Coach favoring his daughter and "fixing" the books too!

[sluggers]

Your DD will run into similar situations later in life, not just in softball. This is a good opportunity for you to help her navigate these sorts of issues for the future (and again, not just on a new SB team). Parents/coaches that try to pave the way for their kids the way you describe are ultimately preparing them to fail. The question is whether you want to be around to enable that behavior or move on and find a better situation that fits what your DD needs.

Keep in mind however, that if your DD is 13/14, at this point these decisions should be more about what she wants, not what you want for her. If she is perfectly happy on this team and is oblivious to the shenanigans that are going on, why move her? Given that you have already lost a few players, I'm sure she is not oblivious, and knows what is going on. Talk to her about what she wants to do, and prepare her to understand that jumping to another team could be better, but may not necessarily be better. She may have to work twice as hard for half the playing time if the new team is much better. The grass is not always greener, but her current situation is unbearable to her, then a move would be appropriate. Good Luck!

Great advice!

 

[rachelsdad]

I know how jaded and sensitive people can be about daddyball. But, I want a win too bad to let a better player sit while my daughter plays. Last year my second baseman missed a routine play pop-up and someone sitting behind my wife said "that must be the coaches DD" my wife let him know that our kid was in right field. In fact it was my assistant that bugged me about giving her a shot at the infield.

 

[TNTCoach]

I believe that this daddy ball sensitivity goes both ways. Are there coaches that run their team for the benefit of their kids? Sure...and that's not a good situation. But I can guarantee you that there is a more critical eye cast toward the daughter of the coach than any player on the team. Coaches will forgive their players for occasional errors, but do the same for their own daughter and it suddenly becomes daddy ball. I'm not saying that the op isn't correct in his/her assessment, just that I've seen the daddy ball moniker thrown around unfairly.

 

[Hollyrockartist]

HS coach's DD plays. He stays on her more than any of the others. He also doles out the chewings equally, no matter who the child belongs to or if she is another coach's daughter. What we went through, however, was true blue daddyball. I did not use it unfairly, as I was not the only witness to it. I agree that *sometimes* in a situation where the coach is FAIR to all of the players, parents may look at him giving his DD a break as "Daddyball". I, on the other hand, wouldn't look at it that way if it weren't so blatantly obvious every other play of every single game with this particular person. In this age group, IMHO, telling the player "oh, you'll get it next time but nice try" every time an easy ball is missed is absurd. Miss a pop fly by slowing down when heading to it then fumble picking it up not once, not twice but 3 times and "it's okay"? Seriously? Daddyball...