Parents probably seldom ever give it much thought but they are in many respects the ultimate coaches, if the game of life is anything to go by.
But throw in something like sport into the equation and the mentoring skills that helped nurture a tiny tot into a teenager can abruptly feel like a protracted season.
The lines can become somewhat blurry when, in the eyes of tumultuous teenagers, parents suddenly start looking like some sort of ogre.
"Sometimes I find it quite hard to separate coach from dad. I've got to work on making it more distinguishable where I'm not arguing so much," says Georgia Hulls of her father, Dean, before she jets off to Poland today for the IAAF World U20 Championship at Bydgoszcz from July 20 to 25.
But the grinning 16-year-old sprinter isn't oblivious to the value her father adds, when she offers a "yes and no" verdict on what it's like to have him as coach.
"Obviously it's got advantages and disadvantages. He's always around so he knows how I'm always feeling and that sort of thing.
"If I'm training and I feel bad I can always tell him to move it to another day quite easily," says the year 12 pupil from Havelock North High School who previously competed in the World Youth Championship in Colombia.
Dean, the sports co-ordinator at Hastings Boys' High School, has been coaching Georgia since she was 7, from Hastings meetings to Colgate Games.
"As all parents with teenagers know you tend to have mood swings, particularly with young ladies, so it means I can change training sessions on the cuff to suit the mood.
"The hardest thing has been recognising the difference between dad and coach," says the 46-year-old who also specialises in hockey coaching.
He understands his daughter's desire to draw a line in the sand in the quest of a heightened state of awareness, which has made his work harder.
"She obviously says things to me she wouldn't say to other coaches," says Dean, revealing they have tried to adapt in the past year when "she's grown a lot".
He suspects they have, through professionalism, got through that turbulent phase where, soon after, a filial display of mutual respect and compliance kicks in.
"She trusts me, I think, as a coach," says Hull, but he is mindful it isn't something parents can ever take for granted, considering that sense of belief is a work in progress from day dot.
Staying ahead of his daughter's development is the challenge for Dean, who regularly exchanges notes with his counterparts amid research.
"If I'm always ahead of her I can help her develop but at the point I can't is when I will have to let go.
"At the moment I'm doing the best job I think I can do for any coach in Hawke's Bay for her but in two years she goes to uni and we'll have to see what pathway she wants to go down."
Overall it's priceless to for Dean to see his child approach adulthood.
"The most pleasing thing for me is that she's turning into a nice person and I enjoy working with her as a coach."
Hulls has qualified for the 100m, 200m and the New Zealand 4 x 100m relay team but athletes won't know where they will fit in until July 18.
Lucy Sheat, 16, of Blenheim, clocked 23.75 in 200m at the nationals in March, erasing the U17, 18 and 19 records which have stood for 26 years. 100m champion Zoe Hobbs, Georgia Hulls and Olivia Eaton also went under the 24s world champs standard.
Hulls prefers the 200m and 4 x 100m events. Her personal best times are 11.78s (100m), 23.80s (200m) and the team has clocked 45.04s in the relay where she runs the anchor leg but she likes to think she's adept at any point of transition.
"The relay is the priority this time around and I think I'm better at the 200 metres when you compare it worldwide."
Little things, such as block starts and nutrition, all contribute towards boosting her speed.
She trains six days a week on the track, usually putting her feet up on Thursdays between 12 hours of honing her skills.
Going to Commonwealth Games and the Olympics remain the ultimate goal but that's where the worlds become an ideal yardstick of where she's at.
She doesn't fit the mould of the stereotype sprinters who tend to feed off certain attitudes.
"I try to keep my confidence inwards," she says with a laugh, agreeing she's not the type to strut.
She has had to grow quickly because at the higher tier in New Zealand more people are running faster.
"I've had to mature more and race against older people as if they were my peers, I guess."
Four trips to Australia have helped, especially pertaining to the professionalism there from the commentators and "the process".
The Pathway to Podium athlete is indebted to her key sponsor, businesswoman Rachael Shaw, of Napier, who came on board via Sport Hawke's Bay last year.
"She's been a fantastic helper, it's been wonderful. She's coming to Poland as well," Hulls says.