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Coaching Youth Sports - Crazy ### Parents (2 Viewers)

I coach classic soccer.  Each year I have a parents meeting to discuss the team rules, responsibilities, etc.  I tell them that I have no problem having the "playing time" discussion with them, but won't have it within 24-hours of the game.  It allows everyone to cool off a bit first.  The other thing I tell them is if they start the "my kid is better than player X" stuff, that I'll stop the conversation right there until I can get player X and his parent to be involved in the conversation.  That usually stops it.

 
Did the behavior of either of these players rise to the level of ejecting them from the game?
I would have punched this dad in the face and then asked him if he thought I should be ejected for it.

 
I just don't even understand the logic behind this.  Of course you can have it both ways.  I'm sure deep down everyone wants to win in this league...nine year olds, coaches, and parents.  But certainly not if it's at the expense of discipline, disrespect (kids throwing helmets, not listening to coaches, etc) or any other principle a coach is attempting to and should be instilling in nine year olds playing a game for fun.  And no matter what a family spends on hotels, meals, or uniforms, that doesn't give nine year olds kids or their parents a green light to do whatever they please and act as they want with the expectation being that "we paid lots of money to be here so how dare you bench my tantrum-throwing-child."  

Sorry, unless I totally missed the intent of your post that's just downright ludicrous.   And whether the OP is a hall of fame Cal Ripken league coach or the worst in the league, it sounds as though he has at least decent logic behind his decisions and has had an open line of communication with his players and other parents. 
Yeah, I'm not sure I really follow either.  We play to win - we don't freely sub out just so that every kid gets equal playing time and equal at bats, we put kids in the position they can best help the team win, we pitch the best arms, we put the best bats at the top of the order, etc.  But that doesn't mean you excuse breaking team rules and allow 9-year-olds to run the show.  There's a balance there.

I also don't get the fixation on "locking kids into positions."  We rotate during the league.  In all-stars, each kid has 1-2 positions they play depending on who is pitching. Over the course of the summer, the CF played P, 3B, SS, LF, CF and RF.  You have a normal, default position, but very few are "locked in."  

And over 4 tournaments, we stayed in hotels a total of 0 nights.  Parents chipped in $100 to cover uniforms and entry fees.  It wasn't an issue and doesn't justify #####ing about what position you played.

 
You really should have baited this clown. "Holy ish, your Grandfather was THEE EARL SMITH...(maybe rattle off a few Earl Smith memorable moments).  You know, I was second guessing myself with every single one of the decisions you mentioned.  Too bad you didn't speak up sooner, what a shame to have such a great resource unused on the sidelines.  I'm sure you must be really busy, at a really important job to coach baseball, but I'd love to have you as my assistant next season"

 
:mellow:

Not our best pitcher. Throws a wild pitch every 4 pitches. Walks/passed balls get you beat at this level of baseball every single time. 
alright buddy, settle down.  the impression I got was that the kid was your best player.  sounds like the dad is crazy and delusional.  I think he was owed more of a tongue lashing than what you gave him but can't fault you for taking the high road there.

 
The other thing I tell them is if they start the "my kid is better than player X" stuff, that I'll stop the conversation right there until I can get player X and his parent to be involved in the conversation.  That usually stops it.
I love this. Awesome.

 
alright buddy, settle down.  the impression I got was that the kid was your best player.  sounds like the dad is crazy and delusional.  I think he was owed more of a tongue lashing than what you gave him but can't fault you for taking the high road there.
:P  Wasn't really riled up, but I honestly couldn't tell if you were trolling me or not. 

 
My brother married a woman with two boys from previous marriage. 

The only thing those kids have ever heard is they are the best,  the coach doesn't know what he's doing,  he must not like them,  they should have been in the game.  Football,  lacrosse,  every level they've played at. 

The boys are as awful as you might imagine, and are entering high school, and are on the cusp of encountering hard coaching,  and adversity. 

Their mom never taught them humility,  team pride, or any of the stuff that's not about winning,  but contributes to winning.  

My guess is that they will waste their talent, quit a team or two,  sulk, and never fulfill their potential. 

 
I love how he prefaces his remarks with a river swim brag.  I'd tell him I volunteer my time and effort and I don't appreciate his text. If he doesn't like how I coach, his kid doesn't have to be on the team. Guy should be saying thank you.  Hate people like this.

 
Congratulations on being selected for Team 7 (forest green shirts) of the Scituate Soccer Club! My name is Michael and I have been fortunate enough to be selected to coach what I know will be a wonderful group of young ladies. Chris Mac will also be coaching and I expect the ever popular Terry to return to the sidelines. Our first game will be Saturday April 4 at 10:00AM. There will be a half hour of skills followed by a 1 hour game, so total time will be 1.5 hours. All games will be played on the fields in the front of the High School. Each player will be required to wear shin guards and cleats are recommended but not required. A ball will be provided to each player at the first meeting, and each player should bring the ball to games and practices. There is no set practice time allotted for the U8 teams, but I will convene with the coaches to determine the best time and place. If there are cancellations due to rain, all notices will be posted via the Scituate Soccer Club website, no calls will be made (though I will try to send an email). Attached is the Schedule and Code of Conduct. After listening to the head of the referees drone on for about 30 minutes on the dangers of jewelry (time which I will never get back), no player will be allowed to play with pierced ears, hairclips, etc. We used to tape the earings, but that practice is no longer acceptable. Please let me know if your child has any health issues that I need to be aware of. My home phone is XXX XXX XXXX, my cell number is XXX XXX XXXX, and I check my email frequently. According to my wife, my emails get too wordy, so for those of you read too slowly, are easily offended, or are too busy, you can stop here. For the others……

OK, here’s the real deal: Team 7 will be called Green Death. We will only acknowledge “Team 7” for scheduling and disciplinary purposes. Green Death has had a long and colorful history, and I fully expect every player and parent to be on board with the team. This is not a team, but a family (some say cult), that you belong to forever. We play fair at all times, but we play tough and physical soccer. We have some returning players who know the deal; for the others, I only expect 110% at every game and practice. We do not cater to superstars, but prefer the gritty determination of journeymen who bring their lunch pail to work every week, chase every ball and dig in corners like a Michael Vick pit bull. Unless there is an issue concerning the health of my players or inside info on the opposition, you probably don’t need to talk to me. Coach MacDonald has been designated “good guy” this year.

Some say soccer at this age is about fun and I completely agree. However, I believe winning is fun and losing is for losers. Ergo, we will strive for the “W” in each game. While we may not win every game (excuse me, I just got a little nauseated) I expect us to fight for every loose ball and play every shift as if it were the finals of the World Cup. While I spent a good Saturday morning listening to the legal liability BS, which included a 30 minute dissertation on how we need to baby the kids and especially the refs, I was disgusted. The kids will run, they will fall, get bumps, bruises and even bleed a little. Big deal, it’s good for them (but I do hope the other team is the one bleeding). If the refs can’t handle a little criticism, then they should turn in their whistle. The sooner they figure out how to make a decision and live with the consequences the better. My heckling of the refs is actually helping them develop as people. The political correctness police are not welcome on my sidelines. America’s youth is becoming fat, lazy and non-competitive because competition is viewed as “bad”. I argue that competition is good and is important to the evolution of our species and our survival in what has become an increasingly competitive global economy and dangerous world. Second place trophies are nothing to be proud of as they serve only as a reminder that you missed your goal; their only useful purpose is as an inspiration to do that next set of reps. Do you go to a job interview and not care about winning? Don’t animals eat what they kill (and yes, someone actually kills the meat we eat too – it isn’t grown in plastic wrap)? And speaking of meat, I expect that the ladies be put on a diet of fish, undercooked red meat and lots of veggies. No junk food. Protein shakes are encouraged, and while blood doping and HGH use is frowned upon, there is no testing policy. And at the risk of stating the obvious, blue slushies are for winners.

These are my views and not necessarily the views of the league (but they should be). I recognize that my school of thought may be an ideological shift from conventional norms. But it is imperative that we all fight the good fight, get involved now and resist the urge to become sweat-xedo-wearing yuppies who sit on the sidelines in their LL Bean chairs sipping mocha-latte-half-caf-chinos while discussing reality TV and home decorating with other feeble-minded folks. I want to hear cheering, I want to hear encouragement, I want to get the team pumped up at each and every game and know they are playing for something.

Lastly, we are all cognizant of the soft bigotry that expects women and especially little girls, to be dainty and submissive; I wholeheartedly reject such drivel. My overarching goal is develop ladies who are confident and fearless, who will stand up for their beliefs and challenge the status quo. Girls who will kick ### and take names on the field, off the field and throughout their lives. I want these girls to be winners in the game of life. Who’s with me?

 
Congratulations on being selected for Team 7 (forest green shirts) of the Scituate Soccer Club! My name is Michael and I have been fortunate enough to be selected to coach what I know will be a wonderful group of young ladies
Do you live in Scituate, MA? Grew up in Hingham, next door.

 
My response to the dad would be as follows.

"Hey ####face, I've never had a text from another male before that used a smiley face in the first sentence and frankly, it creeped me out a bit. I'm not into that kind of thing. If you're going to use emojis like that, try them on someone who hasn't been married for x years. As far as your son playing centerfield, you should probably have a talk with him soon. Not about being subjected to playing CF, but pre-empting the conversation you will need to have with him soon after your wife catches you swiping right on Grinder (Grindr?). You might as well get ahead of things here. Save your crying for 4 years from now when your marriage breaks apart and the night after you sign the papers, you're stuck in your new condo listening to Phil Collins on Spotify, while you're wife enjoys the home you paid for. I'm sorry you're upset your son was relegated to CF, kindly suck my yam bag from the back.

#### off,

Ray Mother####ing Karp####is"

 
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Also, Little League is a terrible organization for baseball development.  It is ok as a youth activity organization but if you want to develop baseball skills it is a terrible organization.
That's painting a pretty broad brush I'd have to disagree with.  The only argument I could go along with is that if there is a mass exit locally from all rec leagues to travel only and therefore the young player may face weaker competition.  I get that.  But if you're trying to make a big case for Pony or other leagues vs LL for development I don't buy it.   A lot of people think that if kids can lead off, steal, pitch from the stretch, play bigger basepaths at ridiculously early ages that it's better baseball or they will develop more quickly.  Not necessarily true. I've seen kids regress because of those very rules.   It all depends on the coaching and instruction they get for individual development.  A "league" has nothing to do with development.  Give me a great coach in any league and that kid will develop.

The OP handled the situation perfectly.   

 
I find his use of last names for nine year olds fascinating...it does make the situation seem more important...kind of like Knute Rockne saying something like...Smith, get in there and give them hell...

I have been coaching youth sports for awhile...before a season starts the parents need to know there is no email BS...if you want to talk you do it in-person and you set-up a time...no hiding behind a keyboard and be ready to hear the truth whether it's good or bad...you don't know how F'd up some people are until you deal with their kids...you are a far better man than me with your response (and it was the right thing to do)...I probably would have written back...I find your email to be creepy and this disappoints me because I'm a big Earl Smith fan...

 
I just don't even understand the logic behind this.  Of course you can have it both ways.  I'm sure deep down everyone wants to win in this league...nine year olds, coaches, and parents.  But certainly not if it's at the expense of discipline, disrespect (kids throwing helmets, not listening to coaches, etc) or any other principle a coach is attempting to and should be instilling in nine year olds playing a game for fun.  And no matter what a family spends on hotels, meals, or uniforms, that doesn't give nine year olds kids or their parents a green light to do whatever they please and act as they want with the expectation being that "we paid lots of money to be here so how dare you bench my tantrum-throwing-child."  

Sorry, unless I totally missed the intent of your post that's just downright ludicrous.   And whether the OP is a hall of fame Cal Ripken league coach or the worst in the league, it sounds as though he has at least decent logic behind his decisions and has had an open line of communication with his players and other parents. 
I probably didn't make myself as clear as possible, but I don't think it is worth getting into a more detailed discussion.  There are a million variables that are unknown which I think need to be known in order to really understand what happened in the game.  We're not going to get them here, so for the sake of argument, I'll retract my comments.

 
That's painting a pretty broad brush I'd have to disagree with.  The only argument I could go along with is that if there is a mass exit locally from all rec leagues to travel only and therefore the young player may face weaker competition.  I get that.  But if you're trying to make a big case for Pony or other leagues vs LL for development I don't buy it.   A lot of people think that if kids can lead off, steal, pitch from the stretch, play bigger basepaths at ridiculously early ages that it's better baseball or they will develop more quickly.  Not necessarily true. I've seen kids regress because of those very rules.   It all depends on the coaching and instruction they get for individual development.  A "league" has nothing to do with development.  Give me a great coach in any league and that kid will develop.

The OP handled the situation perfectly.   
Nail hit on the proverbial head. And I will add highly supportive parents in a positive way. My wife and I are our son's silent source of encouragement. Meaning absolutely no negative noise from the bleachers. Having coached travel league ball for several years I was mortified at how some dad's (and some crazy bulldog mom's) would yell and scream at their kids when they failed. They would bring them to tears during games. Just insane and a great way to make your kid one of the statistics of kids (really good kids I may add with great skills) quitting baseball by 13 years old.

Baseball is a game of a lot of failure. The first thing I taught my son. You're going to strikeout. You're going to make errors. Your going to make mistakes. Learning how to get over it quick and brush it off will make you a true ball player and mentally tough. 80% of the game is played above the shoulders (all physical skills being equal). When I see calm, confident kids I just look to the stands and see calm parents. When I see kids throwing helmets or checking out after errors....I look to the stands and see their parents doing the same. Amazing right? Not really.

At the OP's kids age level and being an "All-Star team" you probably had 2-3 kids who can easily play SS with competence. But there can only be one who get's most of the reps in a tournament like that. Plus you need great athletes in the OF. You knew exactly what you were doing. Good for you. You're doing it right. My son plays 4 different positions on his travel squad and I love it. At this age (he is 11) he should be playing everywhere and learning the game from all angles. Set positions at 11? Give me a break. Obviously not everyone is middle infielder. But he is an up the middle kid and plays SS, 2B CF and even LF when needed with pitching changes. He also pitches. He loves the game and has fun wherever he plays. He has plenty of time before he has to be in one or 2 spots (I see him long term being a 2B or CF, LF) Kid has lot's of speed and range and reads the ball amazingly well off the bat. And he loves playing the OF. Proud of him.

Anyway good work man. Don't even bother with this numb nut. A blip on the radar.

 
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My kid is 4 and I have been dreading getting involved in this whole youth sports league drama since he was born.  I'm the kind of guy who will start making sarcastic remarks, and screwing with the parent that is screaming, etc.  It likely going to end with an embarrassing YouTube that scars my kid for his entire life.  Stay tuned!

 
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I probably didn't make myself as clear as possible, but I don't think it is worth getting into a more detailed discussion.  There are a million variables that are unknown which I think need to be known in order to really understand what happened in the game.  We're not going to get them here, so for the sake of argument, I'll retract my comments.
With regard to the last sentence in your first post:

 But, from what I've read in this thread, this case isn't as simple as "parents who only care about winning are stupid."  There's more nuance here than that.
For me, this wasn't about the fact that they care about winning too much.  And there is more nuance involved, you're right.  The mom/dad characterized the situation as though we would have won the game if I didn't pull the kids out of the game, but since I did, we lost.  Ergo, I forfeited winning a game in order to discipline kids.

In reality, we had 3 base hits the entire game, the other team was up 6-0 at the time I removed the players, and we were out of pitching. But apparently had I left the CF in the game for that extra half inning, he would have single-handedly led us back to triumph.  The guy is nuts.

ETA:

And with those two out of the game, the rest of the team rallied in the last inning to pull it to a final score of 6-4.  Neither of those two kids' spot in the order ever came up in the inning. 

 
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My kid is 4 and I have been dreading getting involved in this whole youth sports league drama since he was born.  I'm the kind of guy who will start making sarcastic remarks, and screwing with the parent that is screaming, etc.  It likely going to end with an embarrassing YouTube that scars my kid for his entire life.  Stay tuned!
Tee ball and coach pitch should be a joy for you and your son. Enjoy it. If you end up coaching just communicate everything up front of how you will rotate and develop every single kid so there are no surprises.

If you get a problem parent....do not even deal with them. Send them to the player manager/GM of your league. That is there job. Your job is to be a role model in front of the kids and conduct yourself with the utmost class even in the face of the most despicable behavior by insane dumb parents. 

I have a great little league story for all of you. In 2013 I was the head coach for our 8U coach pitch select/ All-Star team. I live in a highly competitive city. Myself and 3 other coaches plus the two commissioners were in charge of the selection process. Every team nominated two 8 year old's and one 7 year old. We held try outs and made evaluations etc.

There was one kid whose father thought he was all world. I sent out emails to every kid selected and outlined the practice schedule (we had 10 team practices before the tournament started) and how I will give every kid an opportunity to play at least 2 positions in games based on try outs. That means infield and outfield. This particular kid hated playing the OF as I saw how un-interested he was in practice. But I believe every kid needs to learn and develop OF skills. Period. They are 8 years old. I also worked this kid at Catcher. Now in coach pitch it is not a huge deal, but this the first early development for a catcher in regards to setting a target for me, making plays at home, backing up first base on ground balls etc etc. The Dad wanted his kid to play first base. But I had two other kids who were clearly better suited for that position and I gave his son a real look there. But he probably dropped 12 straight balls thrown to him there in one practice, then again, then again. I am not for putting a kid in position to fail over and over and over so they get down on themselves. He was gung ho about catcher. I told him how important it will be to make outs at home and it is a very important position. He will have a chance to call out defense set ups, outs, where we are going with the ball etc, and be a team leader.

His Dad disagreed. So much so he sent me and the commissioner a long winded email about his sons knee condition that will not enable him to play catcher, that I never gave him a fair tryout at 1B blah blah blah blah. I was stunned. Just stunned a Dad would go this far with an 8 year old kid who really was excited to play catcher. Needless to say the commissioner told him if he has a knee condition he can't play at all. She wanted a clearance letter from his primary doctor or he was off the team.

Needless to say he played Catcher and RF.

But man. Parents are ****ing crazy. 

 
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With regard to the last sentence in your first post:

For me, this wasn't about the fact that they care about winning too much.  And there is more nuance involved, you're right.  The mom/dad characterized the situation as though we would have won the game if I didn't pull the kids out of the game, but since I did, we lost.  Ergo, I forfeited winning a game in order to discipline kids.

In reality, we had 3 base hits the entire game, the other team was up 6-0 at the time I removed the players, and we were out of pitching. But apparently had I left the CF in the game for that extra half inning, he would have single-handedly led us back to triumph.  The guy is nuts.
Full background;  I have three kids (step daughter, 18, freshman in college, played soccer, softball, basketball, volleyball, I coached her in basketball in middle school), two boys 14 and 12 who I have coached in baseball, football, and basketball (not always, rarely in baseball and football, basketball mainly), I have been on the board for the football program, I was the president of the basketball program last year.  I have seen and interacted with a LOT of coaches, and a LOT of parents.  I've seen all kinds.  Coaches who are crazy and are open about it.  Coaches that are crazy and aren't aware.  Coaches that are awesome.  Parents who are the worst of helicopters who are oblivious and think they are being rational.  Parents who think their kids are amazing, but are actually pretty bad. Parents who have realistic ideas about their kids.  Parents who are awesome and volunteer all the time, and parents who won't lift a finger to help, but are always the first to complain when something isn't done the way they want.

I'll be honest, some of your posts had red flags for me that made me start reading between the lines and start inferring things that weren't there.  I brought my own experience and bias to your story, which isn't fair to you.  I have no idea who you are or what type of coach you are, so instead of bogging this thread down in minutia, I'll just say congrats on a successful season and good luck. :thumbup:  

 
Ray, your response about parents getting mad at you benching kids is perfect.  

Accepting piss-poor behavior from players because they help you win is unacceptable, and you let them know that in no uncertain terms.  Players need to respect themselves, their coaches, and the game.  And this goes from 10 year old kids to professional players.  Keep doing what you are doing, man.

 
This would have been my response...

Dear (Sir),

First off, how are you?  And how did you get the keys to the Gekko alias?  In response to your complaints, I say point to the shirt, pal.  I also refer you to the tome I use to base all my coaching decisions upon, "Mr. Ishida's Bookstore."  Google it.  Read it.  If you don't like this, here is my address : 100 Mary #11, San Antonio, TX 78230.  Show up and we'll see who the tough guy is. 

If you still have questions upon finishing the book, please PM Shuke for more information.  You and your family is a d###.

Gllllllllllllllllllll peas,

Karpis

P.S. I know more about bats than you ever will.

 
I'll be honest, some of your posts had red flags for me that made me start reading between the lines and start inferring things that weren't there.  I brought my own experience and bias to your story, which isn't fair to you.  I have no idea who you are or what type of coach you are, so instead of bogging this thread down in minutia, I'll just say congrats on a successful season and good luck. :thumbup:  
10-4. I can understand a little caution and skepticism from you given the experiences you've had. All you have to go on is my account, and like you said, there is nuance and backstory that colors each situation like this.

 
That's painting a pretty broad brush I'd have to disagree with.  The only argument I could go along with is that if there is a mass exit locally from all rec leagues to travel only and therefore the young player may face weaker competition.  I get that.  But if you're trying to make a big case for Pony or other leagues vs LL for development I don't buy it.   A lot of people think that if kids can lead off, steal, pitch from the stretch, play bigger basepaths at ridiculously early ages that it's better baseball or they will develop more quickly.  Not necessarily true. I've seen kids regress because of those very rules.   It all depends on the coaching and instruction they get for individual development.  A "league" has nothing to do with development.  Give me a great coach in any league and that kid will develop.

The OP handled the situation perfectly.   
I agree the OP handled the situation great.

A great coach regardless of the organization (LL, Pony, Cal Ripken, etc) is definitely the key to all.  However, Little League is very hindering in their rules that really restrict baseball development.  Many of their safety rules (and I get it - safety first) go too far.  For example, a kid is not allowed to hold a bat until they are stepping into the batter's box to hit.  There is no on deck batter, there are no practice swings.  To me this is a detriment.  Teach kids proper bat safety instead of legislating it out of the league.  This is equivalent to saying you might get hit by a car if you cross the street so instead of teaching you how to cross the street we will just prohibit you from crossing the street.  It goes too far.

Another example is that no adult can warm up a player.  If they do -  that player is ineligible to pitch that day.  Some of the best instructional time I have had with pitchers is when I am catching them.  It gives a good look at their technique and speeds up the process because balls don't get by as much with a kid catching (it also helps speed up the game because you don't have to wait for the catcher that made the last out get all the gear on in between innings).  I have been told this was meant to allow more kids the opportunity to play catcher however most of the kids that are substitutes will get hurt if you threw them behind the plate to warm up the pitcher so it actually is a detriment because they get hit by a pitch are now afraid of the ball. 

As far as lead-offs and longer bases, I think there is a sweet spot and little league is too restrictive.  It's tough to go from 60' bases/46' pitching distance to full size field in one year from age 12 to age 13.  That is too big of a step.  I think a gradual increase in distances and things such as leading off give greater opportunity to develop baseball skills as you get older. 

All Stars is another detrimental process.  The "Majors" division can consist of 9-12 year olds if they get drafted into the league but the organization restricts the ages for all stars to 11/12 year olds or 10/11 or 9/10.  Why must their be an age restriction for All Stars when all the kids played in the same division?  For smaller leagues it really restricts the opportunity for kids that on the better side at a young age do not get the opportunity to play against the top players in the area.  Why should a 10 yr old that has played all year at the Majors level not be allowed to play on the top all star team?  Because he is too young?  He just played all year against these same 11 and 12 year old and did better than most of them (No, I am not speaking about my kid).  But this is another example of hindering baseball development by not letting a kid play against tougher competition because he doesn't fit the age rules even though he played at that level all season.

I think Little League had it's place but I do think its time to change to some degree.  I was on the board for our local Little League and tried to discuss many of these things with our local district office and was always met with the same inflexible, no discussion talk of "we are Little League and this is what we do".   I felt like I was beating my head against the wall anytime I tried to bring up suggestions to help the baseball development side of things. 

For background, I played baseball through college, coached at the high school level for 15 years (stopped when my son became old enough to play to coach him), coached little league for 6 years, and now am coaching travel ball because little league was too hindering.

 
Tee ball and coach pitch should be a joy for you and your son. Enjoy it. If you end up coaching just communicate everything up front of how you will rotate and develop every single kid so there are no surprises.

If you get a problem parent....do not even deal with them. Send them to the player manager/GM of your league. That is there job. Your job is to be a role model in front of the kids and conduct yourself with the utmost class even in the face of the most despicable behavior by insane dumb parents. 

I have a great little league story for all of you. In 2013 I was the head coach for our 8U coach pitch select/ All-Star team. I live in a highly competitive city. Myself and 3 other coaches plus the two commissioners were in charge of the selection process. Every team nominated two 8 year old's and one 7 year old. We held try outs and made evaluations etc.

There was one kid whose father thought he was all world. I sent out emails to every kid selected and outlined the practice schedule (we had 10 team practices before the tournament started) and how I will give every kid an opportunity to play at least 2 positions in games based on try outs. That means infield and outfield. This particular kid hated playing the OF as I saw how un-interested he was in practice. But I believe every kid needs to learn and develop OF skills. Period. They are 8 years old. I also worked this kid at Catcher. Now in coach pitch it is not a huge deal, but this the first early development for a catcher in regards to setting a target for me, making plays at home, backing up first base on ground balls etc etc. The Dad wanted his kid to play first base. But I had two other kids who were clearly better suited for that position and I gave his son a real look there. But he probably dropped 12 straight balls thrown to him there in one practice, then again, then again. I am not for putting a kid in position to fail over and over and over so they get down on themselves. He was gung ho about catcher. I told him how important it will be to make outs at home and it is a very important position. He will have a chance to call out defense set ups, outs, where we are going with the ball etc, and be a team leader.

His Dad disagreed. So much so he sent me and the commissioner a long winded email about his sons knee condition that will not enable him to play catcher, that I never gave him a fair tryout at 1B blah blah blah blah. I was stunned. Just stunned a Dad would go this far with an 8 year old kid who really was excited to play catcher. Needless to say the commissioner told him if he has a knee condition he can't play at all. She wanted a clearance letter from his primary doctor or he was off the team.

Needless to say he played Catcher and RF.

But man. Parents are ****ing crazy. 


I am stunned by this.  8U coach pitch select team?  I think this is part of what is wrong with the direction youth sports are going.

 
I am stunned by this.  8U coach pitch select team?  I think this is part of what is wrong with the direction youth sports are going.
Why is this wrong?  It gives the kids with a little better development at that point a chance to play against other kids that have better development.  It is generally a couple tournament long process that gets a few extra games for the kids that generally want to play more.

 
We have an 8U machine pitch team, they play in 1 tournament each year.   

it gives them a chance for extra practice and some games.  It is not super serious but not rec either.

One thing we started this year and I HATE but every other town is doing it.  8U travel team.

We are losing kids to other towns because they have an 8U travel team and we don't.   I hate the idea but apparently need to add one.

 
I am stunned by this.  8U coach pitch select team?  I think this is part of what is wrong with the direction youth sports are going.
Yeah it is maybe 4-5 more games added to the season for kids who have a little better development/skills. This is common practice in Little League since the 1970's.

The problem with Youth Sports is clearly the parents (helicoptering or clearly insane competitive in a bad way) and far too early specialization.  

I played "All-Stars" every summer in Little League. It was big deal to be selected and a lot of fun because we got to play more baseball and actually travel. When I was growing up....there was no such thing as "Travel Baseball" All Stars was Travel. It is a cool experience for the kids in Little League.

 
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Didn't read past the first page.

This is so tame in comparison to competitive traveling baseball.  I have seen adults fight, I have seen kids and parents curse out coaches, umpires and other parents.  I have seen cheating that is so blatant as to have a kid fake his name for a tournament.  I have seen illegal bats used.  Nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to youth sports.  I have seen the "Daddy Ball!" played to the point it drives kids from the team.  Most coaches want to play their son/daughter in the infield and it seems they end up at SS 90% of the time.  I have seen teams take 11 kids to a tournament out of state and 2 kids never play an inning or hit in the entire tournament.   In fact, I would go as far as to say if you play competitive sports at all ... never play with friends/family.   GL

"No one is going to win or lose a scholarship in 12 year old baseball!"

"Youth sports would be a wonderful thing if parents were not involved!"  

 
Yeah it is maybe 4-5 more games added to the season for kids who with a little better development. This is common practice in Little League since the 1970's.

The problem with Youth Sports is clearly the parents and far too early specialization.  

I played "All-Stars" every summer in Little League. It was big deal to be selected and a lot of fun because we got to play more baseball and actually travel. When I was growing up....there was no such thing as "Travel Baseball" All Stars was Travel. It is a cool experience for the kids in Little League.
We had All-Stars and then Summer Travel ball.

The thing they do in our league which I hate is open tryouts for the All Star team.  Meaning any kids can come out from the league and try out.  It just prolongs the process 

 
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I am stunned by this.  8U coach pitch select team?  I think this is part of what is wrong with the direction youth sports are going.
When my twins were 8 years old they played over 80 games that season.  They picked up on weekends with other teams if their main team was off.  This all came to a stop a year later when USSSA made rosters freeze so you could only play for 1 team.  Well unless you played (which we did) on a team that didn't play USSSA tournaments. :lol:  it is crazy.  

Hell my kids would play everyday and the weekends if they could.  

 
When my twins were 8 years old they played over 80 games that season.  They picked up on weekends with other teams if their main team was off.  This all came to a stop a year later when USSSA made rosters freeze so you could only play for 1 team.  Well unless you played (which we did) on a team that didn't play USSSA tournaments. :lol:  it is crazy.  

Hell my kids would play everyday and the weekends if they could.  
Same here. I had to beg my son so he can just take a break for the next 8 weeks. He is busting to get on a field right now LOL. I said hey man....go shoot some hoops, play some touch football with your buddies, go swimming. I also have taken him to play tennis a bunch this summer. But this kid just loves it. He demanded I take him for 20 minutes of BP in the cages off a simulator and said"the only thing I really want to do on my break is keep hitting. I promise not to throw a ball Dad" he really had a great season hitting (his best yet) and does not want to lose his timing or groove. Hilarious. I said fine. 20 minutes a week is not going to do anything bad.

He needs a break though. He loves the game so damn much. It is great as a Dad...and I am blessed. But kids need breaks and also time to just be a kid and have a fun summer.

He is on a highly competitive majors championship team and he loves his coach and teammates. It's a great situation. I could not of asked for a better one. All the parents get along and also "get it". We just got back a couple of weeks ago from a Key West Tourney (which we swept to win) and it was a great time for everyone and a nice way to end a long spring season. 

And yes I have seen it all in Travel. It is insane, brutal and tragic. But then you have great teams and families who get it and understand this is about development. I keep telling my wife when we look back on this.....if he goes on to play high school and potentially college (I have no idea what is going to happen...not a clue) this will all be a blip. The most important thing is he learns now is how to respect himself, others and develop life skills. That is what team sports in my eyes is supposed to be about.

Winning and sports success is the by-product of the hard work, time and effort you put in. These lessons will carry over to whatever he decides to do with his life.

Being able to have your kid in a sport/sports that they love and have fun in is critical IMO (or if they are not athletic art's or band or whatever is fun for them). It really is a life learning/skill experience in the end. And if they continue playing and are able to become that good.....awesome. But if not? Lessons for the rest of their adult life and how to work as team and succeed in everything they do.

 
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:lol:  My daughter is 10 and hasn't hit the I gotta do this stage yet.   I have to make her go out and pitch.

Once we go out she's fine but she's not asking me to do it yet

 
:lol:  My daughter is 10 and hasn't hit the I gotta do this stage yet.   I have to make her go out and pitch.

Once we go out she's fine but she's not asking me to do it yet
You never know what may happen with your daughter.  My wife played softball in college and had her number retired from high school.  There is a giant mural at the softball complex where she played with all her accomplishments.   She didn't even think she wanted to play softball until she was 16.  She didn't put in the work, and didn't have the dedication.  This all changed when she was asked to tryout for the all star traveling team which she made.  It was there that she learned she had to put in the work if she wanted to get to the next level.   Of all the girls she played with on that summer all star team her junior year of high school 8 of the 11 girls went on to play D1 softball.     Funny thing is that she knows more about the game of baseball/softball than anyone I know, and my boys will not listen to her about hitting tips, fielding tips, or even pitching.  Sorry for the rant.  You just never know. 

 
Oh I know.  She made our travel team and had a great year and enjoys it, once she is there.

I don't press her yet except for pitching.  She wants to pitch and thats not somehting you can do 1 hour per week

 
As far as lead-offs and longer bases, I think there is a sweet spot and little league is too restrictive.  It's tough to go from 60' bases/46' pitching distance to full size field in one year from age 12 to age 13.  That is too big of a step.  I think a gradual increase in distances and things such as leading off give greater opportunity to develop baseball skills as you get older. 
I didn't realize this about LL.  That is crazy.  Cal Ripken typically goes to 70'/50' at 11-12 before going to full size at 13.  12s shouldn't be pitching from a 46' mound.

 
  One of the hardest things I have ever done was tell my son he was done with baseball at nine years old.  Especially since he was the best pitcher in his league.  It's really turned into a cult around here, and my family wants no part of it.  

  There was a time when baseball was my religion.  I was the best player probably in our town until I was thirteen or so.  I was solid in high school and we won a state championship.   I choose fraternity life over baseball by college, but I started coaching as a freshman.  I ran a college summer league team until my son was born.  Coached him until we stopped playing.  

  My point in all this is I'm the guy who should be loving all this, and I HATE where youth baseball has gotten to.  I predict it will crash and burn sooner then later.  Youth softball in my town is probably even worse.  Cults!

 
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:loco:  U8 select/all-stars.
That sounds a bit young (and I'm not quite sure of the definition of select/all-starts), but I think travel ball at that age is actually a good idea.

My son plays in the local U8 rec league, random teams, and he's the best or 2nd best player on his team.  And that's not because he's a great ballplayer.  It's as simple as he knows the game and is engaged.  He'll play 3rd, field a grounder, and get bent out of shape because there's no one covering 2nd or 1st.  Or, if he does make the throw there's only a 25% chance it's caught.  He's essentially just an average baseball loving kid.  But he's relatively great because it's a rec league.  There's about 4 kids like him on his team - decent athletes and engaged.  4 who aren't very coordinated, but are engaged, and 4 space cadets (facing the wrong way, forgetting how to hold the bat every time, etc.).

He has a couple friends on one of the local travel teams that are 10x the baseball player he is.  It really wouldn't be fair for those kids (or the rest of the league) if the rec league was their only option.  It would actually be dangerous for them to be out there smoking the ball towards 3rd while Paxton is "fielding" with his head down making dirt piles.  My kid is frustrated every game (I've worked with him on internalizing it and not being outwardly upset with his teammates... now, I just hear about it later), and I'm just bored watching these kids take 40 seconds to get the ball from the catcher back to the pitcher.  I couldn't imagine how really good players and their parents would feel.

It seems like baseball is the default sport where parents put the unathletic kids just to have them doing something.  But that causes a huge range of skill that the travel teams alleviate, to a certain extent.

 
The biggest problem with LL is the parents.

The 2 d biggest problem is the bats. Today's bats turn average hitters into sluggers. Next time you watch the LL World Series on tv watch the slomo replays of the home runs. Most of the balls that clear the fence by 30 ft aren't even close to being squared up. Rant over...

 
Todem said:
Yeah it is maybe 4-5 more games added to the season for kids who have a little better development/skills. This is common practice in Little League since the 1970's.

The problem with Youth Sports is clearly the parents (helicoptering or clearly insane competitive in a bad way) and far too early specialization.  

I played "All-Stars" every summer in Little League. It was big deal to be selected and a lot of fun because we got to play more baseball and actually travel. When I was growing up....there was no such thing as "Travel Baseball" All Stars was Travel. It is a cool experience for the kids in Little League.
I guess I was more thinking of my 7 yr old  (April ) who is on a coach pitch team compare to my son who turns 9 next week and is in his second year of machine pitch. 

I see arguments for both sides. I think a lot of it depends on the coach and temperament of the team. It should be able developing players and all skills. 

I would rather work on skills with my team that basic batting practice scimmage during practice. 

My coach pitch team had 2 practices, then 4 games and will have 1 practice next week then 4 more games. So instead of more practices to repeat skills the players get to stand around and play in the dirt during games. 

Also if I would have a nickel for every coach that said elbow up I could remodel my house like @Otis

 
The biggest problem with LL is the parents.

The 2 d biggest problem is the bats. Today's bats turn average hitters into sluggers. Next time you watch the LL World Series on tv watch the slomo replays of the home runs. Most of the balls that clear the fence by 30 ft aren't even close to being squared up. Rant over...
Agree.  If those little league teams were to play USSSA AAA/Majors teams they would get crushed.  Unless of course the LL is cheating and loading their teams with AAA/MAjors kids. 

 

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