Had to do something today that I've never done before in all my years of softball. I cut a player loose. The catalyst was her completely blowing off a tournament this weekend. She asked at the last minute if she could attend a concert on Saturday, which I wasn't happy about to begin with. But she had the chance to go backstage and meet her idol so I reluctantly agreed.
She rewarded me for that act of kindness by not showing up at all Sunday. We were scheduled for an 8:00 game, which meant everyone was due at the field ready to go by 7:00 AM for warmups. Her father called me at 8:00 saying he had been unsuccessful in waking her up. (As an aside he must not have tried very hard. I would've dumped my kid out of bed if she wasn't up in time and dragged her into the car physically.)
Enough was enough. She had not attended any of our off-season workouts due to her "homework load." But I would see in Facebook that she had gone to this event or that concert. Seeing as how our off-season sessions were on Sunday mornings it shouldn't have been a strain. They were not mandatory, but everyone else gladly came since we focused on hitting.
She had also not shown up for our Tuesday practice earlier in the week -- no call, no email. As you've probably guessed I'm a pretty lenient guy, but not showing up on a tournament day was too much even for me. When I called to break the news, her father said she had slept until 4:00 PM.
Understand, two other girls on the team went with her to the concert. Both were there for warmups on time and ready to go. One of them broke her nose during warmups and went to the hospital. When she was done, she returned for the rest of the tournament.
So tonight I cut her loose. It just seems like she has other priorities than softball, and now she's free to pursue them. She put herself ahead of the team, and I just can't excuse that.
So yes, even a lenient softie like me has a limit. I didn't like making the call, but I felt it was needed. It's probably been a long time coming.
She rewarded me for that act of kindness by not showing up at all Sunday. We were scheduled for an 8:00 game, which meant everyone was due at the field ready to go by 7:00 AM for warmups. Her father called me at 8:00 saying he had been unsuccessful in waking her up. (As an aside he must not have tried very hard. I would've dumped my kid out of bed if she wasn't up in time and dragged her into the car physically.)
Enough was enough. She had not attended any of our off-season workouts due to her "homework load." But I would see in Facebook that she had gone to this event or that concert. Seeing as how our off-season sessions were on Sunday mornings it shouldn't have been a strain. They were not mandatory, but everyone else gladly came since we focused on hitting.
She had also not shown up for our Tuesday practice earlier in the week -- no call, no email. As you've probably guessed I'm a pretty lenient guy, but not showing up on a tournament day was too much even for me. When I called to break the news, her father said she had slept until 4:00 PM.
Understand, two other girls on the team went with her to the concert. Both were there for warmups on time and ready to go. One of them broke her nose during warmups and went to the hospital. When she was done, she returned for the rest of the tournament.
So tonight I cut her loose. It just seems like she has other priorities than softball, and now she's free to pursue them. She put herself ahead of the team, and I just can't excuse that.
So yes, even a lenient softie like me has a limit. I didn't like making the call, but I felt it was needed. It's probably been a long time coming.