Aparent: I posted some comments on the thread 'Should the parents be a negative factor?' on page five and I don't know how to transfer them here so I won't be redundant here. I do have some other thoughts on this topic so thanks for starting it.
For those parents that recognize high maintenance (HM) parents and work hard not to slip into this type of behavior themselves they hopefully will be rewarded by their athlete getting the nod over an athlete with HM type parents with everthing else being equal. Which coach,upon knowing all the facts, would select a headache situation into his program? The possible exception of course is a HM coach! They do exist I'm sure.
The common wisdom is to match an athlete and his characteristics to an ideal,complementary program which necessarily includes the influence of the coach (the coach may very well be the most important factor in making a decision).
My point is that by comparison if you are not a HM parent then you and your athlete will probably look quite attractive next to a HM parent and their athlete. If HM parents and HM coaches attract each other than a good match has been found and the common wisdom has prevailed.
Attempts to manage or diffuse the HM's carnage would be difficult but if it could be demonstrated to them that their bad behavior actually goes counter to what they are so desparately trying to achieve then it may sway their behavior towards the better.
Anyone else have thoughts on this matter?