"Bully" coach or are we over reacting.

[Big Daddy Michigan]

I'm a very demanding & disciplined coach. I tell my players, "At practice I'm going to make corrections on everything you do. Don't worry if I'm constantly correcting you, I'm not picking on you, I see greatness that needs to be brought out. When I quit correcting you, then worry, because I've given up."


My players have responded really well, and understand why I'm making corrections and fixing mistakes & they rise to the occasion. With that said, I never berate a player. My mentor taught me, "Always give players their dignity. If you say something to them after a mistake it must be an instruction to fix the mistake & improve. They know when they screwed up you don't have to tell them."



Just my opinion.

 

[inumpire]

My DD is on a 18U "Gold" team. Reason I put gold in quotes is because it's really a 16U team. Two Juniors and the rest of the team are young sophomores and freshmen. Last year it was a pretty good team but they lost 9 seniors.

So this brings me to the HC. Both of my girls have played for tough/demanding coaches before (youngest plays club soccer) and I have never seen a problem.
But DD's current coach is something else. All game, every inning he is berating and embarrassing just about every player on the team in front of the team and the spectators. I think his CTG (Crying teenage girl) ave. is 3.2 a game.

Just a few examples.
Ball smoked over the center fielders head, Hits the base of the fence. Could it have been caught with the perfect jump? Maybe.
But he yelled, yelled at the girl for what seemed like an eternity . " You've got to get a better jump! That cost us two runs! This is 18U not 8U!"
An error by the second baseman "E4! That cost us a run!"
Lazy fly ball to center by more than a couple hitters. "Easy out!"
Even simple stuff like the catcher (my DD) not firing the ball to third fast enough after a strike out (the batter had stepped in front of her and she didn't want to bean her in the head) .

It's CONSTANT. Every game, every inning. It's the same at practice as well. I have never, ever heard a coach act like this during a game and in such a public way.

The reason I mention the makeup of the team is that I think he is frustrated that he was not able to develop and recruit a true 18U Gold team. The team had a friendly double header this past weekend against a 16U team and went 1-1. The last tournament they were in the results were 11-1 L, 8-4 L, 6-2 L, 10-3 L.

It breaks my heart because my DD loves softball and trains so hard but lately she is dreading going to practice.

Take you daughter and run, and keep running......