"To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing."  These poignant words of wisdom will motivate even the most cautious of individuals.  As the MVAA President, I've conferred similar advice to Sports Director, "Go with your heart, because no matter what decision you make, you'll always be criticized."  For the past two years, I've witnessed many excellent young coaches leave the MVAA due to parents who seem to see the world through the myopic vision of how they believe the team should be organized.  Organized sports teach us to function as a unit and achieve goals as a unit.  Organized sports do not provide a bastion of selfish service to promote the welfare of the "coaches' kid."  The MVAA's primary goal is to promote organized sports in a safe, informative and structured format.  Moreover, the MVAA is structured to compete in a "recreation" and "classic" sports venue; not the "premier" venue most parents unrealistically hold coaches accountable to achieve.  If your child requires premier-level completion, the appropriate MVAA Sports director can help you find the level of competition to best satisfy your needs.
    While there are many excellent coaches within the MVAA, our organization also possesses some less than "experienced" coaches within our organization. One of the basic tenets of the MVAA is to "coach the coach" and foster a sense of confidence to help younger coaches deal with the physical and emotional demands of coaching at the youth level; after all, we're dealing with children and the parent(s) that come with the child. Young coaches are often chased away due to the "emotional bureaucracy" from parents that most "twenty-something" coaches simply cannot deal with on a day-to-day-basis. For this reason, the MVAA has strict procedural policy to deal with recalcitrant parents and coaches within the organization. Before you, as a parent, criticize a coach, ask yourself one question, "Can I do better?" If so, offer to assist the coach, but remember, you're out there for all the kids, not just your own! Furthermore, if you want your child to excel more than what's being coached on the field, work with your child, or enroll them into a specialty training camp to improve their individual skills. Please don't depend on the recreation coach to develop your child into a Division I collegiate athlete. As always, this behavior is a modicum of the total MVAA, but weighs heavily on the organization as it depletes good young coaches from our organization. Remember, our success is rooted on the "backs" of our volunteers and community donors who continue to support organization. I guarantee the money you pay towards your child's athletic development and physical fitness is the most important investment you can make in your child's mental and physical development and well-being. 

Respectfully yours,
 
Brian D. Moore
MVAA President