New high school varsity coach benches seniors

[left turn]

The coach is new to the school and the seniors are thought to be better than the underclassmen - some by a lot, several by a little. There were no drinking or disciplinary issues that I know of. These are good kids who had been with the program at various levels since they were freshmen and have never been known to have an attitude problem. It is odd that the best catcher who is arguably the best hitter was one of the seniors on the bench.

I was just trying to determine a logical explanation for why this would happen.

My first cynical thought was she made the calculation that the marginal wins she would get from playing the seniors was not as useful as getting underclassmen the experience to maximize next year's wins (and the following years). It is possible she is thinking that she wants to be successful long term and she is willing to discard the seniors and suffer through a down season to get underclassmen the necessary experience for a future run.

 

[SoCalASABlue]

My DD's team has the opposite problem. Seniors who need to be benched not only because they're not producing but because they are openly defying the coach in front of the underclassmen. We all know that producers will get some leeway on attitude - but all attitude and no production should be riding the pine - IMHO.

 

[left turn]

The dugout is indeed starting to fracture and there is a good deal of strain and disappointment.

The two freshmen that are starting on varsity are probably not as good as some players on the varsity or junior varsity. But in the long run they will be outstanding.

I can predict two things: 1) the players from freshmen to incoming seniors will have more intense workouts next winter because they have clearly gotten the message that nothing is safe, 2) Tryouts will be fierce next year

 

[sanchosj]

Most seniors think that they get special treatment.I truly believe the ones that work the hardest deserve to start.If the seniors don't want to work as hard as the freshmen then they sit.They are suppose to be leaders and if not bye bye!

 

[Greenmonsters]

Knowing what class the team captains are and how they were selected might provide some additional insight.

 

[HornetsCoach]

Somebody should ask the coach strait up for an explanation - if it was my kid getting benched out of the blue I would and no mistake. Then there won't be speculation. And you can tell if your kid is getting shafted and/or you're getting snowed.

Most parents these days put in hundreds if not thousands of hours supporting their kid's youth-sports "careers". They guide them through three different sports, ten different leagues, fifteen different coaches and trainers over the course of 10 or 12 years.

Snow, sleet, heat, no sleep, driving a billion miles, eating crummy food, staying in scary cities, spending money you don't have, injuries, tears, spitting out teeth, blood, sweat - and then some coach who's more English teacher than anything else shows up and pulls the rug out from under the athlete who's done all this work over all these years for no good reason? That's double plus un-good.

So find out what the deal is so that time hasn't been wasted. And if the Coach has a good explanation you need to know it.

A High School Coach is not the Pope. He has the same responsibility as the other fifteen coaches the kid has had. And if he thinks he is different or special, see what the A.D. thinks.

 

[left turn]

I seriously doubt if the athletic director will provide any relief here. They have had issues in baseball with cuts and playing time. Parents have been complaining with no affect. The baseball coaches' choices have been confusing to say the least. Some incoming top flight ball players are taking up lacrosse because they don't want to deal with the varsity baseball coach. Incoming freshmen have talked to seniors on the varsity and were warned about playing for the coach.

For example for last year's freshmen baseball tryouts, they cut a versatile player with really good wheels that could pitch who and was arguably the top hitter. He came back this year and made the junior varsity and had been a productive player. Although after his first homerun, he didn't play for 2 games... : ) Varsity baseball cut a senior that made the team as a junior. He was crushed. The boy's varsity coach is monosyllabic until he regales his captive audience with his baseball exploits.

For the new varsity softball coach, it's too soon to tell where she's going with her choices. Maybe there is a less cynical method to her madness. Several players have already quit.

The coaches appear to be bullet proof.

 

[AA DAD1927]

We had this happen in our town, old coach out, because of favoritism, New boss same as old boss....

 

[dadonachair]

It is like business. If one company buys out another one the first thing they do is fire a bunch of people. That way the ones that stay are grateful to have a job and they work harder. It is sad that it happens in high school sports.

 

[left turn]

Follow up to original post. Few things are as they initially seem.

From the new coach’s perspective, some of the seniors were not hustling as much as the others. She felt some of the seniors thought they were entitled to their positions. She benched these seniors, telling the team she was putting the best 9 players on the field, regardless of grade. Some of the seniors (several of which were really good players) seemed to feel the season should unfold with them being in their rightful starting positions.

When the benching took place, there was quite an uproar amongst the parents. One of the senior’s parents marched into the AD’s office and threw the girl’s jersey in the AD’s face. Several others quit in disgust.

The previous coach had been there a long time and he had set expectations for his players – who were his starters and who wasn’t. He didn’t change his mind very much. When the new coach came in, she took note of the players that busted their butts to make an impression.

I had a conversation with my daughter. We talked about taking nothing for granted. We also talked about hustling for every coach in every year. There’s always a new coach or a new player and playing time has to be earned on the field.