Parents Shouldn't Be Involved In Playing Time Discussions

Steve Kryger (@coachskryger) is an Athletic Director at Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton, CA. Kryger has been at M-A since 2008, also teaching math and coaching boys' lacrosse. Prior to M-A, he coached basketball at Hillsdale, Palo Alto, and San Mateo highs, and was named San Mateo County Girls' Basketball Coach of the Year in 2000 and again in 2008. In 2017, Kryger and Co-AD Paul Snow were named the Northern California Girls and Boys Athletic Directors of the Year by the California Coaches Association (CCA).

Often times when parents complain to an Athletic Director, it's about playing time. At his school, Kryger says that this is not a conversation that should happen between Athletic Directors and parents. Kryger also advises his coaches that they shouldn't talk to parents about playing time.

To Kryger, the playing time conversation should be between an athlete and a coach. In his opinion, the athlete has the right to understand why they are getting the playing time they're getting or not getting, and should also have clear expectations from the coach about what they need to do to improve in order to get more playing time. As an Athletic Director, this is not a conversation that he'll even entertain, and he advises other Athletic Directors to do the same.