Pressure from parents has been escalating

Increased pressure by sports parents is driving young and experienced coaches alike out of the profession.

“A lot of good coaches of all ages say, ‘It’s not worth it to me,’ ” said Harry Amend, Coeur d’Alene schools superintendent. “It’s hard on a coach, hard on their families and takes the joy out of it.”

A couple of recent incidents, one last winter in western Washington, the other last month in Texas, are examples of the seriousness of the phenomenon making local examples seem minor in comparison.

Educators here hope it remains that way, although new Lewis and Clark boys basketball coach Jeff Norton said during an interview following his hiring, “The way I see behavior accelerating, Spokane is not very far from that kind of incident.”

The parent of a female basketball player at Peninsula (Wash.) High School was charged with fourth-degree assault, the result of a physical confrontation with his daughter’s coach that was captured on tape during a February game at Sequim.

In his Seattle Times column, “Sideline Smitty,” Craig Smith called it “one of the ugliest incidents in high school sports in this state in years.”

At Canton High in Texas, the shooting of a football coach by the parent of a former player made national headlines and warranted a long story voicing concern in the April 20 issue of Education Week, American education’s newspaper of record.

“I struggle with worries about where we’re going in sports in connection with schools,” said Spokane Public Schools superintendent Brian Benzel. “The national trend is worrisome.”

Mike Vlahovich