I was attacked by parents at practice tonight!

[southwestsoftball]

Im gonna say this and please dont take it the wrong way:

You need to be a stronger leader. The parents smell your weakness and are attacking it. You KNOW what is right and what is wrong. You keep doing whats fair and what is right. Play the girls where they DESERVE to play and STAND YOUR GROUND! Just have more confidence in your decisions!

If players dont deserve to play at a certain position then tell the parents why that is the case. They may not really want to hear the truth but at the end of the day its the only way they will learn. Parents are going to complain no matter what you do, thats a promise. There will NEVER be a case when everyone is happy.

I am coaching a REC team that is 13-0 right now and at least 3-4 of my 14 players parents are disgruntled for whatever reason or another.

I have on girl on my team who is a nice kid but she lazy, she complains about everything, she is an average athlete at best and last but not least she is afraid of the ball. Her mom complained to me that she deserved to be the #3 pitcher and that she should be starting at 3rd base or SS. I told her flat out that her daughter doesnt practice as hard as she needs to to start, she complains and doesnt have the correct attitude and most importantly she is afraid of the ball and I cant trust that she ill be able to catch balls from her teammates. Its plain and simply a safety issue! If she is afarid to catch a ball , she is mor elikely to get hurt and due to her being lazy in practice, she isnt getting the type of practice she needs to be prepared to play in the infield. If I put her there without that quality practice and with her being afraid...............she is going to get seriously injured and I WILL NOT risk their safety.

Sometimes you have to tell parents what they dont want to hear. You dont have to be classless or brash about it, but you need to do it to stand up for yourself and to make them understand and to help their daughter.

 

[JAD]

If this is a young age group of rec league players I would highly recommend rotating players around and allowing players time in the infield and outfield. The object of the early years of rec ball is for the girls to have fun, not to 'stack your lineup' to win games. The only exceptions would be to put a girl at first who can catch, and if you can, a girl who can field and throw well at pitcher (assuming this is t-ball or coach pitch).

 

[southwestsoftball]

I disagree about rotating girls just for the sake of rotating. Part of "teaching" is having the girls understand that if they want to play certain positions and they want to play most of the game, then they have to listen to their coaches and try their hardest.

Rec ball or not, the kids need to learn if for no other reason but safety. Last year my dd's coach rotated everyone at every position and the same line of thought. My daughter was playing SS and there was a girl who was NOT physcially ready to play in the infield and she rarely came to practice and when she was there she didnt try at all. Needless to say she was clueless and the coach put her at 2nd anyways and my daughter fielded a ball and she threw it with some pretty good zip and the girl got 6 teeth knocked out and Im 99.9% sure will never ever play softball again.

These kids have to be taught that this game is fun and that if they do what they are aksed they will be rewarded but it can also be a dangerous game and just putting people wherever for the sake of being "fair" or "equal" is putting kids health at risk and its also not helping them to learn ANYTHING!.

This is what I tell my parents in a pre-season meeting and re-inforce to my players all the time:

If you practice hard, listen to your coaches, have a good attitude and come to practice............you are going to play A LOT! Not only that but you will be given every opportunity to play numerous positions and to try out for a starting spot anyhere you want. However, players safety is always #1 with me and if a player isnt physcially or mentally ready to play at a certain place, Im not going to put them there. It would be irresponsible.

 

[southwestsoftball]

I cant stand when rec coaches are all about the wins so I agree with that. Teaching should be priority #1 but all things should be taught and the correct things.

In a perfect world here all girls orked pretty hard and were all were ready to play anywhere.............then yes by all means give them time all over the place to get experience and learn as much as possible.

 

[sluggers]

Let me get this straight:

(1) You have been playing the same kids on the infield since the beginning of the year.
(2) None of the "other" kids since the beginning of the season have improved enough to play the infield.

You have not taught *ONE* other kid how to play 2B?

If not, then you don't know how to coach. You have made *ZERO* progress with the kids.

As far as the parent being upset...This is *REC BALL*. The idea of coaching rec ball is not to make 50% of the parents on the team angry. A team will always going to have one or two unhappy parents, but when a team starts having 50% unhappy parents, then the coach needs to do a little bit more self-examination.

By way, here is a news flash for you: As the season progresses, the other teams will start hitting the ball better. When they start hitting the ball better, your outfield is going to get a lot of work. Since you are failing in teaching the kids how to play the game, you will get beat.

 

[southwestsoftball]

Agreed screwball.

To the OP all of what I said is giving you the benefit of the doubt. However, I sure hope that for your sake your doing things the right way and teaching all the kids. Please be more specific when you say "deserve to play". Are they not coming to practice? Bad attitudes? Or are they just not as good of athletes? If a kid is even a below average athlete, and she is willing to work just a little, you cant work some kids in at 2nd base.

I personally have ALL of my girls do infield and outfield drills. Sure some will play more infield than outfield and vice versa but all the girls need to be prepared to a certain degree to be able to play there. I also wish more coaches stressed th importance of playing OF too. Sure hen the kids are younger Of have some snore fests at times but like mentioned earlier as the season progresses more and more balls will go out there.

And like I said earlier, in some cases there are kids that you CANT have play certain places for their safety. I would say most kids( 90%) are physcially capable of playing at least 2nd base for an inning.

 

[CoogansBluff]

You need to be a stronger leader. The parents smell your weakness and are attacking it. You KNOW what is right and what is wrong. You keep doing whats fair and what is right. Play the girls where they DESERVE to play and STAND YOUR GROUND! Just have more confidence in your decisions!

I think strong leaders consider criticism, feel conflicted occasionally and admit they are wrong and make changes sometimes. When you’re right about something, it’s noble to stand your ground. But since we’re all wrong from time to time, I think your definition of a strong leader is flawed. I think the OP’s concern that he’s doing the right thing is good. It will make him a better coach.

 

[CoogansBluff]

Let me get this straight:

(1) You have been playing the same kids on the infield since the beginning of the year.
(2) None of the "other" kids since the beginning of the season have improved enough to play the infield.

You have not taught *ONE* other kid how to play 2B?

If not, then you don't know how to coach. You have made *ZERO* progress with the kids.

As far as the parent being upset...This is *REC BALL*. The idea of coaching rec ball is not to make 50% of the parents on the team angry. A team will always going to have one or two unhappy parents, but when a team starts having 50% unhappy parents, then the coach needs to do a little bit more self-examination.

Well said. Wasn't sure if I understood the OP, but if he's playing the same 5-6 girls in the infield full-time and the same 5-6 in the outfield part-time, then let's just say that's not how I'd do it. I fully understand why several parents would object.

 

[Coach Dad 01]

IMHO Rec ball should be where all the kids get to play. Move them around and teach... Dont worry about the w/l record. Most of the girls want to have fun playing with their friends. Teach, Teach Teach at this level....... Teach them all!!!

 

[soxsfan09]

I have red all your comments I greatly appreciate all of them. I had a practice today and that's when parents complained. I practiced a few kids on shortstop and 2nd base. I am going to bring some of my outfielders in to play in the infield I am also going to move around my batting order since that is also a complaint. I have barely slept tonight my head is spinning I am just trying to make everyone happy.