“What if this girl is only being nice to me because she thinks it will get her more playing time?”  This is just one of the questions sophomore varsity soccer players Clare Cummings has had after having her mother, Ora Cummings, as the girls varsity soccer coach. 

     Cummings states that she doesn’t “feel like [shes] ever had any special advantage with [her] mom as the coach.” Cummings says she “didn’t get a crazy amount of playing time” and she “got what she deserved” because of “how well [she] did in practice the day before.” Sadly, according to Cummings many people belive she made varsity because of a parent coach, but it turns out Cummings’ mom “wasn’t allowed to evaluate me at tryouts.” Even though it was proven Cummings was picked truly on skill, she said that such conversations were still  “a huge blow to my confidence.”

     On the other hand, sophomore varsity soccer players Evie Heinlien and Reagan Saboy feels that Cummings should be treated as a normal player. Heinlein disagrees that Cummings gets an unfair advantage, Heinlien states that “no one had the upper hand.” 

     Saboy agrees with Heinlein in saying Cummings never gets an unfair advantage and even says “expectations are held higher.” heading over to football the idea Saboy provides stays the same. Jv football Coach Charlie Dawson’s son Luke Dawson,who is a freshman Jv player also feels that having his father as a coach makes it seem that he needs to do better in practice and he should be the best.

     Dawson says, “[Coach Dawson] puts a lot more pressure on [him]” and that he [cant get away with some of the things that other players can.” Dawson feels that his dad “screams at [him] a lot more.” On the other hand, Dawson shows it was better coming in as a freshman knowing a coach (his father) as some freshmen have no idea who their coaches are. Dawson also says that his father keeps him up on date faster on events occuring during the season. Dawson has also encountered a few instances where other players feel he is getting more playing time and extra help during practices but those have since gone away.

     On the track, junior thrower Erin O’leary and  track runner Hannah Burgess rarely encounter any issues. Both Burgess and O’Leary agree that their parents Mrs. Laura O’Leary and Mr. Greg Burgess have higher expectations for them as an athlete and “not getting as much as a break as other players” according to Burgess. In conclusion, athletes who have Their parents at a coach do not seem to encounter as many problems as suspected and appear to appreciate their parents taking the time out of their day to help out  and coach.