Overconfident Parent Refuses To Follow Young Sailing Coach’s Instructions, So His Boat Capsizes. But Instead Of Taking Responsibility, He Blames The Coach And Pulls His Kid Out Of Lessons.
by Benjamin Cottrell
Many people who work with children say it’s not the kids who cause the most trouble, but their parents.
This story involving a young sailing instructor and a prideful dad is no different.
When the father refuses to follow instructions, a simple lesson spirals into a turbulent confrontation.
Read on for the full scoop.
AITA for yelling at a dad and then him forced his child to quit the sport I’m coaching?
I am 21. I coach and teach children sailing since I was 15.
Despite their age, they have plenty of compelling credentials under their belt.
I have 13 years of experience in sailing and I’ve competed many times in national and international level as a teen.
I have my lifeguard certification and I also have a license to drive motorboat.
We are the only sailing club in the area I’m in.
The young sailing instructor sets the scene.
One day, I am the only coach there. That day, we had only two kids about 10 years old: Ben and Nick.
Ben’s dad, Terry 50, really wanted to try sailing and since there wasn’t much air, I agreed.
This particular lesson didn’t quite go as planned.
I was on the motorboat alone when suddenly fuel didn’t get to the engine, causing me to be no better than a floating ball.
I call over the children and Terry to give them instructions until help arrives.
The father, however, was more difficult to deal with.
Terry doesn’t follow my instructions because his son is telling him to try different things.
That causes Terry to capsize.
After about half, an hour help arrives and takes us all to shore.
Terry refuses to take responsibility, and instead starts throwing insults.
Then Terry starts telling me that I am careless and he doesn’t trust me and I’ve put their lives at risk because, “I am just a kid who doesn’t know what they are doing and his son knows better than me.”
The instructor tries to reason with him, to no avail.
I kindly reminded him that everything his son knows has learnt it from me and I don’t understand why he as the adult didn’t follow my instructions and instead listened to a child.
He started yelling at me that I am the reason he got wet and he put his life at risk.
He said that it was my incompetence that made the boat stop working and that I wouldn’t know about that because I am just a dumb kid and he knows better.
The instructor loses their cool and goes off on the father.
Then I lost it.
I told him something along the lines of “how the heck, in your first day, do you know more than me that I’ve been in this sport my whole life?” etc.
He started screaming about how my incompetence got him wet and that I’ve insulted him.
He grabbed his kid who has started crying and told him that he must quit because “he can’t tolerate disrespect.”
So, was I the AH?
Sounds like pride got the best of this dad.
Did Reddit agree?
The instructor was right to prioritize the safety of their students.
Adults are much harder to argue (and reason) with.
Terry does know that getting wet is a very real part of sailing, right?
This redditor doesn’t think Terry will ever change his ways.
The real danger isn’t the water, but Terry’s refusal to be reasoned with.
This father should have checked his ego at the dock.
If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.
Categories: STORIES
Tags: · aita, bad parent, boat sailing, customer service, mad people, picture, reddit, sailing, sailing lessons, top
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