Schools

After Roseville Coaching Turbulence, A Look at Parents' Role in School Sports

The Star Tribune wrote about the "growing conflict in youth sports between athletic officials and parents."

The Star Tribune published a story this week looking at the role of parents' complaints in the resignation of Roseville Area High School boys' hockey coach Jeff Pauletti and the leave of absense of activities director Scott Allen.

The newspaper examined the larger role of parents in school sports:

Steve Perdue, author of the book "Parental Ego and the High School and Youth Athlete," worries that intrusion by parents is an epidemic that is ruining the experience for kids.

Find out what's happening in Rosevillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"My fear is that this will run some kids off," said Perdue, a parent of two athletes and former coach of 30 years who is pursuing a master's in sports psychology. "Not because of their own personal experience, but because their parents' behavior is out of control.

"Parents need ... to really look at what is best for the kids. Some actions are not helping kids, it's quite the opposite."

Find out what's happening in Rosevillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The story also discussed the conflict between fairness and excellence:

In Roseville, five of Pauletti's former hockey players agreed that talent expectations for varsity sports sometimes precludes complete fairness. Many student-athletes say it's difficult for parents to understand the inner workings of a team.

"All of us here did play at the A-level. ... We played at the varsity level," said Jim Betz a 2009 Roseville graduate. "And if we weren't looking to get pushed and have that competitiveness, we would have played somewhere else where we could have fair play and joke around on the ice."

Read the whole story at the Star Tribune's website.

 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Roseville