IDK – 12U Rec.

[quincy]

2 player’s parents think that they have the best softball players on the Team; both reacted to this coming season differently.

1 player is not going to play softball this year. In my opinion she was a good pitcher, if it matters better then DD, middle of the pack with the rest of her softball skills. Not a great teammate. If she is not top dog she is not going to play, again in my opinion. She needs to be #1.

2nd player has not worked at all in the off season and has already mentioned not wanting to play. 1st practice was yesterday and she will get in the swing of things. See player #1, what annoys me about this is the attitude is coming from the parents not the player. She is a great team player. Better than good at everything softball.

IDK, it is interesting seeing good players come and go.

 

[YOCOACH]

IMHO if her parents attitudes are that way, then their DD's softball career has come to an abrupt end. If she is indeed the best player on the team, the only other place to go is to either a select team or TB team. Neither place will she be the "Top Dog." I feel bad for her. These are really the places for her to grow and improve her skills with the proper coaching and she won't get the chance because of her parents.

 

[quincy]

I am not a fan of player #1, player # 2 enjoys playing. She is good, she would be better if her parents got out of the way.

 

[Jr10234]

I've watched a similar situation with a girl, now U16, who stayed with it despite her parents. She changes teams every year, varsity starter since freshman year as SS. She has a great attitude, liked by teammates and coaches, but its her dad no one can't handle. I think you're lucky not to have those parents on your team to deal with. You'll never be giving her enough playing time, batting her in the right spot, or putting others in the right position to support her.

 

[00fpdaddy]

it's a shame good players not getting proper support from their parents. Seen a lot of girls whose parents think their dds are top dog and they could do no wrong. Fill their heads with false truths about their abilities, not putting the work in, and expecting every second of playing time. It's only rec. would be worried if this was a tourney team. Good luck quincy.

 

[sluggers]

Quincy, honestly...I don't understand. A rec coach can't be judgmental about parents or kids. Parents and kids have all kinds of issues that you as a softball coach will never know or understand. If you want parents and kids 100% dedicated to softball, then go coach travel ball and be ready for a whole different set of headaches.

As to player #1, you are reading too much into the situation. Kids quit softball all the time. It sounds like the family decided that softball wasn't worth the effort--which is usually accurate. The family may have decided to do something else this summer rather than sit around at the ball park eating cold hot dogs and drinking warm coca-cola.

As to player #2, this situation is about as common as the sun rising in the east. Parents don't work with their kids on something, and expect the child to get more recognition than other children whose parents work with them. It could be math, reading, playing the clarinet, singing, softball, piano...you name it. (In fact, I suspect that you will find lots of parents of "good softball players" who can't understand why their DD makes Cs in math.) They are just parents being parents.

 

[quincy]

A rec coach can't be judgmental about parents or kids. Parents and kids have all kinds of issues that you as a softball coach will never know or understand.

Fair point.

 

[Coach JV]

It amazes me that you only have 2 parents who
think their dd is the best, my rec teams always
had at least 5 parents who thought this way.

This is rec ball, good, bad does not make a difference,
it is your duty to give them all playing time as rec
is all about having a positive experience and developing
fundamentals first and winning is secondary.

It is softball, drama is a big part of the game when you manage a team

 

[DonnieS]

As a guy who has been there and done that for some years, one suggestion I have is to really try hard with any kid who tries back. I had two kids who played for me - actually one that played on my travel team and another who played on a off season team I helped with for the h/s. The travel team kid was always my 10th or 11th player, struggled, got frustrated , but always came early always stayed late, this kid had an athletic body, but just started later than the other girls. She played with us over 6-7 years - I talked with the dad over the years, that she wouldnt start probably but I would get her in when I could - but if she found a team who played more local ball, she would get more innings. She told him that she wanted to stay with us because we were fun - and the dad liked our practices so she stayed. Her last year with us, she became a starting right fielder - and gunned so many runners down at 1st, that it was crazy. But still - and what is awesome, is that she is in the middle of her second year of juco ball - I never even brought up college ball with her because I didnt think (stupid) she could do it - obviously I never said that to anyone. The other kid, as a h/s freshman, showed up 40-50 pounds over weight - didnt know that catching a foul popup was an out, is not an athlete, couldnt hit a good pitcher, and was slow. Over one summer, she lost 35-40 lbs, worked with someone on hitting a lot, worked up her defensive game, and is a solid first baseman - and starting on varsity for the this year and the last - what I swore to myself - would never happen. So like Slugger posted, dont be judgemental when they are young pups. Now these girls arent playing Impact Gold or SoCal whatever the heck, but they are successful at their level, and thank God , I never said , "You cant do this." It was damn sure on my lips.

 

[PA SB Dad]

I have always felt that the craziest sports parents are those that have kids between the ages of 9 and 12. For a reason completely foreign to me, at this age the parents only see "potential" and not reality. The kids may be good, but not THAT good. The kids are also completely in parent-pleasing mode, so parental goals are easily transferred to the kids.

Don't worry though, as the kids get older, the parents of the kids who stay in rec are easy to deal with - they will hand them over to you and hope you will keep it fun for them (at least that has been my experience). It's the TB and school ball parents that take over the craziness!