Here is what Olsen said when asked about parents attending practices.

“As a coach, I want no secrets and no mystery. I want you to hear what I tell them, and there’s no guesswork or confusion. As a parent, I value that my kids get a break. I value that my kids can come home and interpret practice to me instead of me telling them what I saw.”  “The one thing I’ll add: If a coach is telling parents not to come to practice, to me, that’s a bit of a red flag.”

Our question today takes it a little further by asking if youth football coach should allow parents to help coach a Pop Warner team if they ask? My answer is “Yes” with a few caveats. First let me explain why I think parents, if given guardrails can be a huge asset to your NFL Flag league.

Parents Can Help With Communication & Transportation

If parents are involved with your Pop Warner team or league they will be more vested. These parents can offer essential help with communication and transportation to and from practice. The better coordinated you are with your teams’ parents, the better chance you are going to have to be practicing with your full group. If you are practicing without your best players or without a lot of your players then it defeats the purpose.

When handled properly, parents can be good youth assistant coaches. They are normally folks who just cannot or will not take the lead role with the teams’ coaching but will be more than able to help out as an assistant coach at practice. Don’t be surprised (or intimidated) if that quiet parent at practice played in the Big Ten for four years and his kid is your best player.

Youth Coaches Should Set The Ground Rules Early. Parents Must Respect This.

The best way to avoid problems is to set the ground rules early. Let the parent know what their role entails and more importantly what it does not. Set the guidelines from jumpstart. It is worth noting that you must know what you are doing. If you do. not then you have bigger problems than what we are looking at today.

You And Any Parent Coaching Should Be Certified

If you are worried about having a parent around to be a coach then it is probably more an indictment about you than them. Please, step back and understand that you are more like your Pop Warner parents than not. If you are coaching youth football correctly, you are not doing it for yourself. You and your parents both are squarely focused on one thing. What is best for the players.

NFL Coaches On 12 Formations To Consider For Your Youth Football Offense

Having said that, it must be noted that you and they should go through the appropriate certification procedures. This will not only protect your program to some degree of liability but it is also just a good general practice to get everyone on the same page about your goals and guidelines.

Parents Are Normally Going To Be There Anyway

Good coaches are not insecure about what they are teaching or coaching. Let your parents see that you are coaching character too. Look at it this way. Your parents are normally going to be at practice. They are going to be an ally or an adversary. Maybe they bring expertise that you don’t have, for example on the defensive side of the ball.

When you have a parent help coach be very definitive about how you want parents to help you. One good way to avoid any problems is to have Johnny’s parents work with groups that do not involve Johnny. If they are not willing to do that then cut bait right there and decline their offer to help.

Manage Your Entire Youth Football Or Flag Football Program Here

I will finish with this. As a parent, please understand what you are asking and respect the fact that your youth football head coach has dedicated a lot of time to coaching your son or daughter’s Pop Warner team. The correct way to ask is to address your intention to help not dictate the direction of the team. This will go along way with your youth football head coach as they consider this.