Mental health days are most often taken by overworked employees who just need a day to rest, catch up on chores, or maybe even go play a round of golf to clear their heads.

Parents need to remember that coaches deserve mental health days too.

We often forget that youth sports coaches are volunteers — and high school ones grossly underpaid — and when they are at the field with our children they not only are making time in their lives to coach, but while doing so most likely are also taking time away from other things at work or home that need their attention.

Last Monday morning I received an email from my son’s head coach before breakfast was even served telling us parents that the regularly scheduled Monday practice — we also practice on Wednesdays — was going to be canceled because the two assistants were not able to make it due to work conflicts and in his own words: “I have decided to take a mental health day to catch up on a ton of items on my to-do list.”

Like most youth sports coaches, our head coach has a full-time job. Unlike many volunteer coaches, he is also the junior varsity coach at a local high school. So on Mondays and Wednesdays, he leaves work, goes to the high school practice and then hops in his car and drives straight to our two-hour session. His weekends are booked with several lacrosse games on Saturday and Sunday.

So I had no problem with him taking a self-admitted mental health day, and in fact give him credit for not masking it as an “I don’t feel well and the assistants can’t make it” excuse.

Our team had just come off playing in a scrimmage during halftime of a local high school game on Friday night and then the “A” and “B” teams, both which he coaches, had two games each on Sunday.  

Admittedly, we parents — at least this one — needed a mental health day too. And based on my son’s reaction when I told him practice was canceled, he welcomed the night off as well.

Sometimes it takes a smart coach to realize a break is needed by everyone involved on the team. This parent, and my son, went to Wednesday’s practice in a much better state of mind.

My guess is the head coach did too.

Jon Buzby has been involved in and writing about youth sports for the past 30 years, originally as a coach and board member with his now-adult son and most recently "just as a dad" with his 8- and 10-year-old sons. Jon is an award-winning writer and his latest book, “Not an Expert, Just a Dad … In this Crazy Game Called Life,” is available on Amazon. Send comments or future blog topics you'd like to see to JonBuzby@hotmail.com and follow him @YouthSportsBuzz on Twitter.