Wow! High School Softball Contract

[jdavenp3]

Well someone had mentioned they made it to the elite 8 or the final round of the state championships so I would say that is a successful team. We also have a contract. Much of the reasons for punishment are similar but also many of the rules are implied rules.

If you have a quality team then your girls should know not to wear Sperrys or Toms to practice. That is not proper attire. However, to imply a girl should wear long sleeves when I do is ridiculous (just one example). Also, the sheer amount of punishment astounds me. Only problem we have with attire is the super cut sleeveless shirts that are popular on beaches and shows their sports bra. That is a big negative on our team.

If I have a girl come to practice with Sperrys-first off she will either need to search for proper shoes/cleats or not practice due to safety. She will probably be punished unless there are any extenuating circumstances (some people have rough home lives ya know). No way am I making a girl run 50 poles because of it though. I have had to run 50 poles before, it is not fun.

Our program does have rules set in place obviously.We are fairly strict in my mind and we do try to coach players up on what is acceptable and what is not from the very beginning. I take pride in the transparency of our coaching staff. Meaning we are very upfront if approached on any subject, we do not sugar coat situations, teach accountability, and take this stance from day one. I dont know...These guys seem pretty extreme and I would not want to treat my players that way but if they still have a job within the school system then someone thinks highly enough of them to retain their jobs.

 

[T.J.]

With these levels of discipline & repercussions, and the fact that this document looks and acts like a contract, would make these players eligible to Unionize.

 

[fastpitch]

I must be in the minority where I don't see the punishments in that contract as that big a deal if stated up front. The reality is my DD would not have a problem following any of the rules so she would never have to worry about the punishment. If for some crazy reason she did break one she would perform any of those tasks they asked in that contract without a complaint because that is how much she would want to play. It also helps that she is in shape and could actually physically do all that. I don't know if I could physically do those punishments, but I'm not on the team and I don't have to. That contract in my mind weeds out those players/parents who don't really want to be there or probably shouldn't be there because of bad grades or just plain laziness and irresponsibility. Softball is a team sport, as some here suggest, HS softball is more of a team sport than TB where it seems a little more about the individual player and going to college or whatever. I'm not saying give up everything, but if a player wants to leave the team and miss practice/games to go on vacation during the season, fine... do it... just be able to live with the consequences for this particular team.

Maybe this coach is out of his mind... maybe he isn't... but the constant coddling of players by parents wanting their kids to have their cake and eat it too is just annoying. "I want my DD to do what she wants when it is convenient for her and no crazy coach is going to make her run if she breaks one of his draconian rules...he needs to be fired!!!... I don't want her to have to run poles if she goes to Disney and misses a meaningless game during her senior year..." We are raising a nation of wimps with helicopter parents who always want to blame someone or something else or somehow manipulate the system so its in their kids favor. Stop. please.

HS softball is a privilege and not a right. If anyone on this team didn't want to follow the rules or the consequences for breaking them... they simply don't have to play. It's really as simple as that. Just a little research on this team shows how much team pride they have, they are successful and apparently creating great student athletes. I would bet that anyone who has made or remained on this team probably never had to do any of the punishments in that contract or if they did, they did it with no complaints.

https://twitter.com/ladyreddevilsb

They have a team GPA of 3.56 and 11 Academic All-America Scholar Athletes. They are one of the top teams in the state. I say if its not broke don't fix it.

 

[riseball]

...I don't see the punishments in that contract as that big a deal if stated up front...

So your position is that a first time unexcused absence warrants a 6 mile run? And on the second they should run 12 miles? You would sign that contract as a parent? I think most parents would be in a coaches face and kicking their butt if they subjected their DD to that type of draconian punishment.

 

[fastpitch]

So your position is that a first time unexcused absence warrants a 6 mile run? And on the second they should run 12 miles? You would sign that contract as a parent? I think most parents would be in a coaches face and kicking their butt if they subjected their DD to that type of draconian punishment.

My DD would not have an unexcused absence much less a second unexcused absence.

But she can run 6 miles and 12 miles if she had to so I'm not even worried about that. Its not as hard as you make it out to be. 6 miles is about an hour at a 10 minute mile pace. She could probably do it in 45 minutes if she wanted to considering she recently did a 5 mile run for charity in about 35 minutes.

 

[riseball]

Ok, your daughter is a stud and certainly non-typical. I think you are delusional if you think that most players can run 6 miles over grass in steel cleats in 45 minutes. Woody Hayes was very successful old school coach until he got canned and left the game in disgrace. Certainly not a model for coaching excellence. The end does not justify the means.

 

[fastpitch]

Ok, your daughter is a stud and certainly non-typical. I think you are delusional if you think that most players can run 6 miles over grass in steel cleats in 45 minutes. Woody Hayes was very successful old school coach until he got canned and he left the game in disgrace. Certainly not a model for coaching excellence.

Even though my kid can do the punishment she wouldn't have an unexcused absence because it means that much to her. If your kid can't do the punishment then have her make sure she doesn't have an unexcused absence or just don't play for that kind of program. That coach wants a specific type of player on his team. That's why the rules are that way. There is no mandate in HS softball that everyone should be allowed to play and stay on the team. That's why they allow cuts. Obviously he has enough players buying into the program that he doesn't have to worry about those that can't deal with the punishments and leave.

 

[Country Boy]

The internet is a wonderful thing. It allows people with no real knowledge of a situation to share their uneducated opinion of someone else.

This contract, if it is actually used, only impacts the players, parents, coaches and administration of that school. For any of the rest of us to criticize, or support, is meaningless and prone to drama. We don't know why any of it was created and to call the coaches nitwits or control freaks, speaks to the poster's willingness to throw the first stone.

"Sleeves MUST be worn when I am wearing them" might be a way for the coach to avoid the question "Are we going outside today?" from 25-30 different girls. This question is usually followed by "Do I need to wear a jacket?". So this coach has avoided this waste of time simply by telling them to dress as he does. And yet, some on this forum feel it necessary to call him a control freak and narcissist.

Just because most of us spend a lot of Sunday's at the ballpark doesn't mean we can't learn from the bible. John 8:7 "Let any of you who is without sin, be the first to throw a stone at her."

Read the contract. Disagree with it if you wish. But to call the coaches names is to lower yourself the the level of "Pretty Little Liars" or some other teen filled drama.

 

[riseball]

...she wouldn't have an unexcused absence because it means that much to her...

Pretty much the same words that every parent says right up to the point the kids screw up. Wish I had $1 for every "My kid would never do that" story I heard every time I hooked up a kid shoplifting, drugs, drinking, etc.

 

[fastpitch]

Pretty much the same words that every parent says right up to the point the kids screw up. Wish I had $1 for every "My kid would never do that" story I heard every time I hooked up a kid shoplifting, drugs, drinking, etc.

Well then she would just deal with the punishment or just not play.

As much as I would support this coach, I do agree these rules could not work in every community or school district. I know my community could not tolerate these rules because we just don't have that level of commitment from enough players to be able to field a team. My community is filled with so many parents who teach their kid a level of entitlement that they should be able to do whatever it is they want and not need to sacrifice anything. Their parents constantly try to speak to the coaches about playing time, etc. It's really out of control.