High school softball

[bmakj]

not to hijack thread, but since we're ragging on HS coaches, in different sport, DD2, a frosh, tweaked her back a little obver a week ago (landed ackwardly after jumpping in air), causing her to basically miss 8 softball games this weekend with her travel team (first real games with this team, she is new to team, but is same org as last season, knows the HC, and a lot of girls, there were many joint practices, she played a couple of innings in OF and bunted every at bat Sat). we told her she was shutdown for the entire week for her fall HS sport. was told that tuesday this week, HC for this fall HS sport questioned whether she really needed to sit entire week. this is after HS trainer last friday cleared her to play in freshman team game (she plays JV and freshman, named captain of freshmen team, which actually includes some sophs, as they do not have enough frosh), and tweaked it again.

blood nearly boiled. she is still going to practices and games, one of the loudest on sidelines. is it ever appropriate for a HC to question a 14 year old (who is extremely tough, played at nationals day after dislocating shoulder while body surfing) for resting an injury?

 

[nixxy311]

OP here - this whole thing may be a moot point now. The forecast calls for rain and if it rains they will not march in the parade. Her SB coach will still have them practice though even if it rains.

Her game tonight was cancelled because of rain (and surprisingly no practice either!). She was up until 2am on Tuesday night after their game finishing a physics test. So glad she gets some rest today!

 

[CoachJD]

they did not prioritize ROTC over softball, it has been stated they have missed a lot of ROTC functions for softball, and thought this was a good chance to try to balance that, because the girl really wanted to do both.

Choosing one thing over another is prioritizing that thing. If softball is actually the priority, you always choose that. That's what priority means. It's not "it comes first unless." It means "it comes first."

I'm not saying it has to be that way, but that's what priority means.

a 30 minute individual practice missed to participate in a civic event as a member of a different school based organization? No Brainer frankly. HCs like that need to reexamine why they are coaching. it is certainly not to help the girls at that point

I'm trying to think of a way you could be more wrong here, but I can't come up with one. The head coach has a job to do, and that job is absolutely not to find ways to help his players do other things. If a coach doesn't mind his players missing, fine. That's the coach's call. But it's certainly not the coach's responsibility to ensure players have the opportunity to do other things during the season. That's absurd.

and the HIGH SCHOOL coach who sat a girl for taking ACTs should have been relieved on the spot. Period, not even a discussion, he has completely lost his way, and forgotten that these are STUDENT AThletes.

Agreed on this one. I must have missed the post about that. Academics always come first. I try not to schedule a game on the day before the SATs, and I actually don't let those taking the test come to practice that day. Sometimes I'll schedule an easier game on the day of the test (since the game is later in the day) with the intention of getting younger/bench players in, and those taking the exam always have the option to skip.

ROTC, chess club, etc. are not the ACTs. They're a different, separate commitment and there's nothing weird or wrong with a coach demanding players make the sport a priority as long as that's made clear at the beginning of the season.

 

[CoachJD]

Nobody said everyday. Missing practice once or twice a season for a legit reason should be perfectly acceptable. If your two starting pitchers were in the parade you probably have to amend your policy.

I don't consider ROTC a legit reason. Chess club is not a legit reason. A family birthday party is not a legit reason. Field trips (that are not academic-related) are not a legit reason. Legit reasons: Illness/family emergencies, academics, and... that's it, really. I was a little more lenient last year with covid because we didn't have in-person school, so sometimes kids just had no way to get to practice. That's not normally an issue though since they're already at school.

A commitment doesn't mean "I'll do this all the time except when I don't want to."

I don't see how the two starting pitchers being in the parade would change anything, but it depends on the coach's rules. For me, a single missed practice results in "a loss of playing time." Easy enough to "punish" (not really the word I want since I'm not doing it to punish them) in that case.

 

[CoachJD]

Also ROTC is a class as well which I would consider something academic. The fact that she is missing leadership meetings for softball shows her commitment to softball.

You should've said that before! If ROTC is a class, and her participation in various activities/meetings is part of her grade, then she should absolutely be permitted to attend/the coach should at least work with whoever is in charge of that class to come up with something.

Sounds a lot like band at our school. Band has to come first, but I also work with the band teacher to try to get the girls as much as possible without taking away from their band commitment.

So, yes, you've got me to agree to ROTC being somewhat important. Changes things quite a bit if her grades could be affected.

 

[bmakj]

The head coach has a job to do

yes, and I guess we disagree with what that job is. IMHO, the primary purpose of scholastic sports is to help build physical confidence, teamwork, character, etc.. HS HCs should not be Vince Lombardi. It is not to give a sense of authority and unchecked power to supposedly grown adults. A child should never be forced to choose one extracurricular activity to the exclusion of all else (now if they wanted to be in 5 other activities as well as SB, maybe then it is time to make some choices, but one other club, ridiculous). guaranteed if the faculty member running the drama club said anyone involved cannot miss any rehearsals due to X, they would no longer be running the drama club.

"Choosing one thing over another is prioritizing that thing. If softball is actually the priority, you always choose that. That's what priority means. It's not "it comes first unless." It means "it comes first."

sorry, BS plain and simple, nothing is ever that black and white in the real world. I get told in my job all the time to make X my #1 priority, doesnt mean I ignore all my other job functions until X is completely achieved (sometimes it is something that takes weeks or months). It means I devote the majority of my time and resources to it, while still keeping tabs on and doing what I can on my other tasks.

Case in point, my DDs and my wife on winter bought concert tickets for a band they wanted to see in the spring. We let all their coaches know well in advance that they had plans that day. DD2s HC called a "mandatory" practice earlier the week of the concert. DD2 did not attend, as we had previously told the HC she was unavailable. Doesn't mean she/we did not prioritize TB that spring (came before everything but school every other day that spring).

Virtually everything in life is shades of gray, not black and white.

 

[CMMom1740]

Agreed on this one. I must have missed the post about that. Academics always come first. I try not to schedule a game on the day before the SATs, and I actually don't let those taking the test come to practice that day. Sometimes I'll schedule an easier game on the day of the test (since the game is later in the day) with the intention of getting younger/bench players in, and those taking the exam always have the option to skip.

ROTC, chess club, etc. are not the ACTs. They're a different, separate commitment and there's nothing weird or wrong with a coach demanding players make the sport a priority as long as that's made clear at the beginning of the season.

And the ACT started really late because the place was disorganized, so I know she was worrying the whole time about how she was going to have to haul butt to get there in time for the second game. Which likely affected her performance on the test. Yeah, don't get me started with this Coach because I could go on all day!

 

[flash277]

I don't consider ROTC a legit reason. Chess club is not a legit reason. A family birthday party is not a legit reason. Field trips (that are not academic-related) are not a legit reason. Legit reasons: Illness/family emergencies, academics, and... that's it, really. I was a little more lenient last year with covid because we didn't have in-person school, so sometimes kids just had no way to get to practice. That's not normally an issue though since they're already at school.

A commitment doesn't mean "I'll do this all the time except when I don't want to."

I don't see how the two starting pitchers being in the parade would change anything, but it depends on the coach's rules. For me, a single missed practice results in "a loss of playing time." Easy enough to "punish" (not really the word I want since I'm not doing it to punish them) in that case.

Say @CoachJD , I believe you are a High School coach?......If so, what is your penalty for missing a practice for a reason you do not feel legit?.....Does everyone know what it is?.....Is it, miss a practice, miss game? You write it means to you "loss of playing time".....So if your superstar misses practice she may miss a game, (maybe not even that) but thats it, and if your #8 player misses a practice, she's done for the year? If she's a bench player, she may as well quit because she's never seeing the field?........Simply put, what is your definition of "Loss of playing time"?

 

[Rule#6]

How about letting her choose and supporting her decision and not worrying about things that may or may not happen

I agree 100% with this! This is NOT a life or death situation and if the OP is truly "Shaking with how upset he is" that is not healthy. What will you do when you have a Real problem if you are this stressed out over HS softball?? Its not healthy and not good for your DD to see. Let her make her decision.

 

[quincy]

This is off topic but I want players at 90% of practices. If it falls below that I am not doing my job as a coach. What am I doing wrong that you do not want to be here?

The other 10% can be mental health break, big exam, birthday party, I do not care. They just need to let me know, I honestly do not care why.

Stupid kids and parents will lie to your face why they are missing practice anyways. Like I am not going to find the real reason eventual. So just tell me you are not coming as soon as you can, that is it. No penalty.

Also gives parent and player freedom that they do not have to be there any specific day.