The coach sent out an email asking for volunteering from parents. Hi All, Are there one or two parents who could help me with the following tasks: 1. Accounting for Zone Finals and Banquet. I need help tracking and formatting money in and out for these two events. 2. Sponsorships I need assistance with collecting sponsors for year end awards. When Leesan first joined the Stanford High School Team, there was a coordinator called Sarah. She quitted because she was not happy with her pay. There were also helpful Stanford college students on duty to help riders. Riders did not have to pay the coach extra coaching fees on the day of competition. Classes were smaller and people were friendlier. In the second year, classes became unpractically big. Parents were recruited to take on responsibilities originally assigned to college kids. These were often people like me who were not familiar with horses. These parents were given minimal training to supervise kids around the barn. Then they were asked to take on more responsibilities during a chaotic construction phase when children had to fetch and return their own lesson horses crossing path with gigantic construction trucks on the way. Did the barn provide any extra reliable help to safe guard children in case the commotion causes horses to panic and get out of control? No. Any parents who were willing could take on the responsibility. Its actually very irresponsible if the Barn to put parents like me in charge when no others were willing to volunteer supervising kids to and from the mare motel which was a long distance away from the lesson arena. I could neither run fast enough nor was I strong or knowledgeable enough to handle horses. College students were no longer assigned to be on duty to help out. And the few Spanish speaking stable hands who were around were not supposed to the High School and Middle School kids. They were only available to serve private clients. But then when holiday season comes around, the middle and high school team were asked to contribute money to pay them tips. What logic is that? The University should have hired more trained stable hands or tidings lessons should be cancelled on disruptive days. Alternatively the coach should hire an assistant. No they want nothing that would incur expense on their part. Parents and riders just have to deal with it. This year, riders were required to pay for the whole years riding fee in one go before they start the season. In the past, the payment was collected half yearly. A riding lesson at Stanford is more expensive than at many other barns but its the only practical way to compete in IEA competitions so its like a monopoly in the Bay Area. Yet the coach did not take make-up lessons seriously. They were not really proper lessons. Its like a half-hearted gesture to pacify parents. All these point to the fact that the Barn is trying to get as much as possible from riders while providing less and less in return. Even the Stanford college students we came across were not as nice as the first year. They are getting smaller and meaner , one rider remarked. Of course, there are nice people at Stanford, we just havent come across that many of them. The mercenary ones spoiled the fun. And since the mentality of the head coach of the college team is: if you dont like it, there are plenty of people waiting to get in, I certainly dont see any turn for the better in terms of character building for riders and business ethics. I consider myself fairly forgiving and accommodating. But I can warrant this coach is not a good candidate to head this team because he has not put his heart and soul in the building a team. He sees this job as a good source of income and he really does not act in the best interest of riders. Hes lucky that the riders can win despite of him! Now, there is more unpaid work to be handed out. If its a non-profit situation or if the coach is more well-intentioned, I would happily sign up. But when the benefit is so loop-sided, I have more important things to take care of. Yet I am sure he will not be short of volunteers.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 08:27:46 +0000
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