How many of you have cut a girl because of her parents after the Fall season?

[crushcustom]

Having a great team handbook is very important. If you set the expectations of your team up front it makes for a very easy conversation. First crazy parent outburst = warning...Second crazy parent outburst = see ya

It also helps to keep good stats, have mid season parent / player evaluation meetings...most times communication is the key: PARENT - "Why is my daughter not playing SS she is so awesome"
Coach - "well your player has touched the ball 30 times and made 20 outs with 10 ER...the other player touched 35 times with 4 ER" at that point the conversation is pretty much over.

 

[cuzmail]

Some are now saying that the problem will show through the kids attitude and performance and that IS different. You cut a kid because they aren't performing well, not because there parents are a pain. GG

GG,

Sorry, but bad cancerous parents gotta go. They will kill a team faster than losing all the time.

 

[murphdog]

We cut a coach last year and his DD went with him. She was a decent player but he wanted her to be a star and she just wasn't. He couldn't deal with her not being the #1 pitcher (she was #3 and he knew this coming in) so he complained and whined while in the dugout every single tournament. He was asked to stop coaching but told she could stay. He took her to another team where she could be #1 and they never won a game all season.
We ended up state champs and she tells my DD all the time that she wishes he had let her stay because that's what she wanted to do.

 

[JAD]

We have never cut anyone from our team between the Fall and Spring seasons, but I can tell you that we have cut girls from tryouts because of their parents. There are a lot of talented softball players in GA, but very few of them (68+ MPH pitchers who hit home runs may be the exception) warrant putting up with a parent who is going to bring drama and dissension to the team.

 

[Greenmonsters]

We have never cut anyone from our team between the Fall and Spring seasons, but I can tell you that we have cut girls from tryouts because of their parents. There are a lot of talented softball players in GA, but very few of them (68+ MPH pitchers who hit home runs may be the exception) warrant putting up with a parent who is going to bring drama and dissension to the team.

If all you are after is Ws, you take spawn of the devil Ray-Ray, Jr knowing that you are sleeping with the devil at your own risk. I'd take the dramaless parent's kid who only throws 59 and hits doubles. I end up with a few less Ws, but that sacrifice would result in a healthier and more conducive environment for player development. It probably even would be fun.

Edited to note that this is not directed at JAD or anyone in particular. Just the fact that a few more wins doesn't justify putting up with a cancerous player/parent under any TB circumstances in my book.

 

[AngelsFan01]

I'm not coaching or a team admin this year, but the answer for us last year was definitely yes.

We cut a player last year mostly because of the parents. This girl the previous year had arguably been one of the best 10u pitchers in the area. That coached dealt with the cancerous parents all year long. After that season I said I'd never be on the same team as them. So last year we end up on the same team for various reasons (I relented!) but the new HC gave him a strict warning (also coming down from the head of the organization). During the Fall we had a few problems with the dad and their DD was obviously getting an earful at home - she pretty much stopped giving 100% and started to be disrespectful to the coaching staff...she went as far as telling some of the other girls that she didn't have to try hard because she was better than everybody else. Well, the dad finally blew up in the middle of a friendly. We made the decision that afternoon to cut the family. Cutting them from the team was one of the best things we did. The stress level on the team was practically non-existent after that and the team became much closer.

So yes, we cut mid-season...but I look at it more as cutting the family and not just the parent or just the player. I believe the player acted that way because of the parents' influence...and, well...they are the ones raising that kid, right? As a PS to this story, after the HC called the parents to tell them they were cut, they had the 11 year old player call him back and she proceeded to scream, yell, and cuss at him. Yup, that's the way to raise a kid!

 

[medicpelle]

Just had to cut a girl two weeks ago during the middle of our fall season. A few other things with the parents led up to the decision but the last tournament was the nail in the coffin. Kid shows up dragging rear, not hustling, everything is at half speed, etc. Player was talked to but was just given that deer in the headlight look. Player made a few comments that the rest of the girls took offense to. She stated she was up until 3-4 in the morning the night before the tournament because she had a sleep over with her school ball team and they were more important to her then the TB team. Did not find this out until after Saturday's games. We are a highly competitive 12u team with highly competitive girls who did not take this very well. Sunday morning I get a text saying player will not be there cause mom was "sick". After the tournament on Sunday a parent showed me a facebook post from Sat night by the mom that was "sick". Basically said she should have called in sick on sat because they were both tried from Friday nights festivities and a few other ridiculous things. Wow what a coincidence, they wished they called in sick on sat and sun they were sick,,,what luck. Fail!

 

[smddad]

I did it. After a pleading by a parent I respected, I talked with the offending parent and took their DD back. Fortunately, the girl was not aware of the situation.

 

[CoachBroker]

I have seen one that the parents or should I say care givers failed to bring player to two games only notifying the HC night before that they would not be there and giving some poor excuse. By that point it was to late find a replacement player. I think everyone one else on the team was willing to cut the player from the team for leaving them hanging. This player was not a huge loss but was still a good outfielder. The coach just quit notifying the player/parents about practice and games.

 

[Jquick823]

The sad but true answer is yes. You can cut players at any point in the season for any number of reasons. Currently there is a parent on our team who states their kid "SUCKS" lowdly infront of the fans and spectators. Then this parent will go to the HC and say her DD doesn't like me the AC and i take her confidence away, then will come to me with the same story about the HC. The father who is a coach demands his kids playing time and then blames his DD's errors on other players. After our tournament i received a phone call, the caller told me that this mother was asked to leave our younger teams tournament game because she was bad mouthing all the coaches and the organization again. If i could just cut the parent i would keep the player regardless of skill, but since it's a package deal the player must go also. The player will for sure be told the coaches didn't like her and believe in her and that's fine with me. I just hope that one day this player can escape the parent. The HC and I have worked very hard over the last year to build a good name for our organization and ourselves. We preach sportsmanship, fair play and stress academics. I would hate to see all the girls hard work and season end because of 1 parent that can't keep it together on the weekends.