You guys are just buttering me up just so I don't call you an idiot..
I have been called worse. You forget how long I have been posting in the hitting forum...
Do you attend your daughter's practice?
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I have been called worse. You forget how long I have been posting in the hitting forum...
- Aug 3, 2019
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My answer comes as a coach and parent.
Rec sports: I typically coached her teams in softball, basketball, and soccer. In general most parents seemed to stick around when they were at the younger ages. Maybe up to 10u. Then it was drop and run from 12u up. This really didn't bother me as a coach, other than the parents that didn't return at the announced time to pick up their children. Sometimes I was stuck waiting at the field for an extra hour while I waited for a parent to show up.
Travel Ball: At 12u most parents stayed for practice. At 14u there were a few car pools. But we had girls from several different school districts, so it was limited. In a lot of cases a parent would drop off their daughter and run some errands. A few would stick around. By 2nd year 16u very few parents came to practices. Most of the players drove themselves.
High school: Off limits. None of the coaches allowed any spectators to their practices. After finding out how little they actually did at practice, the restrictions made sense
Any general thoughts on why high school practice watching is frowned upon? DD isn’t in HS yet but I was surprised to hear that happens frequently. I’m in the camp of that I just enjoy watching her play.
Is that the norm for practices to be closed? Guessing it’s to avoid parent input and obnoxious behavior? Interesting though that travel ball which is played most often at a higher level seems to be less concerned with the practice attendance.
- Jun 8, 2016
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Because they are trying to prepare parents to not show up at your apartment unexpectedly on a Sunday morning to take you to breakfast only to find out that you had a half naked girl in your room? Not that that happened to anybody I know..
- Jul 22, 2020
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As assistant coach and a parent, yes I do stick around for practices lol. I have been approached about coaching her jr. high team as well, but no final answer on that for now.
In my experience more moms stick around for our practices than the dads do. Usually the parents will ask after practice what else they can work on or help with at home. We have a general rule to parents hanging out at practice, just stating no interference with practice. It's gotten better as the team has been together longer. At first it was easy for them to walk in the dugout or the kids wanting to wonder around or go see their parents in-between drills, no so much now. We def encourage staying around to watch your kid and learn just like them. More work you can do at home correctly, the better the girls will be.
We have made USB drives with drills and other programs that are perfect to do at home.
In my experience more moms stick around for our practices than the dads do. Usually the parents will ask after practice what else they can work on or help with at home. We have a general rule to parents hanging out at practice, just stating no interference with practice. It's gotten better as the team has been together longer. At first it was easy for them to walk in the dugout or the kids wanting to wonder around or go see their parents in-between drills, no so much now. We def encourage staying around to watch your kid and learn just like them. More work you can do at home correctly, the better the girls will be.
We have made USB drives with drills and other programs that are perfect to do at home.
I'm not familiar with any local high schools allowing parents to attend practices. I'm sure there are numerous reasons. DD's high school team was a mess. She was the only travel ball player on the team. Most of the other girls had to find their glove when practiced started each year because it was buried in their garage or basement since last season. Many of the parents were not educated regarding high school sports. They expected every player to play a couple innings per game like they did in rec ball. And many of the parents were extremely vocal with their complaints. I found it painful just being around some of them. I'm not sure that is why parents were not permitted but it's one possibility.
If I have to drive to an hour to a two hour practice I stay. I like to be at the field or facility and I like to see what coaches do and hopefully learn something from them. (I was going to say "other coaches", but I haven't coached for a few years and just realized I probably never will again).
On my younger DD's team I used to be an AC, and I was on the board of the organization for a long time, so I'm more or less tolerated. I usually wander on to the field before practice gets started, talk to the coaches a bit, about non softball stuff mostly, then take a walk while they throw and do warmups. I come back for the last hour or so. If there are other parents I will say hello and if they want to chat I will chat with them.
On my older DD's team I was never involved with the org so I don't bother the coaches (hopefully), but I do watch after taking a walk if they're outdoors.
Older DD's indoor facility is right next to a brewery, so...
On my younger DD's team I used to be an AC, and I was on the board of the organization for a long time, so I'm more or less tolerated. I usually wander on to the field before practice gets started, talk to the coaches a bit, about non softball stuff mostly, then take a walk while they throw and do warmups. I come back for the last hour or so. If there are other parents I will say hello and if they want to chat I will chat with them.
On my older DD's team I was never involved with the org so I don't bother the coaches (hopefully), but I do watch after taking a walk if they're outdoors.
Older DD's indoor facility is right next to a brewery, so...
- Jun 20, 2015
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I think the don't want you to see just how little they practice, how few of the announced rules are evenly enforced for all, etc.
Example, took my DD to the 4 player, 30 minute hitting work out. The 'coach' sat on a bucket and looked at her phone the entire time. Yes, i had it on video. Maybe they would have preferred I not watch???
Example, took my DD to the 4 player, 30 minute hitting work out. The 'coach' sat on a bucket and looked at her phone the entire time. Yes, i had it on video. Maybe they would have preferred I not watch???
I've been at every one of younger DD's practices, except for T-ball. Was coaching older DD at the time, but since then, there's never been a time when I wasn't either coaching or assisting in some way. At younger ages, I wanted parents there to see what we're doing, help when asked, and understand what their kid might need to work on. In recent years, it's been more the kids driving themselves, but when parents do show, it's mostly to socialize and throw a bit of shade on the coaches.
- May 21, 2018
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Sounds like heaven.
I've almost always watched DD's TB practice. First off, it's an half hour from house, so I'm not driving back and forth, second, I like to talk with some (some!) of the other parents there, and third, because I like to watch. DD and the other players don't have a problem with it. Funny though, with school a big No from DD on watching, no parents do. Maybe since we pay for TB we kind of expect it to come with the package, not so much with school ball.
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