Parent coaches

[Easton33]

Don't make me the poster child on the lack of representation of females in TB coaching.

These former players are your daughters. I only have boys. So if you say "they can't coach" or they come out of playing softball unable to coach others in the sport that says more about your opinions of them and your coaching and parenting than it does about the young ladies. Gosh, I guess they don't have the support of their dads or they won't be ready for real life either. Sad comments.

So have fun, trying to walk back statements or explain how much better you are than them or how great you are. Sayonara on this topic from me.

I knew it was too good to be true.

 

[JJS]

A couple points here.

First, some people are just leaders by nature. People like Sue Enquist, Bill Self, Tony LaRussa, Dick Vermeil, Bill Snyder and Mary K. Ash are just good leaders of people. They get the most out of those they are coaching or leading in business. I'm pretty sure that if Bill Self ran a car dealership, it would be the best darn dealership in the Midwest. If Sue Enquist ran a management firm, it would produce the best managers in the business. Why? Because these people are born leaders. Not because they have done it before.

A good coach knows their strengths and weaknesses. A good coach constantly strives to learn, because they understand that they do not know everything. A good coach, like a good CEO surrounds themselves with good people.

OILF, Ted Williams was arguably the greatest hitter to ever play MLB. He was a terrible coach. Why is that?...Sometimes, an extremely talented athlete can not explain how they did it. That isn't to say that a well coached, female athlete with the personality of a leader can not make a wonderful coach. Actually, we are currently looking for one of those young ladies to serve as a coach on our TB team now. It just means that being a player doesn't always make you the best coaching candidate(just ask Mike Tomlin).

Last point, I see nothing wrong with having a dad or mom as a coach of a 18U team if that coach has coached their way up from 10U. Especially, if that coach is traveling across the country going to coaching seminars, spending time on Youtube, and online learning coaching philosophies & strategies. All too often the "Old Coach" has lost touch because he/she thinks that they know it all and have nothing left to learn. Just because you are successful with what you are doing, doesn't mean that there isn't something more out there to make you even more successful.

 

[Lobster Birch]

While I'm not a great believer in the Secret Society Of Dads, I do know a former travel ball player who contacted all the local little leagues in the Seattle area about volunteering/coaching and she got zero response from all but ours. Thanks to all those organizations passing on her we now have a terrific coach.

On the other hand, our travel organization is very keen on having female coaches (the above mentioned woman now coaches for us) and yet we only have 4 female coaches total out of perhaps 16 total.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

2) At the younger ages, child raising responsibility is still primarily that of the women. Thus, women will tend to wait longer than men to take on time-consuming activities like coaching.

Excellent point - moms aren't likely to volunteer to coach if they have other children that need to be looked after.

I'm all for former players getting into coaching, however they should start as an AC rather than a HC - like most coaches do.

 

[YOCOACH]

No. But, the male coaches on DFP aren't being entirely honest.

The truth is (and everyone here knows this) softball coaches hang on well past their expiration date. They get hold of a team and they have to be pried away from it with a crowbar. Since most of the coaches are male (again, just because of the numbers), it is difficult for women to get involved.

In basketball, soccer and volleyball, parents have more or less stopped coaching travel teams by HS. (I've never seen a parent coaching a 18U basketball team.) Yet, you go out to the old softball field, and 80% of the 18U teams are coached by Daddies.

Why is this? Why do Softball Daddies hang on so long?

Sluggers, You've made some valid points and given us food for thought. However, come to NE Ohio and I'll show you 18U Parent coaches in all of the travel sports whether it is Volleyball, Basketball, Soccer and even Baseball. Some of these teams are tops in their region and I believe 1 of them is ranked in the top 10 in the country. So I think that, like so many other things in sports, it will vary by geography.

As to your question about what makes Softball more susceptible (I don't agree that it is) to parent coaches hanging on to the end, I can give you several reasons from my own personal perspective. 1) I enjoy coaching softball. It's a great game with (usually) great families and players. 2) I have made many new friends due to this sport whether on here at DFP, whom I may or may not ever meet, as well as other coaches, both male and female, and the many families of players I have had the privilege of coaching. 3) Since I am a student of the game and am trying to continuously learn as the game evolves, I feel I should be preparing the next generation of SBers to be ready for those changes. I also enjoy learning these new strategies, figuring out ways to combat them and starting a few of my own.

I plan on coaching TB through 18U and then DD goes off to college. Afterwards, I have been asked to take a 10U team and start over. I have already answered yes so I will have another 8-10 years with the next team if they continue to wants me as a coach. So for the next team I take, I will be a non-parent coach. Does this make it more palatable or do you think I should just quit in 3 years when DD leaves? Since I plan on continuing to coach, why should this make you take a crowbar to this old coach and take the team away from me when I would have 15-25 years of experience, knowledge, and plan on continuing to be a student of the game? Or should I just step aside and make more room for a possible new female coach who may have to start from scratch learning on their own what I have learned over the previous 25 years by the time my second team hits 18U?

With the exception of Football, Golf and a very few other sports, most college recruitment is drawn/done almost exclusively through Travel Ball teams no matter the sport. So why do you think that many parent coaches hang on so long? Because we have accumulated all of this knowledge about a sport while we learned to help our children get better at it and when they move on, we feel we'd like to pass it on to the next generation of players. Hopefully, by the time the second go around is done, our children will be able to replace us. Is this so wrong?

 

[guero_gordo]

While I'm not a great believer in the Secret Society Of Dads, I do know a former travel ball player who contacted all the local little leagues in the Seattle area about volunteering/coaching and she got zero response from all but ours. Thanks to all those organizations passing on her we now have a terrific coach.

On the other hand, our travel organization is very keen on having female coaches (the above mentioned woman now coaches for us) and yet we only have 4 female coaches total out of perhaps 16 total.

A lot of old boy club stuff going on here, which means despite no particular intention to exclude women coaches, a guy with a year of HS ball and a foam finger still trumps a woman (for example) many years playing softball and 3 years coaching kids in another sport.
The guy who played JuCo ball is still a legend around these here parts, though I wouldn't let him coach a pi$$ing contest myself.

Good deal for your org. and coach, excellence is the best revenge,.

 

[chrispots]

its not a secret date RB, it is very well defined, sounds like dads should get out of coaching immediately after they slide one past the goalie, so 36 weeks before birth is the correct time for dads to give up coaching.

Let's be clear on how things are run in this house...I have zero control LOL

I didn't slide anything past this goalie...she "allowed" the goal...CP

 

[Karchify]

Great discussion. I am a dad/HC (14U) and this is the first year (my 4th year overall) I have coached with former players; actually we have 2, my wife played in college 20+ years ago, and we also have a current college player as well, she is the only one without a DD on the team. We also have one other dad as an AC. All 4 of us have different perspectives but we are also all open to listening and changing things when needed. They have less time and inclination to plan but more experience where the rubber hits the road, so we all learn from each other. My goal to utilize their experience is to 1) Get us all on the same page with a high level plan (in writing); i.e. accomplish x, y & z in hitting this month, A, B & C in fielding this month, etc. 2) Create efficient practices that follow the plan, and Then 3) have them spend the most time with the girls as possible. We also try to debrief after each practice.

I agree with many of the posts. Our current college player/coach is very busy with school and her own practice and like most college students, does not have any extra $$. Just on time and money alone it would be extremely difficult for her to be a HC at this point. But with that said, she is starting on her first year towards that goal. My wife on the other had is fully qualified but does not have the time to take care of all that a HC is required to do.

Your posts have also made me think about pay. In our organization we are not paid per say, but each coach gets a discount towards the 2nd portion of a players' fee due in March. We really should decide how we manage this and to see if we can help with her travel costs.

In the end, If I were hiring a head coach, I would treat it like a professional job with a job description. In each case who meets the requirements better? Time, dedication, leadership, planning, organization skills, communication skills, human skills (with girls, parents, etc.), knowledge of the job, etc. Most organizations also get feedback from parents/players after the season is over, that feedback should be used (with a grain of salt) to decide what happens next year.

I for one will seek out former players in the future if our college player/coach leaves us next year or after as I see the benefits for both parties and a necessary step if the former player with goals of being a HC. Nothing better IMO than having a balanced coaching staff and have opportunities for former players to get a feel for coaching, I see it as a win/win. So in the end I would vote for 1) Picking the best person that applies for the job but also 2) proactively seeking out former players that want to learn to coach.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

Why don't you pick the best candidate for the job period? Who cares if they are a dad or if they are an ex player?

 

[guero_gordo]

Why don't you pick the best candidate for the job period? Who cares if they are a dad or if they are an ex player?

Wow, I hadn't ever thought of that. Now if I can just become the guy that makes those decisions.