My daughter had found a team finally which we really like. She's a talented catcher, and just needs the reps to get really good. We weren't getting looks from the elite teams in our area for a variety of reasons, but we found a team with a great coach, a good group of girls, and enough talent to compete with anyone. Head coach doesn't have a daughter on the team, so no "daddy ball."
We played a few tournaments in the fall, and had mixed results. We were happy, though, because daughter was improving, and you could see tons of potential in the team when they played together. Lots of unnecessary fielding errors which I chalked up to lack of focus rather than lack of fundamentals.
Against this backdrop, daughter got a stress fracture in her foot and had to sit for about eight weeks. It was a good time to be out because we didn't miss much. She was cleared to play in time for a tournament this weekend. We were probably the weakest team in our pool, but thought we'd do okay.
When we started playing, I noticed that one of the dads was now coaching first base and in the dugout. I asked about it, and was told that he started helping out about the same time we started rehabbing. Then I watched with increasing dismay. Dad was a train-wreck. He yelled at the girls in the dugout and after games. Even worse, he showed his rear during the games. There was a bang-bang play to end the inning at home plate involving his daughter, and he ran up on the umpire yelling about obstruction. In a later game, he went crazy when his daughter was called out at first.
All of this led to grumbling between the parents. One of the pitcher's dad says he's so upset that they're thinking of pulling out of the team. We had two new players whose parents seemed horrified. The girls appear to have developed cliques, and there's no cohesion in the dugout. Errors galore in the field (which I sincerely think is related to the drama). Add to this the fact that his instruction is just bad. He criticized my daughter for throwing from her knees (after a block) and I heard him telling other players to "swing up on the ball." His daughter has a "scoop" at the bottom of her swing because of this advice.
We've gone from a no-drama team with tons of potential to a sloppy team that's about to fall apart. I trace it all back to the morale problems of putting this dad on the other side of the fence. I've spoken to the coach about it, but if he doesn't get rid of daddy-coach, I'm not sure what we're going to do.
Advice or helpful war stories would be appreciated.
Lots of teams out there, let them know of your disapproval by taking your daughter elsewhere