My DD plays 10U. Her team is decent and she plays an important role. She gets to pitch and plays infield when she's not pitching, doesn't sit out and bats in the heart of the lineup. She's one of the better players along with 3-4 others and the coach plays to win. I have no complaints about how the games are managed and certainly more than happy with all of the game time action she sees. The parents and girls all get along.
But...... the head coach leaves something to be desired. He is a parent. While he manages the game okay, he is very critical. He is particularly hard on the better girls when they *are* successful, even if he is flat out incorrect. For example, he'll tell a girl who pitched a great game with excellent control that she wasn't hitting her spots and she must not be practicing enough. Or he'll tell a girl that is ripping the ball that she needs to learn how to let more pitches go and not swing at 'everything.' If it didn't sound crazy and paranoid, I'd say it seems like he is intentionally trying to sabotage the girls who are successful, perhaps because he perceives them a threat to his own daughter's success? Would someone do that?
He also knows zero about fundamentals, outsources his own daughter's instruction and expects everyone else to do the same. While he puts people in the right positions to be competitive, he doesn't do any game situation practice at all and the girls are getting beat up on that. In short, he really has no business being a head coach.
Other important facts: This club is particularly expensive for the area. I am a seasoned coach and know what I am doing, but both my daughter and I prefer I stay out of club ball so she can just do her thing and I can relax and watch. So I am more than capable of teaching my daughter fundamentals and know exactly when the head coach is talking out of his rear end.
So the big question is - is this situation 'good enough?' I realize no matter where you go, there is always going to be *something* you don't like about it. And there are a lot of positives. I certainly wouldn't want her to move to a weaker team and be frustrated by the level of play or a much stronger team and not have the same playing opportunities.
And if it is good enough, any ideas on how to manage this? I have already had to tell my daughter to ignore head coach when she is doing well, because he is likely to cut her down. She has the self-confidence and maturity to realize this, but I still feel like a bad parent by telling her to basically ignore her head coach because he's an rear. I am not sure my 10-year old needs to learn that life skill already, even though we all do eventually!
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
But...... the head coach leaves something to be desired. He is a parent. While he manages the game okay, he is very critical. He is particularly hard on the better girls when they *are* successful, even if he is flat out incorrect. For example, he'll tell a girl who pitched a great game with excellent control that she wasn't hitting her spots and she must not be practicing enough. Or he'll tell a girl that is ripping the ball that she needs to learn how to let more pitches go and not swing at 'everything.' If it didn't sound crazy and paranoid, I'd say it seems like he is intentionally trying to sabotage the girls who are successful, perhaps because he perceives them a threat to his own daughter's success? Would someone do that?
He also knows zero about fundamentals, outsources his own daughter's instruction and expects everyone else to do the same. While he puts people in the right positions to be competitive, he doesn't do any game situation practice at all and the girls are getting beat up on that. In short, he really has no business being a head coach.
Other important facts: This club is particularly expensive for the area. I am a seasoned coach and know what I am doing, but both my daughter and I prefer I stay out of club ball so she can just do her thing and I can relax and watch. So I am more than capable of teaching my daughter fundamentals and know exactly when the head coach is talking out of his rear end.
So the big question is - is this situation 'good enough?' I realize no matter where you go, there is always going to be *something* you don't like about it. And there are a lot of positives. I certainly wouldn't want her to move to a weaker team and be frustrated by the level of play or a much stronger team and not have the same playing opportunities.
And if it is good enough, any ideas on how to manage this? I have already had to tell my daughter to ignore head coach when she is doing well, because he is likely to cut her down. She has the self-confidence and maturity to realize this, but I still feel like a bad parent by telling her to basically ignore her head coach because he's an rear. I am not sure my 10-year old needs to learn that life skill already, even though we all do eventually!
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
