Last Saturday I had a really disturbing parent encounter. We were at my youngest DD's last tournament of the season (12U). I'm a coach on the team and during warmups I point out to one of the girls that she is pulling her head on each swing. Her first at bat of the game, first swing she pulls her head. Between pitches I yell down to her (we'll call her Zelda) "Z, keep your head on the ball!". Her father comes racing to the dugout screaming my name. "Don't talk to her while she's at the plate......blah blah", I don't even know, I was kind of shocked, but I just ignore him. In the past he has said something to me about not talking to her while she's at the plate claiming she has the yips and he knows all about the yips because George Brett was his baby sitter and other nonsense.
Then things went bad. He disappeared for the rest of the game, which I thought was good. He needed to cool down. After the game I'm walking to the parking lot with my DD and a friend who is guest playing with us and I see the father walking towards me. I think to myself, "Oh, good, he's going to apologize and we can just put this all behind us." Well, he doesn't apologize. He pulls out his phone and tries to show me a video of his daughter at bat and starts yelling, "That's you! Listen, that's you, right in the middle of her back swing, you're yelling at her. You don't do that! You don't talk to her while she's at bat!" I'm pretty sure at this point that he's going to get physical.
I keep walking, and just say, "I'm the coach!". Now, this father wants to be the head coach of the team next year and he responds in this sort of knowing way, "No, you're not, Lobster Birch, no, you're not!", implying that he knows he's got the job (I'm on the board-it's still not clear how he thought this would help his case). I say, "Hey, I don't want to hear it now!" and keep walking to my car. He really goes crazy and starts yelling that he has thousands of videos of me doing this and that I only do it to his daughter and no one else and that it's intentional. I turn away towards my car and he does not follow, which I was relieved about and when we've gone a few steps my 11 year old DD says "OK, that was kind of crazy."
Now, it's bad enough and crazy enough to to accuse me of intentionally trying to distract a player on my own team, but this is a girl who I brought into the organization. She plays in our Little League. I've known her since she was 8. She and my DD are best friends.
I'd say this is a classic case of being way to emotionally involved in your daughter's performance mixed with paranoia and ego.
On the bright side when people start talking about crazy parents I now have a story that I think will top most others.
Then things went bad. He disappeared for the rest of the game, which I thought was good. He needed to cool down. After the game I'm walking to the parking lot with my DD and a friend who is guest playing with us and I see the father walking towards me. I think to myself, "Oh, good, he's going to apologize and we can just put this all behind us." Well, he doesn't apologize. He pulls out his phone and tries to show me a video of his daughter at bat and starts yelling, "That's you! Listen, that's you, right in the middle of her back swing, you're yelling at her. You don't do that! You don't talk to her while she's at bat!" I'm pretty sure at this point that he's going to get physical.
I keep walking, and just say, "I'm the coach!". Now, this father wants to be the head coach of the team next year and he responds in this sort of knowing way, "No, you're not, Lobster Birch, no, you're not!", implying that he knows he's got the job (I'm on the board-it's still not clear how he thought this would help his case). I say, "Hey, I don't want to hear it now!" and keep walking to my car. He really goes crazy and starts yelling that he has thousands of videos of me doing this and that I only do it to his daughter and no one else and that it's intentional. I turn away towards my car and he does not follow, which I was relieved about and when we've gone a few steps my 11 year old DD says "OK, that was kind of crazy."
Now, it's bad enough and crazy enough to to accuse me of intentionally trying to distract a player on my own team, but this is a girl who I brought into the organization. She plays in our Little League. I've known her since she was 8. She and my DD are best friends.
I'd say this is a classic case of being way to emotionally involved in your daughter's performance mixed with paranoia and ego.
On the bright side when people start talking about crazy parents I now have a story that I think will top most others.