a good team or fair opportunities.

        I personally believe that parents shouldn't be their child's coach. I know it's fun and all but it eliminates all the things that could happen. I think the parents should be the kid's biggest fans if anything and be there to support them from the sideline not the bench.

Can it get better.....

         Now that fall sports are over we are preparing and starting the regular routines of the winter sport schedule. The Lady Lancers winter track team is starting back up coming off of their best record and best finish ever at the TVL meet last year. But by the looks of it, we could move onto bigger and better finishes this year than ever before.  Not only are we introducing new freshmen but additions from other classes will be a helpful hand. Getting everyone back into track shape is only the start of what the season offers.

        We graduated 4 seniors who were consistent point earners so filling those gaps won't be too easy but by the looks of it we should be able to manage it. Returning many veterans while adding rookies in the mix, will be key components to the successful team we can have. Entering the season with almost no injuries allows us to all get in the swing of things and enter the season as a healthy and strong team. Listening what teammates and coaches have to say about this team is really encouraging and everyone really believes this could be our year. "I think the girls have a great shot this year. We have some experienced runners ready to take the lead and some new talent to fill in some gaps we've been missing in the last few years." stated by girls head coach Lindsay Nastri. Coach Nastri has been the coach since I was a freshmen and now being a senior it's weird to think how far this program has come within those 4 years.  Now being a senior captain I have been on this team for fours and believe this is the most talent I have seen on the winter track team.

        While introducing many new faces to the team will comes many new school records. Last year the ladies have recorded a total of 8 new school records, but by the look at just the past week at practice this could be a historic year. Through all the time trails we are going through the team is still holding up and have impressed the coaches with the times we have posted as our starting place. Opening the season to Holliston will no doubt be hard since they are a strong team themselves but this will be the true test of our ability and what we are able to do within the season. But from what I've seen we could be a major threat to schools who won't see us coming, foreshadowing a great season ahead of the team.