Thread: As a coach, what would you do

I'm posting this hear to get the opinion of coaches but parents of players please give your opinion as well.

Heartbreaking as it is, a girl on DD's basketball team had her father pass away this week. He'd been sick for a while and we all knew it was just a matter of time. This girl has played on the team for several years and is just a great kid. Her brothers as well. The father's Wake is this week on the same day as our first game. Should we cancel the game out of respect? The times do not conflict but my initial feeling was yes we should.

What do you all say?

The team should go and support the family as RHC stated. The game can be rescheduled.

I played the night of my father's funeral. There was no time conflict. I was 16. I would have felt even worse, if someone would have cancelled my game.

I think you need to ask the individual girl.

Time conflict or not, you should cancel the game. Reschedule for another day. Go support this young lady through an extremely difficult situation. There will be plenty of time for sports, she needs moral support now. Go rent a movie and have the team just hang out with her. Doesn't have to be a somber sit around and pray sort of thing, just having her teammates there with her would probably do wonders.

Originally Posted by InsidePitch

This girl has played on the team for several years and is just a great kid. Her brothers as well. The father's Wake is this week on the same day as our first game. Should we cancel the game out of respect?

I agree with those who suggested canceling the game. The teammates can be there to support their friend. I am sure many of the parents on the team have lost a good friend too and can be there to support the surviving spouse.

IMHO would be a great lesson to the girls that there are things in life more important than a game......and it would mean the world to that girl and her family if all her teammates showed up for the funeral - in uniform!

My sympathies go out to this family. A couple of months ago, we lost a local coach to cancer. He left two pre-teen girls behind. There are no right or wrongs as far as protocol over what is acceptable, at a time like this.

My former teammates were at my sister's funeral, to support me, just last week. Forty years later, we can still rely on each other.