Real heroes are parents who are part of the solution

Last winter, my friend Sally talked me in to coaching little dudes’ basketball. 
Having coached girls in the sport at the varsity and junior varsity levels, I will admit I was hesitant to take on the responsibility of coaching fourth through sixth grade boys because that requires a level of patience that I wasn’t sure (and still am not sure) that I possessed.
Fortunately my son Cooper was available to be my assistant, so it all worked out and both Cooper and I enjoyed the season with the boys.
It was a one-and-done kinda deal for me, however. 
When my kids were young, we did the t-ball and soccer and swimming and volleyball and football and basketball thing. I bought the shoes and paid the dues. I got my kids to practices and to games, spending weekends on the road and sitting in hot pools or crowded gyms — or worse, bundled up sitting on the sidelines in unpredictable Wyoming fall and spring weather.
And I loved it.
I loved watching them and their teammates learn how to be part of a team. I loved seeing them learn to work hard and yet have fun. Though I didn’t love watching them deal with disappointment, I did appreciate that they learned those lessons when I was there to help them through the process.
In all of those sports, the coaches of my kids’ teams were parents who volunteered their time to offer the youth of our community the opportunity to experience all of these activities. Knowing how much time, planning, patience and energy it takes to be a coach of any sport, those parents were heroes in my eyes.
But invariably, there were those parents who were what I would describe as helicopter parents. 
You know the ones. They’re at every practice, regardless of their child’s age. They’re bringing their child shoes or water bottles or snacks that he forgot. 
And they’re complaining. 
They are chipping to other parents about how the volunteer who is coaching is doing their job. They always have opinions on how they should be doing it better, and of course, always their suggestion is that their child should be playing more.
I certainly understand being involved in your children’s lives, and I’m sure that I have hovered over mine more than I would like to admit. I’ve disagreed with coaches over the years, and I’ve gone to bat for my kids when I‘ve felt the situation warranted it. 
However, even in those situations I never lost sight of the fact that the person who was coaching my child was stepping up and taking on a responsibility that other parents didn’t want.
The hero is the parent who volunteers to coach in a way that builds programs rather than sits back and complains about the people who are volunteering their time to coach.
You know, right now coaching really is a thankless job in a lot of ways. It doesn’t matter if you are winning or losing, you will never satisfy everyone and you will come under attack for whatever you do.
It would be awesome if that were not the case, but until parents give the coach the respect they deserve, I’m afraid it’s going to remain the status quo and it will become harder and harder to find those willing to fulfill this important job. 
Be involved in your kids’ lives. Support them and cheer for them and be their biggest fans. Be a part of the solution rather than part of the problem, and support those hero parents who are giving their time to help your kids — or step up and be one of those parents.