Fostering Positive Parent/Caregiver Engagement

A positive coach strives to create a supportive sports environment where athletes grow as competitors
while developing life skills. Parents/caregivers can serve as powerful allies in creating these positive
sports experiences. The strategies below will help coaches develop positive relationships with
parents/caregivers while actively engaging them to cultivate a positive sports experience for all athletes.

Coaches Can:

Hold a preseason meeting to share your coaching philosophy, the importance of valuing effort over
winning, overview logistics, and any feedback channels you’d like to establish.

If you have a written team agreement, charter, or code of conduct, extend that to the
parents/caregivers. PCA’s Positive Sports Parent/Caregiver Pledge is a great way to align on
expectations, get everyone on the same page, and set the team up for success no matter your
record.

Offer opportunities to participate in the team community with small things that make sports fun:
encouraging signs for big games, after-practice get-togethers, or even a parents/caregivers vs.
athletes scrimmage at practice.

Consider inviting parents/caregivers into the huddle after the game – show them how you help your
athletes digest a big win or learn from a loss the moment when emotions are most often at their
highest.

Establish a Team Parent/Caregiver program to engage parents with the time and availability to help
out with larger tasks to help shape the team community – like managing travel to and from
practices/games, welcoming new families into the fold, intervening when sideline expectations aren’t
met, etc.

Provide parents/caregivers with opportunities to connect with their athletes through the sport such as:

• Encourage them to watch sports together and identify skills they can learn from watching professionals.
• Create a ‘Take Home Ball’ – a ball that each athlete takes a turn bringing home after practice to use to practice with their parent/caregiver, older sibling, friend, or mentor. Each person who plays with the is instructed to sign it before returning it to the coach at the next practice.1
• Reinforce different life skills and perspectives in sports by giving parents/caregivers a list of sports movies they can watch and discuss with their athlete.

1. The take-home ball is based off of youth softball coach and board member for East Williamson Athletics (Franklin, TN), Brian Lord’s, ‘Parent Ball’.