It was a bit surreal to see a girls basketball coach publicly calling out parents of his players after winning the West Virginia AAA state title. But, for Nitro’s Pat Jones, even in victory, things had apparently hit a breaking point.
Jones called the 2023-24 campaign at the helm for the Wildcats “the most stressful season I’ve ever had,†going on to say he received texts from one or more parents about playing time for every game of the season and tournament.
As the Gazette-Mail’s Taylor Kennedy reported, Saturday’s victory over Lewis County marked Nitro’s second girls basketball state title in three seasons. But success hasn’t bought Jones any leeway with the mothers and fathers of the players.
Kennedy reported Jones said he woke up Saturday morning to texts from one parent asking why their child wasn’t designated to be dressed for the game.
“These parents are unappreciative,†Jones said. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it anymore.â€
Now, we only have Jones’ version of events to go by, here, but it is hard to imagine any coach would publicly make such a statement after winning a title unless things were truly getting out of hand by just about anyone’s standard. It’s also a safe bet this isn’t just a Nitro problem. Maybe Jones’ situation is a bit more extreme than that of coaches of any other given sport at any other given West Virginia high school. Then again, there might be places where it’s worse. It’s hard to know for sure.
One thing that’s for certain is parents complaining about their kid’s playing time (in any sport on any level) is nothing new. It’s one of many spokes in the unicycle coaches have had to cautiously keep balanced from their seat since the first shoe, cleat or skate belonging to a child wearing the same jersey as other children was laced up in the hazy past.
There will always be parents watching the clock or the bench with a metaphorical, or sometimes literal, stopwatch going. There’s a fair bit of parental politics involved as well. And it happens everywhere. A bigger program in a bigger city comes with the same issues, it’s simply sometimes harder to get close enough to see it.
So, yes, some of this has always come with the job of coaching (especially once entering the realm of high school athletics, where competition is fierce, it’s the last hurrah in a given sport for 90% of everyone in a uniform and, right or wrong, the stakes are relatively high).
Still, doesn’t it feel like there’s been a bit of a twitch or a shift in the balance of all of this lately?
A little more than two months ago, we published an editorial noting the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission had engaged in an ad campaign to curb abusive fan behavior, and similar initiatives had been launched from youth sports organizations to get parents to lighten up. If there are multiple ad campaigns devoted to something, it’s become an issue. This one in particular has created numerous problems, from a shortage of officials to stressed out coaches to kids who are either embarrassed by their parents’ behavior or feel like their only value to their parents is their athletic performance.
If you talk to anyone who has been around youth sports or high school athletics long enough, they’ll tell you this type of thing is cyclical. However, some will also point out social media and the ability to text a coach or a ref has made things worse. It’s also possible some folks are still adjusting to how to behave in personal interactions and at sporting events after a pandemic took those things away for a time, and brought them back in fits and spurts that didn’t always follow a straight line.
Whatever the case, as Kennedy pointed out, coaches have an impact on kids that last a lifetime and go well beyond the realm of sports. Sure, some coaches are better than others both between the lines and off the court. But the coach is the coach, and, unless it’s a Bobby Knight situation, coaches should be allowed to do their jobs. Parents can and will complain. It’s natural. But it’s better kept among the parents.
Nothing good comes from harassing a coach, especially if your kid sees you do it.
