Confusing Situation With Senior Daughter Not Getting Playing Time On HS Team

[Cannonball]

My DD made varsity as a freshman. Pitcher in the upper 50's low 60's. I am not worried about my kid. That said many kids get screwed by HS coaches for many reasons. Just because my kid is getting a fair shake doesn't mean I turn a blind eye to what goes on.

The point isn't that your dd made varsity. If you think so little of the coaching staff, why would you allow her to be coached by them. If you thought so little about HS competition, why would you subject your dd to the travesty called HS softball? I've never understood it.

 

[Eric F]

This is not the case in HS ball. You don't need to play your best 9 or 10 to win 90% of HS games. A coach can sit a stud pitcher for what ever reason and can still win games with a mediocre pitcher.

This is true ONLY if you have a deep talent pool to draw from. Many schools do not.

 

[BobInMadison]

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[Tatonka]

Last season (HS Softball) we had 12 players walk off the field at the beginning of practice (after a talk from the "coach") in protest of this person's attitude, harassment, bullying and general demeanor. These girls went searching for the AD who was no where to be found but was well aware of the situation that was brewing. Approx 3 or 4 girls stayed (2 of them were in her pocket the whole way and the other 2 were just clueless and were being promised starting Varsity positions. This "coach" then fired the JV Coach and took a few girls from that squad (some of them refused to play) and brought back a couple kids she had cut at try outs. Disastrous results all the way around. Very, very sad situation for the kids that really just wanted to play HS softball with their friends and for their school. This "coach" (and can you tell it really kills me to even call her that as she was just terrible from every angle) had tried coaching a TB team in our area the summer before and every single kid on that team, every single kid, refused to play for her again on a TB team. Every bad thing that has been mentioned here about a coaches abilities, communication skills, etc., were on display with this disaster and for quite a while no one seemed to care. Hopefully it's all behind us now and the program can rebuild and find some measure of success.

For those of you in a good HS program, with good coaches and supportive AD's....congrats, I'm jealous. For those of you who refuse to believe that some Coaches just flat out suck and it must be a kid or parent issue...pour me one of whatever you're drinking. For those who have suffered due to situations like those described on these pages, you are not alone, I just wish I could help you make sense of the "why" part of the equation!

 

[BobInMadison]

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[Eric F]

I have known plenty of people who had no respect for their HS coaches who played anyway. Some of them played for a school that had a losing streak which lasted for several years.

Why?

1. Softball is a game. Games should be fun. Sometimes, even if you don't think much of the coach, even if you have very little chance of winning, it can still be fun to play a game where your teammates are the girls you've played in LL and TB for so many years.

2. Sometimes it's cool to represent your school.

3. Sometimes, even if the team isn't good, the player can get something out of it, playing against players from other schools who ARE good.


My DD 3 did quit her HS team, because she was fed up with it, it wasn't going to be fun, and she didn't think she could get anything out of it.

But, I had a separate thread as to why she quit. If she had been put on Varsity, she would've played for the 3 reasons I mentioned.

My DD will be going to a HS that has had a losing record for a long time, and I don't expect it to change any time soon. Most of the time, they finish near the bottom of the league. My DD fully intends to play. It's not about winning. It's about playing with and against friends she's known since she started playing the game.

 

[Phandle]

This is the mentality of most High School coaches. And their ability to assess talent is never to be questioned. Then they wonder why people have close to zero respect for them.

The point isn't that your dd made varsity. If you think so little of the coaching staff, why would you allow her to be coached by them. If you thought so little about HS competition, why would you subject your dd to the travesty called HS softball? I've never understood it.

You are an one of those few HS coaches who do this for the right reason. There are couple coaches in our area who are like you, they coach well and have consistent rules for everyone and are not swayed by the parents. All the good softball players want to go to that school, they have about 18 in the Varsity and their JV can beat pretty much all the teams in our area. In Florida you don't have to go to the school in your district.

Plenty of HS coaches here don't just care, it's an ego and control issue for them. My daughter plays HS ball because;
1. She gets to represent her school and her community and she is not going to give up on that because of some no good coach.
2. Great live lesson on how to work with difficult people and bosses in life and in future employment.
3. Have fun playing with friends.
4. This is once in a lifetime opportunity and won't get this time back.
5. Last but not the least, to see her name in the newspaper.

 

[MNDad]

Not sure why HS coaches are held to such a different standard. College and pro coaches make dumb moves all the time. When a HS coach does something stupid it’s always “political”. Sure, they’re not perfect, but as a whole I’d say they’re a lot better than most travel coaches. In my personal experience the people who complain most about HS ball usually fall into one of three categories. 1) Freshman parents who think because their kid starts on a 14U travel team they should automatically start on varsity. 2) Upperclassman parents who think their kids should automatically start because their upperclassmen. 3) Parents who just don’t get it that HS ball has different goals and priorities than travel. This is just in my experience in the Twin Cities and it may be different in other parts of the country. Most of the good travel programs here have coaches that also coach in HS. Yet the same coaches who parents would kill for to get on their travel teams bitch about how incompetent they are as HS coaches.

 

[BobInMadison]

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[Doug Romrell]

Everyone can be replaced as I will be after next year.

How about starting or joining a summer team. It would be a shame for you to simply walk away after all the knowledge you've acquired.