Football is considered a religion in the state of Alabama.

High School coaches, especially in Dallas County, put themselves through a yearly grind of attempting to build a winning team. Players attend camps and go through

Over the last few weeks, I’ve seen some parents ignore the coach, instructing plans to their sons as if they were the coach.

I’m not going to single out any school or person because that’s not fair to the coaches who work so hard to prepare players every week attempting to win games. Not every parent does that, just a few.

Whenever a coach tells a player what play to run and screams at the player for lack of execution, the coach has every right to do so unless there’s some physical interaction involved.

I played football in an era where the coach grab you by face mask and scream various words of profanity. I took the criticism in stride, because he’s the coach and I’m the player. My family never stood in the way.

Several weeks ago, I witnessed a player walking off the field and going straight to his father. The man gave his son advice as if he was the coach. I thought that was disrespecting the coach. I thought the man was out of line.

I don’t have a problem with parents screaming from the stands at the officials because I find that amusing. The referees are always out to get their children.

But having a parent override a coach irritates me. Let the coach do their job and save your criticism at home.

I’m not usually one to tell parents how to raise their children, a rule established by my grandmother in me many years ago.

However, I will make an exception for this. Parents, let the coaches do their jobs and support your children. They have your kid’s best interest at heart.