How will you handle an irate parent questioning a player's playing time?

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No matter what level of sport you coach there will always be back leash with playing time. It is nearly impossible to create a completely equal set up. It can be tricky at the high school level because parents approach a lot of coaches right after a game about playing time because they are generally not at practice.

When approaching parents it is important to remain calm and collected or the situation may heighten with feelings of angry. A common solution to dealing with an angry parent is to have a private conversation with the parent and player- this will keep everyone on the same page. It is the preference of the coach whether or not they want to have the conversation with the parent right away or set up a meeting.

"After a game when a parent approaches me that is clearly upset and is concerned about playing time, I generally ask them to set up a meeting with the player and myself for after practice. I like letting after one cool down prior to having the conversations because I believe it makes everyone more level-headed."

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"Tempers are usually short, especially after a tough loss. I would advise the parents that it would be best to wait 24 hours if they wanted to schedule a meeting with the athletic director of the school, the parent, the player, and myself."

Rachelle's Feedback

A smart approach by putting some time between the situation - a very good answer! If you have encountered this specific situation in the past, you could also provide a story-based example of a 'time when...' using the STAR framework to form your story (Situation, Task, Action, Result).

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How to Answer: How will you handle an irate parent questioning a player's playing time?

Advice and answer examples written specifically for a Coach job interview.

11. How will you handle an irate parent questioning a player's playing time?

How to Answer

No matter what level of sport you coach there will always be back leash with playing time. It is nearly impossible to create a completely equal set up. It can be tricky at the high school level because parents approach a lot of coaches right after a game about playing time because they are generally not at practice.

When approaching parents it is important to remain calm and collected or the situation may heighten with feelings of angry. A common solution to dealing with an angry parent is to have a private conversation with the parent and player- this will keep everyone on the same page. It is the preference of the coach whether or not they want to have the conversation with the parent right away or set up a meeting.

Written by Cassandra Bates on November 11th, 2019

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