Playing for dad at any level has it’s ups and downs. At the University of Rhode Island, wife & mom, Cindy Baron makes the father-son/coach-player tandem of Coach Jim Baron and player Jimmy Baron work.

The friction seems particularly difficult in this story as the blunt, workaholic Coach Baron is driven not to favor his son on the court while Jimmy seems motivated to work so hard so as to deprive anyone from using the line ‘coach’s son.’

The guardedness and sacrifice of the father-son relationship is palpable. As Jimmy Baron told the New York Times (When Father and Son Clash at Rhode Island, Mom Mediates):

“The hardest part has been not being able to develop a father-son relationship. We try not to show much affection in front of the other guys, because you don’t want them to get the perspective that what he’s doing is for his son.” (NYT)

Noteworthy from the boarding school perspective, Jimmy’s high school basketball career bloomed late during a post-graduate year at Worcester Academy (Worcester, MA). His brother Billy Baron, will also attend Worcester.

Photo credit: Balakov