Dealing with Parents

Sports officials need to see a game through special lenses that help them to see beyond the black and white. A mom turned basketball official says there are three things that make a really good sports official: the ability to work with other members of the officiating crew as a team, non-verbal communication skills, and the ability to learn from other officials, coaches, players, and, yes, parents.

As parents we have a lot to learn about the youth sports our children play. Most of us have not played the game with age appropriate rules and therefore we are learning on the job what our children are doing on the field. Some rules are new to us and, of course, have little in common with the rules we see professional athletes use while we watch them on television.