07/17/2026
and Athletic Directors —
You already know how this season goes.
The email about playing time, sent Sunday night, after the parent has had time to think about it. The dad who won't stop yelling at the officials while the school's name is on the banner behind him. The escalation that goes past the coach and lands on the AD's desk. The mom who means well and is quietly making her own kid worse.
Almost none of them are bad people. They just never got told what the job actually is — and it shouldn't fall to you to tell them. The coach is the one who benches their kid. The AD is the one who takes the call in October. The message doesn't land coming from either of you.@@