Matt,

I am personally offended by your general statement and believe it shows complete ignorance for how the Opti class operates.
As someone who coaches one of the most elite opti teams throughout the year I admit there are some coaches that cause a problem but for the most part the goods outweigh the bads and I am proud to say that the opti kids coming out of the US system now are generally getting better with every year. Our last worlds team (which I have coached kids that got 7th and 12th) was the highest placing worlds team in US history.
As a one time "opti nationals" judge it is completely ignorant for you to pass judgment on this one experience. I believe that Mike may have had a similar opinion at first (as did I) but as you become to know the system you will understand more on how it works. There will always be overbearing parents and coaches, as there will be in every sport. Some kids will benefit from this and some will get negative experience from this. But generally the paid coaches are all growing the sailors and the parents are supporting the kids (morally and financially) more than any of our parents ever did. When I first started I swore my kids would never sail Optis in the current system. Now that I have been around for several years I would not want my kids to miss out on all the awesome opportunities and would put lots of effort in for them to get the most out of this experience as do so as all the current Opti parents do.

-Todd Riccardi