PARENTS and coaches who have locked horns over junior sports team selections are flooding the complaints inbox of the government-backed Play by the Rules project.
As the sporting season kicks off and Queensland clubs and schools complete trials and post team selections, the chief of the "fair play" national initiative confirms that he has been flooded with gripes from unhappy parents and coaches across all the sporting codes.
"Every parent thinks they have a star in the making and some lose sight of the fact that it is about positive participation and not all about winning or being in the A team," said Paul Oliver, who runs the Play by the Rules website supported by the Australian Sports Commission.
"Dealing with angry parents at the start of the new season is a growing problem. Some parents can have too high expectations."
The initiative works to prevent and deal with discrimination, harassment and child safety issues in sport.
"While many clubs have strict parent guidelines there are also young coaches at schools or clubs not equipped to deal with pressure from parents," Mr Oliver said.
The principal of Brisbane's Moreton Bay Boys' College and Moreton Bay College believes parents need to step back and be realistic about their children's sporting abilities as schools start posting team lists on noticeboards.
"It's typical at this time of the year for schools to come under pressure from parents who are not happy about their child missing out on the A-team or not making a team at all," principal Jennifer Haynes said.
"Usually the children are very realistic about their own sporting abilities and can be embarrassed when parents become too involved, so it's not a positive experience for anyone."
Mr Oliver believes that all clubs and schools should set hard and fast rules for parents to try to keep "negativity" at bay. The Play by the Rules website offers advice on how to make a valid complaint without causing unnecessary club or team rifts.
"The majority of the complaints we receive are about what parents perceive as unfair team selections but there is also a lot of feedback of children not getting enough game time or coaches being too rigid with rules or too aggressive. But coaches who feel pressured by pushy parents also seek out help," said Mr Oliver.
Football Queensland chief operations officer Ben Mannion believes the education of parents at clubs from day one is vital for keeping conflict at bay.
"I run the elite soccer program and managing parents is a big part of the job," he said.
"Parents of children that show some potential can be harder to handle but we have strict guidelines and we enforce them.
"Our research shows that children work better when parents are not present."
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