Post Season Evaluation by Parents (Scholastic)

Post Season Evaluation by Parents
      A post season evaluation by parents can be a productive conclusion to a wrestling season.  Coaches can use SurveyMonkey or any other provider of web-based survey solutions to gather the insights needed to make more informed program decisions.   A simple survey that can be completed anonymously might provide valuable feedback for future seasons.  

     Hopefully, coaches held some type of a parent orientation at the beginning of the session.  The orientation topics should have included the program philosophy and objectives, rules, policies, and procedures for both practice and competition (1).   Also, hopefully a mode of communication between parents and the coach was established and outlined. 

     A survey form for parent evaluation might include a rating scale to grade the coaches in all of those above-mentioned categories.  Coaches should also include a section for open-ended questions.  For instance, parents should be allowed to state what they thought went well throughout the season.  And then the same for what they felt didn’t go so well.  A final section might be added in which the coach asks for suggestions they may have to improve future seasons.

    This type of season-ending evaluation will help to empower parents and make them feel like they are part of the program.  Additionally, coaches may get suggestions that will actually benefit the program in future years.  Check out the NWCA Wrestling Coaches Resource Manual for additional tips on how to include parents in the post-season evaluation.

“Find a way and make it happen”….dj

References:

Martens, R.  (2015).  Successful coaching. Champaign, IL:  Human Kinetics.

Associate Professor-Jamestown Community College (SUNY)
Former Wrestling Coach & Author of Wrestling Drills for the Mat and Mind
DennisJohnson@mail.sunyjcc.edu