O’Sullivan’s top tips for turning parents into assets

Are some parents driving you crazy? If you have parents who want to be involved but you’re not sure how to use them, John O’Sullivan has some ideas to help.

O’Sullivan runs the Changing The Game Project and is an influential speaker who travels the country talking about how to improve youth and high school sports for the betterment and enjoyment of the athletes.

O’Sullivan’s top tips for turning parents into assets

He suggests giving parents roles within your team. These roles have nothing to do with Xs and Os, on-court play or how you manage practices, but are more complementary to your program.

Place someone in charge of where to eat when on the road. Or, for those parents who think they have a high basketball IQ, have them track specific stats or playing time. You typically have an assistant or two charting points, assists, turnovers, fouls, rebounds, shot charts, game flow, etc., but have a parent chart hustle plays – tipped balls, charges taken, sprinting back on defense to thwart a transition layup and cutting off the baseline in half-court defense.

These kind of statistics help provide you a better idea of who is contributing in an overall manner to your team and gives parents something to keep them busy while still serving a purpose to your cause.