The MARA Parent Coaches are the glue that binds the athlete, coach and parent triangle. Their job is to answer your questions and to proactively distribute information that will ultimately improve your athlete’s experience with MARA.
Links pertaining to sports parenting, photos, videos, race results, etc. will be found below.
Mike Hoyt and Dave Spear are the current Parent Coaches. They maintain this web page.
They also answer the MARA phone. you can reach them at 541-708-1523.
I. Thou shall not impose thy ambitions on thy child. II. Thou shall be supportive no matter what. III. Thou shall not coach thy child. IV. Thou shall only have positive things to say at a competition. V. Thou shall acknowledge thy child’s fears. VI. Thou shall not criticize the officials. VII. Thou shall honor thy child’s coach. VIII. Thou shall be loyal and supportive of thy team. IX. Thy child shall have goals besides winning. X. Thou shall not expect thy child to become an Olympian. From USSA’s Successful Sports...
read moreWhen you read the MARA mission statement, you see words like “advancing fundamental skills” and “developing well rounded individuals.” Having been around MARA for many years myself, I’ve also heard- and used- words like growth, character, hard work, sacrifice and commitment to describe our athletes. While these are all worthy goals and attributes, we live in an increasingly cynical and sound bite driven culture. And while we all no doubt strive to rise above this cynicism and cultural mediocrity, we may at some...
read moreSeveral years ago, I was standing in the finish area of a race, when a young athlete came blazing down the course, looking for all the world like he’d finish with a fantastic time, only to crash spectacularly on one of the last gates. He skied off to the side of the finish area, obviously dejected and was approached by one of his parents. I could tell by the body language that the conversation was not going down the “You looked awesome…next time that’ll be a great result,” but rather the “Why can’t you stand up!!!” path. It was...
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