Catcher with issues

[redhotcoach]

No...the issue was started by the head coach who doesn't have a child on the team. The parent meeting is not to ask their opinion but to let them know if these two things aren't fixed she won't catch and could be benched. She is a power hitter having hit one over the fence earlier this year. We would like to keep her but not at the expense of the attitude invading the team.

Can't she just be put somewhere else for a while? Why does it have to be catcher or nothing? Why do you have to notify the parents? Sorry, just sounds like you are putting a little girl up in front of the jury of parents. Working with catchers, I know for a fact they hear a lot of crap that parents on the other side of the fence are puking out about them like the fence is sound proof. Being around a lot of softball parents, a good chunk of them have no compassion for any kids but their own.

 

[mosftballdad]

It is just with her and her parents not the whole team. She will play somewhere else if she can't fix the issue at hand but the pouting and bad attitude will get her benched if the meeting between the head coach, her and her parents doesn't fix it. We have had four sets of parents complain that their daughter was "bullied" by her. She is a big girl standing literally head and shoulders above the rest of them. I don't think she intended to bully them but her size and voice may have come across that way. She has gone from team to team over the last several years and now we see why. We are hoping to stop it here.

 

[redhotcoach]

It is just with her and her parents not the whole team. She will play somewhere else if she can't fix the issue at hand but the pouting and bad attitude will get her benched if the meeting between the head coach, her and her parents doesn't fix it. We have had four sets of parents complain that their daughter was "bullied" by her. She is a big girl standing literally head and shoulders above the rest of them. I don't think she intended to bully them but her size and voice may have come across that way. She has gone from team to team over the last several years and now we see why. We are hoping to stop it here.

Ah! That sounds like a much better idea then the way I was understanding it.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Had a 2nd year U14 catcher who was pretty decent, but also had pouting/attitude issues when things didn't go the way she wanted them to i.e., balls in the dirt, PBs/WPs, inconsistent strike zone etc. Those issues went away for the most part when she played OF, where, IMO, she seemed to feel less focus and pressure on her and perform better. She stopped playing altogether after 1 year of U16.

Sounds like this girl has been pigeoned holed as a C because of her physical size, which doesn't necessarily mean that she has the skill set or mental make up to be successful at that position. Something to think about...

 

[Sparky Guy]

She is a big girl standing literally head and shoulders above the rest of them.

My guess is she may be big but is not athletic. I've seen more than my share of girls like that. They can hit ball hard, but can hardly leg out a double. That is why she is catching.

She has gone from team to team over the last several years and now we see why. We are hoping to stop it here.

Do you really think you'll be able to do something that hasn't been tried before??? Every area in every age group has a couple of kids who bounce from team to team due to either parent problems or player attitude problems. I've seen a player go through 5 teams in the period of less than two years because dad was an idiot and turned the daughter into a head case. After a while their reputation precedes them and the programs who've been around a while avoid them like the plague. Eventually, they disappear into the sunset.

 

[mosftballdad]

We are treating both issues seperately. If she won't do what is asked in the catchers position she will be moved to another position. If the attitude won't be changed then she will be dumped. We have had several conversations with the player so it is not like we haven't been addressing both issues all along. It has just finally come to a head.

For her size she is very athletic and will doubles and triples regularly in a weekend tournament. The parents used to yell at her all game. This past weekend I had to tell both of them to be quiet while I was trying to coach her during two seperate games. If she will just take to heart what we are telling her she will turn out to be a great player. If she continues down this road she will fade into the sunset.

The meeting is tonight so after I talk with the HC to see how it went I will update here.

 

[02Crush]

You cannot coach attitude or lack of effort. You can coach most all else. This is a player choice not a coaches. Either a player wants to put in the effort and control their attitude or they do not. Like it or not it is that simple.

Assuming this is TB, I would have a meeting with the parents. Have as many as two or three to continue to address the concern (not nail the player to the wall verbally with the folks) in a rational manner. Ask if there is anything going on at home, school or in life that has changed that could be causing the problems. Show some interest in her life, be more than just a coach but a positive life influence. If the answer is nothing then let the parents know you will proceed to come down a little harder with each instance of problems. If it does not get better after a couple of parent meetings and trying different forms of communications towards player discipline then cut player and move on. Cutting a player needs to either be immediate for drugs/alcohol issues or done with care to allow for correction of the problems by the parents or players. Being clear about the problems as they happen all along will take away the surprise of being cut if this is constantly an issue.
es or after repeated opportunities to allow the family or player to correct the issue. Otherwise eventually you must cut bait.

 

[mosftballdad]

She won't move...even a little. Last night at practice we were working on bunt defense and laying down bunts with live pitching. she wouldn't move up and her dad was on her the whole time to move up. The other two catchers were fine. I think it will come down to her playing positions other than catcher for her to get the idea. She loves that position and not playing there will make an impact on her.

O2crush...you are absolutely correct on not being able to coach attitude. Last night she was focused and had no issues on missed balls or bad throws. During a game is different. Both parents weren't there last night so the meeting didn't happen. It may happen tonight. I am really hoping she can fix what's between her ears. At a local tourny this weekend she received a lot of attention from older team's coaches that new players on our team. I don't want her to lose this attention as she gets older.

 

[02Crush]

This is NEVER a good situation. I used to feel it was my job to be the "counselor" and walk them through these issues. However I have learned this is a team sport and allowing a player who is the one with the attitude issues continue to play in their key role hurts the team. Furthermore it hurts the team when I am spending extra time on issues not related to the game as it takes away from my time teaching/coaching all players. While I coach 10U and am not into merely yanking a kid out of a role, I do look at slowly changing things and move them into other roles. If their attitude if poor when this is done it only makes the situation worse. Life does not always give us what we want and on many occasions we must choose what we want more...And in this sport these situations are life lessons...

Do you want to play ball and be on the team....or do you want to play in "that" position.

It is a choice. The players actions and attitude determine this the choices. Good luck I know this is not easy. as long as you remain rational and think about things before merely reacting on emotions you will find a way to best handle this.

 

[mosftballdad]

The meeting happened last night in between our double header games. It wasn't my choice time to do it but I am not the HC. He did have both ACs there as support and to offer other insights. She played great her first game as catcher. The HC stood next to me and kept on her to move up until she did while I concentrated on calling pitches.

As far as the attitude issue she really didn't understand her position as leader on the field. We spent a good amount of time on this and now she understands why it is so important for her to keep her attitude in check. She is the one everyone see when they look at the batter on defense, she has the loudest voice and she is the big #3 poswer hitter on the team. I was concerned that it would mess her up for the second game but she came out strong and showed that she can be a true leader on the team. I hope she continues to stay in that place. Her parents didn't seem upset and asked her several times if she understood what we were trying to convey.