Most recently I have worked as a gym supervisor for a local town parks and recreation program.  My responsibilities here include monitoring youth (ages 5-12) basketball games and interacting with the volunteer coaches and paid staff.  This has enabled me to look at 35 different coaching styles spread across different age groups.  There were teams built entirely on better talent, while other teams weren’t as good but their coaches brought the best out of them and they played as a team.  I was also able to see different behaviors from coaches and fans alike.  There were some parents that were very supportive and others that were disrespectful to players and referees.  It made me realize that there will always be that percentage of parents a coaches that are going to do things their own way and won’t change.  It is my hope that the articles on this web site will help increase awareness and probability that a positive experience will happen for the youth participants.