So, I have posted on here a couple of times, and I have to be honest, the level of knowledge on these boards has helped me tremendously in coaching my team.
To start, I am a 1st year/young (only 26) coach, coaching my first high school softball team (I have been a baseball assistant at the HS level and travel ball assistant at another school). I took over a HS program that won back to back sectionals, but lost 8 starting seniors from last year. I don't have a senior on the roster, so needless to say we are very young.
I implemented an off-season conditioning program that this program has never had before, and the underclassman have shown a lot of improvement in their overall skills as softball players and athleticism. The girls put in a lot of work from November on, and the mood of the team has been fantastic.
Saturday was our first game. We are a 1A school (lowest) playing a weak 4A school (highest). The girls last year lost to this team, but our girls swept both games of the double header (a testament to how hard they have worked).
I used the same starting lineup both games, and we raked the ball the first game (17-7) but they saved their ace for game 2 and it was more of a game (3-0).
Moral was good. Girls were stoked. Parents were happy. Awesome.
Well, about 5 hours later I got a phone call from a sophomore parent who's daughter was the starting SS for the JV team last year. I started a FR at SS who has really been lights out. Unfortunately, the FR is also our #2 pitcher, so she hasn't gotten in as many reps at SS as the SO, just because she has been working with the pitchers.
Well, the parent phone call went something like this. His daughter felt as if she was disrespected, that the JV SS should always have first 'dibs' over a FR, and that his daughter is better than the SS, faster than the 2B, a better defender than the 3B, and a better hitter than the RF (so essentially, one of the best players on the team). His daughter had been sick the week leading up to the game (missed three days of school) and I made the decision to not start her. When she pitch ran, she was picked off base twice (something I brought up to him, and he said that his daughter can't focus when she's not the starter).
He continued to go on and on about how he has coached his daughter her entire life, and he knows she can play at the next level. He went on to ask me if she was going to be a starter, and I said I don't guarantee any of the girls that. He said that he wants to know because if so, his daughter would be better off laying on a travel basketball team. I said 'ok'.
We ended the conversation there. Well, I got another phone call this morning from same dad, saying he wants to talk again. I didn't answer.
Our AD is out of town for spring break, so I feel kinda lost. I have never had this type of problem with a parent before, so I am really confused on what my next step should be. In all honesty, the one girl she was being considered to start over, kinda struggled in both games (1 for 5, dropped a fly ball). She would have been considered to get a look in the OF eventually, but I don't want to succumb to this parent. But, I want to do what is best for the team.
Any suggestions?
To start, I am a 1st year/young (only 26) coach, coaching my first high school softball team (I have been a baseball assistant at the HS level and travel ball assistant at another school). I took over a HS program that won back to back sectionals, but lost 8 starting seniors from last year. I don't have a senior on the roster, so needless to say we are very young.
I implemented an off-season conditioning program that this program has never had before, and the underclassman have shown a lot of improvement in their overall skills as softball players and athleticism. The girls put in a lot of work from November on, and the mood of the team has been fantastic.
Saturday was our first game. We are a 1A school (lowest) playing a weak 4A school (highest). The girls last year lost to this team, but our girls swept both games of the double header (a testament to how hard they have worked).
I used the same starting lineup both games, and we raked the ball the first game (17-7) but they saved their ace for game 2 and it was more of a game (3-0).
Moral was good. Girls were stoked. Parents were happy. Awesome.
Well, about 5 hours later I got a phone call from a sophomore parent who's daughter was the starting SS for the JV team last year. I started a FR at SS who has really been lights out. Unfortunately, the FR is also our #2 pitcher, so she hasn't gotten in as many reps at SS as the SO, just because she has been working with the pitchers.
Well, the parent phone call went something like this. His daughter felt as if she was disrespected, that the JV SS should always have first 'dibs' over a FR, and that his daughter is better than the SS, faster than the 2B, a better defender than the 3B, and a better hitter than the RF (so essentially, one of the best players on the team). His daughter had been sick the week leading up to the game (missed three days of school) and I made the decision to not start her. When she pitch ran, she was picked off base twice (something I brought up to him, and he said that his daughter can't focus when she's not the starter).
He continued to go on and on about how he has coached his daughter her entire life, and he knows she can play at the next level. He went on to ask me if she was going to be a starter, and I said I don't guarantee any of the girls that. He said that he wants to know because if so, his daughter would be better off laying on a travel basketball team. I said 'ok'.
We ended the conversation there. Well, I got another phone call this morning from same dad, saying he wants to talk again. I didn't answer.
Our AD is out of town for spring break, so I feel kinda lost. I have never had this type of problem with a parent before, so I am really confused on what my next step should be. In all honesty, the one girl she was being considered to start over, kinda struggled in both games (1 for 5, dropped a fly ball). She would have been considered to get a look in the OF eventually, but I don't want to succumb to this parent. But, I want to do what is best for the team.
Any suggestions?
It becomes harder to be objective. I would not sit her to prove a point. Try to do what you would've done if the parent had not butted in, IMO.
