As I see it, the question is not whether the coach should enforce the rules. The question is whether the rule is appropriate in the first place.
Country Boy,just because a girl plays TB does not make her parents wealthy,or a better player or what ever else you were ranting about.I'am not wealthy,I'am a single parent and only have my dd to take care of.We spend are vaction seeing the world one field at a time , and if my dd happens to be better then a rec. player so be it,she works hard learning this game.Well you might be right about these girls never making a living playing softball,but softball could help open the doors to make a good living.Do I think this girl should be punished,yes but thats not for me to decide and it is not for you to judge all TB players or Rec players,and by the way my dd started out in rec. ball and still plays during the week in rec ball,TB was just the next step to take.
No, what's wrong with this country is that we've got too many stupid people who are only capable of seeing the world in black and white and unfortunately for the rest of us, they produce the most offspring.Sorry. Just got done slopping the pigs out here in redneckville. Didn't realize I lived such a life of luxury! Sweet.
As I understood the original post, the girl doesn't have to attend practice. She just has to let the coach know she won't be there a whopping 60 minutes before practice. So it doesn't matter if her mom can't sober up, get motivated and take her. She just has to call. So there is no penalty for not showing up. There is no penalty for being from a disadvantaged home. There is a penalty for not informing the coach that she won't be there. OP says Player has a phone. Player needs to make a call. Or player doesn't play. Simple enough for me. If I misunderstood any of the facts in this post, I apologize to everyone.
I did not intend to demonize the player and don't think I did. Just applauding OP for establishing rules and holding everyone accountable for following them. Really can't understand how you think that teaching a 14yr old to follow the rules is bad. This has nothing to do with her genetics, my genetics, my location, her education or anyone's environment. This is about the rules. Our country is filled with them. Our game is filled with them. 14yr olds need to get used to them.
A question: Since this girl is from a disadvantaged family, if she hits a ball and is thrown out at first, does she get to continue to run the bases or is she out? If she drops a popfly, is the other player still out because this girl comes from a bad home environment? I am betting those rules are enforced without regard to her background. So why shouldn't the others apply?
Your liberal attitude, in large part, is what is wrong with this country. Too many people making excuses for not following the rules. This girls mother was incapable or unwilling to take the girl to practice. That's too bad and, even though my silver spoon is hurting my teeth, I am sympathetic. But the girl wasn't punished for her mother. She was punished because she couldn't bother to pick up HER phone and call the coach. The OP making excuses for this girl is not going to help her. There are plenty of people like you lined up to make excuses for her. She needs someone to teach her, not enable her.
Not sure why you feel the need to attack me. But don't care. I'll just pull up my big boy panties and get back to work. Them thar chickens is needin' fed.
In my post, I attempted to encourage people to not place different standards on TB and Rec players. It doesn't matter what level of softball or even what sport someone plays. They must follow the rules that are set by the coach. I did not knowingly judge TB vs Rec, and in rereading my post, am not sure where you find it. But it doesn't matter. My belief stands. All of a team's players have to follow the rules. If you disagree, try coaching a team of 12 girls with 12 different sets of rules. Good luck.
If the goal is to provide a true rec softball experience, then players should only be penalized for inappropriate field conduct. If they're blatantly disrespectful of the coaches or teammates at practice, then you warn or suspend them if necessary. If they're disrespectful of the umpires, coaches, or players during a game, then you bench them or even suspend them if it's an ongoing problem. Not attending rec softball practice shouldn't be a punishable offense, even if the coach and other team parents are going out of their way to help with getting the child to and from practice. Frustration with the mother for being content with her lot in life is no reason to perpetuate that misfortune by essentially giving up on a child who cares enough about opportunity to be devastated about not making that all-star team. You can bang the anti-liberal drum all you want, but if you are not capable of recognizing a societal responsibility to help break the cycle by encouraging children to do better, then you become a huge part of that 'problem' you hate so much.