10u rec league- very little support from parents

[bmakj]

explain to them that the more they assist you, the better the experience will be for their DD. and make clear by assist that you mean helping to tie shoelaces when players have they have batting gloves on, helping catcher on/off with the gear (trust me, at 10 u rec most girls will need this, and you really should have everyone willing try it at least an inning or two, but different topic), making certain of lineup, etc.

Also stress need to know if anyone will miss or be late as early as possible. I always did lineups ahead of time, on paper, inning by inning. helped track of playing time, including how much was IF and how much was OF. cuts down on compliants when you know you have numbers to back up your assertions. doing this ahead of time (and if any last minute changes, write em down) helps you get them out of dugout faster for defense.

 

[uncdrew]

Ugh, I feel your pain.

We always had lots of volunteers. Head Coach, 2 Assistant Coaches, team mom, dugout parent, snack organizer...

I can't imagine doing it without most of that. I sure hope they step up. I agree that if you lay it all out in a communication, state what will happen without the help and how much better it will be with the help, you may get some volunteers. I'd also be pretty firm that you won't be providing those other things.

 

[Rule#6]

I agree with Pattar, todays kids can survive without a snack after playing.

 

[EdLovrich]

When did post-game snacks become a thing? I remember going to the Tastee-Freeze after the game, but that was on our own dime (well quarter anyway). Did this start out as a soccer thing?

 

[_MIA_]

When did post-game snacks become a thing? I remember going to the Tastee-Freeze after the game, but that was on our own dime (well quarter anyway). Did this start out as a soccer thing?

Who knows...I purposely didn’t mention it on the 7u coach pitch baseball team I am coaching but the team mom brought it up and the parents seemed more excited about that then anything else(in particular when I mentioned trying to play catch with their kids at least a few times a week). I already spent 100 bucks of my own money buying stuff for the team so I boycotted the signup

When I played, and my Dad coached, after the season he would take the team for ice cream.

 

[ANNASDAD]

10U rec is almost impossible without help. If you have to be a base coach, there has to be someone in the dugout or it will be chaos. Batting out of order will be the least of your problems.

10U kids aren’t driving themselves, you might have to walk out the the parents and tell them that if you don’t have two volunteers there isn’t going to be a game. And you have enough to do without worrying about snacks.

I met Beth Torina when I was coaching 10U rec. When I told her what age level I was working with she folded her hands over her chest and said “Oh! Bless your heart!”


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm living this post right now as I type this! What have I done??

 

[tange51]

Maybe tell the team that the catcher is the first one on the field, she’ll have 8 girls available to help her get her gear on. Yeah, kinda dumb, but makes the point.

 

[SoftballDadnWV]

The last time I coached league ball (2019), I had absolutely no help unless I begged for it. One good thing, my players (two of my kids included) did not expect snacks after the game LOL. I was solo in practice, but I had one mom who would coach 3rd for me if I begged - but I kept book (if my wife was not there) on first - it was a pain in the rear for sure. Not enjoyable most of the time.

Things were different when we were young - I am not sure how we survived back in the late 70's and early 80's - we kept track of the batting order on our own - we were lucky to get water during a practice or a game - and when we did, it was normally out of a water well with a pump, a nearby spring, or a water hose - and snacks? Never happened. And my father told me back then I was spoiled because we got water sometimes LOL Must have been rough back then. Sorry - went on tangent.

 

[CloudofDust]

When you volunteered to be head coach, you knew that included coaching the parents too, right!!??

I've been on both sides of this, as a parent and a coach. I've seen teams with 10 parents helping coach and I've seen coaches that told parents to stay off the field, while they tried to keep the book and coach 3B at the same time. Neither worked well. As a coach, I've had to turn away help every season; 2-3 assistants is all you need, any more than that and you spend more time coaching the coaches than you do the players.

It's a little late now, but being organized and communicating your expectations are the key. During the preseason is when you need to ask for volunteers to keep score, manage the dugout and coach a base. You may have to ask multiple times and let the parents know you can't do it all yourself but, someone will step up to help. If not, start assigning responsibilities. You're the coach, you get to make those decisions. If they don't know how to keep score, send them a tutorial video.

Since your season has already started, you could have a post-game team lunch or dinner and call an impromptu parent meeting to discuss these issues.

 

[CloudofDust]

Things were different when we were young - I am not sure how we survived back in the late 70's and early 80's - we kept track of the batting order on our own - we were lucky to get water during a practice or a game - and when we did, it was normally out of a water well with a pump, a nearby spring, or a water hose - and snacks? Never happened. And my father told me back then I was spoiled because we got water sometimes LOL Must have been rough back then. Sorry - went on tangent.

LOL, I can relate. Even Buttermaker did everything by himself, but he did have Ogilvie to help with the lineup and scouting. Maybe that's a strategy worth trying? Bring a cooler full of beer and see how quickly the parents get involved?