My kids are out of basketball now, but I have found that PPS is not as bad a DCS (dumb coach syndrome).
It's natural that parents think their kids are exceptional. Parents are there to give their kids the best they can, so of course they will promote their kids as much as they can. I have seen parents volunteer as Team Manager just so their child gets a Div 1 spot. That's the more overt PP way, others have a more covert way of sucking in dumb coaches. The issue is when the gap between the child's ability and expectations widens.
DCS is when a coach, or coaching director, writes players off, or "hangs their hat" on a kid whose ability is not there, will never be there and they are selected based on the wrong factors. "The next best thing" “They’re gunna be masisve” I have seen too many dumb decisions made by dumb coaches based on bias and perception. Idiotic feedback to children like “I don’t rate you” designed to get them to “prove me wrong” in fact does not inspire children. It just drives them away. Pathetic outbursts to a team after a tough game stating “you’re the worst team at this club” is a put down that does not motivate that team to continue working hard. A good example of DCS is a coach telling an U14 girl she is “too fat”.
One cancer at a club is player turnover. Each time a player leaves it actually means more effort by coaches to train those new players into the plays and expectations. Dumb coaches create player turnover through a lack of interpersonal skills, favouritism, and an inability to motivate those players. Dumb coaches are looking for “The next best thing” without realising they are the ones who need to put the effort into creating the next best thing. Smart coaches look for the switch in children, dumb coaches look for the easy solution.
In life, we all have to deal with difficult people. “Pushy” parents are just one example of difficult people, but difficult people can be managed. Dumb coaches on the other hand damage a club more than any “pushy” parent can.