Your children will have many types of coaches with a wide variety of styles. They may differ in how they run practice or what offense and defense they run, but when it comes down to the adults who will be spending hours with your child throughout the season, you should absolutely be choosy! These are the types of people you want spending hours with your child each week:

1. A coach who is committed to the safety of each child and who is properly trained, along with the coaching staff, in safety procedures. They will not put winning over your child’s safety.

2. A coach who treats players, opponents, officials, others coaches, and parents respectfully.

3. A coach who loves to win, but who does not sacrifice player development and safety for the win.

4. A coach who looks for ways to improve his own coaching skills and is teachable.

5. A coach who sees the bigger picture of the value of youth sports for young players.

6. A coach who knows how to teach players the value of learning from the losses, and at the same time does not get fixated on players’ mistakes.

7. A coach who always looks for what a player does right, taking note of the small victories as well as the big ones.

8. A coach who insists on proper parenting behavior on the sidelines.

9. A coach who cares about the athlete as a whole, not just their skills or what they can do for the the team, but about other areas of their life too.

10. A coach who communicates well with parents, players and other coaches.

RELATED CONTENT: 5 traits of a good teammate

RELATED CONTENT: 4 traits of a youth sports parent who listens well

Are you the parent of a youth, middle school or high school football player who’s looking for more tips or resources? Check out our Parent Guide, Parents 101 course, nutritious recipes and more.

.Janis B. Meredith is a parenting coach. She provides resources to help parents raise champions. Learn more about how she can help parents Raise Champions.