Parents Ego's get in the way

[Mocoso]

Mocoso - I have experienced this from both sides and it can be equally ugly from the parent and coaches perspective. Having attended many rec league all-star drafts, very few (if any) are really 100% fair. Since the managers and board almost always have kids in the league, they make backroom deals to get their kids on the higher all-star team. The other parents see this and cry foul but nothing really changes each year. The primary reasons you want your kid on the better all-star team is a) the coaching is generally better (i.e. they are more experienced, better instruction), you are playing with more talented group of girls that push your kid to get better (playing time competition); 3) you have an opportunity to qualify for State and National tournaments (unlike the second or third all-star teams), and d) your competition is going to be better. Having a daughter that played mostly on the higher all-star teams I can say unequivocally that the experience is far superior to being on the second team, where some players may not even be able to catch and throw the ball, the pitching is weak, and the coaches are inexperienced. It has nothing to do with being recruited when you are in High School but everything to do with having a challenging and awesome experience no matter what level of ball you play. Are some parents absolutely crazy? Yes, but the vast majority are frustrated because they see little suzy work hard and get passed up because of daddy ball. Happens every year, in every league.

Yep Im fully aware of the other side of the coin and I can understand parents being frustrated.. ! I just dont get the "we wont play" as a response.. this isnt Suzy deciding, its the parent's ego making the decision for her... If you had a kid that wasnt as good take your spot.. play for the Silver and shine so brightly that everyone will see and know the decision on the other kid was the wrong one..

 

[Jquick823]

Yup, lots of travel ball orgs field less-than-stellar A ball clubs and put their name on the front of the jersey. Happens all the time, and drives me crazy. And while I understand that certain orgs play A no matter what (this is OK with me), when you just don't have the talent to do so you need to either walk away from the money and disband the team or shop your tourneys carefully so you aren't stats fodder for the top teams in the area.

One thing I will say, if your DD's team is truly "clearly A level", they should be playing A exclusively. Open or B is not only a waste of time, it really isn't fair to the truly "B" teams they run up against when they are out beating "A" teams and recruiting A ball players. An A ball team trophy hunting in B ball is probably worse than a weak team playing A ball in most people's eyes.

The issue in my area is there aren't many "B" or "A" tournaments rather "OPEN". So my DD's "B" team which is one pitcher away from being a decent "A" is forced to have played 13 "A" teams this year. Some of them were legit and most were not what I thought an "A" team was. We have teams around here that classify themselves as 13U when they can only play 14U but it allows them to play A, B or C tournaments and they are clearly an A team.

 

[obbay]

I just dont get the "we wont play" as a response.. this isnt Suzy deciding, its the parent's ego making the decision for her...

we have a family like that. In a different twist on the ego thing, those parents are having their kid play with a concussion as they dont want the coach to find out.

 

[Jquick823]

we have a family like that. In a different twist on the ego thing, those parents are having their kid play with a concussion as they dont want the coach to find out.

A friend of mine has a dad like that on his DD's team. She was having arm issues in the fall from bad pitching mechanics but he told her not to say anything and just pitch. She hasn't pitched an inning this spring and can't play anywhere but first defensively. If she needs to make a throw she doesn't because it hurts too bad.

I push my DD (she's a catcher) through some bumps and bruises but not through a head or elbow injury. There's time to recover from this stuff.

 

[obbay]

JQ- Catchers arms are overlooked a lot! make sure if she develops any throwing-elbow pain that she not just tough it out.

 

[Jquick823]

JQ- Catchers arms are overlooked a lot! make sure if she develops any throwing-elbow pain that she not just tough it out.

Absolutely. She has had the occasional soreness in the bicep area but nothing that lingers for days. More of a stiffness after a long week of softball like this week. played this past weekend and then 3 school ball games and 3 travel practices this week. She's good about stretching, icing, heat and if sore we don't throw for a day or two.

A lot of her stiffness is from a long winter without long toss then when this time of year hits we begin to stretch the arm out and it gets sore.