Series looks at parent-coach relationships

On today’s front page of this sports section we begin a week-long series entitled “When Parents Cry Foul.”

We decided to pursue this project because of the recent rise in the number of complaints from parents about high school coaches.

“We’ve turned this into a whole culture in which our child could become the next star,” Spokane psychologist Andrew Haffey tells staff writer Mike Vlahovich. “I think (it) has grown way out of proportion to what its importance is.”

Has there been a change in the attitudes of parents regarding coaches? Do parents feel like they have a voice in the process of selecting or dismissing a coach? Are coaches and administrators feeling more heat from parents? How do they handle unhappy parents? How is this affecting high school athletics?

From the beginning we decided it would be counterproductive to go into great detail about specific incidents involving parents and coaches. I’m always amazed by the number of calls I receive at the office regarding coaches. Some parents feel that if the newspaper gets involved and reports on what a rotten coach they have, it would help to get the coach fired. That’s a road we will rarely travel.

However, talking to parents, coaches and administrators who have been involved in a parent-coach conflict may lead to some insight regarding this big issue.

With that in mind, we decided to split the story into a series of stories each from a different perspective. Monday’s story will be from the perspective of parents. Tuesday will be from the point of view of administrators and Wednesday from coaches. Thursday we will examine the future of high school athletics and ask people if strained parent-coach relationships could ruin high school athletics as we know it today. Finally, Friday, we will try to put it all in perspective.

Sidebar stories include a discussion with the aforementioned psychologist, tips from veteran coaches on dealing with parents and a piece detailing the amount of money parents can spend on athletics during the high school years.

Our aim was to give many different sides to the issue. Our intent was not to demonize parents or coaches.

However, each story by itself is not balanced. Each story examines yet another point of view. As a whole, however, I think we will have delivered a balanced look at the subject.