So DD's high school team has a new coach. The program has only two pitchers, and coach is planning to use DD as the sole varsity pitcher and the other girl as the sole JV pitcher. She's also planning a schedule where they'd play 3-4 games per week for the season, including tournaments where she'd play more than one game per day.
Coach has told DD that she needs to be prepared to pitch 100% of the team's innings this spring. DD has told Coach she's not comfortable with that load, and Coach says she needs to get comfortable with it. This week she told Coach that her shoulder was unusually sore (after throwing 100-150 pitches M-F in practice, and then pitching in games both days this weekend with her travel team), and Coach not only refused to give her a day off but told her that she wants her to throw an additional 100 pitches per day so she can learn to work through the pain.
So now it's time for me and my husband to speak up, but what do we say? I don't want to make it seem like DD is a diva but I'm also not willing to let DD suffer an injury because Coach won't listen to her. DD is also scared to refuse to do what Coach tells her because softball is a PE class and DD doesn't want Coach to fail her, which would require her to take another semester of PE later on.
We have a meeting next week. DD's PC says we need to be prepared to pull her from the team, though that's a little complicated because DD is also signed up for the class so she might be stuck for the semester. (Also DD is friends with her softball teammates and doesn't want to let them down.)
So how is the best way to communicate to Coach that we are not going to let her wreck DD's summer by driving her to injury in the spring? Do we need to involve the AD, or only talk to him if the conversation with Coach goes badly?
Coach has told DD that she needs to be prepared to pitch 100% of the team's innings this spring. DD has told Coach she's not comfortable with that load, and Coach says she needs to get comfortable with it. This week she told Coach that her shoulder was unusually sore (after throwing 100-150 pitches M-F in practice, and then pitching in games both days this weekend with her travel team), and Coach not only refused to give her a day off but told her that she wants her to throw an additional 100 pitches per day so she can learn to work through the pain.
So now it's time for me and my husband to speak up, but what do we say? I don't want to make it seem like DD is a diva but I'm also not willing to let DD suffer an injury because Coach won't listen to her. DD is also scared to refuse to do what Coach tells her because softball is a PE class and DD doesn't want Coach to fail her, which would require her to take another semester of PE later on.
We have a meeting next week. DD's PC says we need to be prepared to pull her from the team, though that's a little complicated because DD is also signed up for the class so she might be stuck for the semester. (Also DD is friends with her softball teammates and doesn't want to let them down.)
So how is the best way to communicate to Coach that we are not going to let her wreck DD's summer by driving her to injury in the spring? Do we need to involve the AD, or only talk to him if the conversation with Coach goes badly?