If you have a child, you should ask yourself: Is it a good idea to coach my childrens teams, or should I leave the task to someone else?

Ive been a Little League manager, Ive coached soccer and basketball, and Ive written a book about my experiences: 101 THINGS PARENTS SHOULD KNOW BEFORE COACHING THEIR KIDS SPORTS TEAMS. (Contemporary/Mc-Graw-Hill: 2000)

Whether you should follow in these footsteps depends on you, your kid, the sport, the parents, and the league.

You should consider six factors before you take the plunge, or are pushed into the water by other parents who want you to do it, saying they desperately need your help.

(1) Do you have the time?

In my book, I have a section called, Welcome to your second full-time job! If you work out the math of the commitment, its nothing less than astonishing. Practices, games, strategic planning, coordinating with other parents, league meetings, and travel to and from the sports venues adds up to a huge weekly commitment. And the season can seem insufferably long, especially in baseball or softball. Then, theres the post-season!

(2) Do you have the right attitude to manage kids at play?

My softball teams name was the Wildcats, and they lived up to it! You may be familiar with the expression that the task was like herding cats. Exactly!

You have to be patient, and as some adults might see it, insufferably upbeat. This is where kids learn to have a positive mental attitude, and you are their leader. If youre a cynic, a pessimist, or simply going through a depressing patch in your life or career, please avoid this assignment.

(3) You cant hate soccer and coach it well.

I happen to like soccer, but I didnt grow up with it. I was a baseball, football, and basketball player, with a baseball emphasis. For me, soccer has been an acquired taste, and this is a plus. I dont have a zillion war stories that Im dying to share about how great I was in the sport. What a relief to the kids! If you just dont get soccer, or you dislike it, admit it to yourself, and cheer politely from the stands.

(4) Will your kids be comfortable having Mom or Dad as the coach?

My daughter didnt like the fact that I was coach because I paid more attention to the others than to her. Thats inevitable; there are a bunch of them and one of her. While I think she may have secretly liked the special status a coaching parent is given, it didnt compensate for losing me as a full-time, dedicated cheerleader.

(5) Parents can make kid sports ugly.

A parent of a girl on my team stormed the field and made threats to me as I was standing at third base, in the fifth inning of a game, coaching. It wasnt a happy episode. There were nasty phone calls from parents who believed their girls should have received more playing time, even if they missed a lot of games and practices.

A lot of these folks you wouldnt have work on a car, let alone a childs personality, but you have to accept what youre given. Draft a kid, and the parents come along, good or bad.

(6) League officials can be, and probably are, the village idiots.

There; I said it!

For some reason community sports attract some of the strangest administrators. Power, politics, and egos seem to drive many of them, and they can drive you nuts, as well, because you are answerable to them.

Well, I didnt tell you how wonderful it is coming to the first practice, walking onto a beautifully manicured field, or watching a child surprise everyone, including himself, by making a great, game winning play; something hell celebrate for a lifetime.

Thats a part of coaching, too.

So, balance everything, and make a decision thats best for you.

And one more thing: it takes a lot of work on your part to make it play, for kids!