I was recently talking to a coach of a team my son once played on and he was telling me how various college coaches were calling him to ask about other players from that team.
Now this coach is a very fair man who will not hold a parent's actions against his/her son when asked for references. But one of the kids he was being quizzed on is a great kid, but his father absolutely ripped this coach up one side and down another on multiple occasions over playing time and other non-issues. Talk about burning bridges - the dad yanked the kid off the team in the middle of a national tournament. To me, this coach has every right to tell the college coach that while the kid is a nice kid and a good player, the parent is a big problem, but he won't. He has too much class.
But how many coaches do you think would hold their tongue - I say not a lot. I just wanted to relay this story, because I know for sure in our son's recruitment that many college coaches called our son's high school and summer coaches for opinions not only on his ability, but on his attitude and on OUR attitude and behavior as a family. Don't underestimate the importance to a college coach of how you and your family conducts themselves.
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