Preparing the girls to play a team with jerk parents

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May 6, 2015
2,397
113
Can't believe they followed them into the parking lot and such. Horrifying.

just to be clear, this is what would drive me to confront them directly. this is what to me stepped WAY over the line. during the game, (although I guess this game was not actually played, but warmups, ground rules, etc. count as well) generally whatever, I will just be louder in my support for the girls. however, when someone decides to pursue a group of 10 yo girls into the parking lot, harassing and abusing them verbally, and where there is no barrier (ie no fence, dugout). . . well I will become the barrier.
 
Apr 2, 2015
1,198
113
Woodstock, man
Can't believe they followed them into the parking lot and such. Horrifying.

I would not be playing this team again. Call the police when this happens. Force the umps, tourney organizers or whomever to ban them. Or just forfeit the next game.

You, the coach, are now liable for anything that happens to a player or parents regarding this team. You faced a dangerous situation, and are now placing them in the same situation with no police.
 
Apr 5, 2013
2,130
83
Back on the dirt...
I have to agree the cops would be involved and the TD would also. This team does not deserve to be allowed to play.

"Sorry kids, your parents are preventing you from playing games due to their lack of respect for others."
 

Strike2

Allergic to BS
Nov 14, 2014
2,044
113
Wow...I've seen opposing parents get into it a bit, but I've never seen any parent behave aggressively towards a player from an opposing team. It's pretty simple how to deal with it...

The Tournament Director is responsible for what goes on at the ballpark. The TD should DQ that team and send them on their way. At the very least, the most aggressive offenders should be identified and banned with a very strong warning about no tolerance for another word from anyone associated with that team.

As a coach, I personally advise the TD and umpires before the next game about what has happened, and if they won't immediately deal with ANY problems, I'll pull my team off the field and call the police.
 
Mar 13, 2010
1,758
48
Gosh that video made me cry. All I can focus on is the little girls crying.

I would refuse to play them again. You do NOT put your 8 and 9 year old daughters in harms way for a softball game.

I would be lodging a police report. I would be asking from support from the officials that were involved. And when they are due to play them I’d have the coach turn up with the report and confirm why they’re not playing.
 
Aug 23, 2016
359
43
OP with a clarification and some updates

The other team parents did not follow us to the parking lot. We were at a facility with four fields and our girls left the field to one of the warmup areas while the tournament officials tried to usher the families from the other team to the parking lot (the team had been DQed at this point). Unfortunately, our field was the furthest from the parking lot and they had to walk past our families to get there, and no matter how many big burly tournament volunteers we had surrounding us, there were more aggressive family members than there were volunteers.

I have heard from a friend of a friend that the parents on the other team insist that they were yelling at the coaches and not the girls, but I don’t buy it. Maybe you just had to be there, but I saw people pointing at individual players while yelling and that just was not directed at coaches. It was like the crowd was unhappy with a professional sports team and started yelling at the players on the field. I think they’re trying to rewrite history to make themselves look less monstrous, but every single girl on the team believed that the vitriol was directed at them.

The league president from the other league has apologized on behalf of his league, and this week the opposing team’s coach reached out to try to schedule a scrimmage and pizza party with DD’s team. Our families are not warm to the idea (one parent suggested they’d be okay only if the other team didn’t bring their parents), so coach will decline.
 
Last edited:
Feb 3, 2016
502
43
DD (10U all-star) was in a tournament final against a team that was forced to forfeit because they were caught with a player in their lineup who was not on their roster. (Tournament rules said that rosters were frozen at check-in and they added this player for the championship game.)

The families of the other team took the forfeit very badly and started yelling at the girls on the field that they were a bunch of [obscene word for cowards] and [other obscene word for cowards] and cheaters and that “next time we play you we’re going to kick your [butts].” When DD’s coaches hurried the girls off the field, the parents continued to yell.

They kept yelling at the girls as they were leaving the park, with a few trying to push past a barrier formed by tournament volunteers that was meant to keep those parents away from DD’s team. The opponents’ coaches did absolutely nothing to try to control their crowd. The girls were terrified and some thought the other parents were going to attack them.

Unfortunately, the all-star circuit is pretty small and we will have to deal with this team again. The girls are scared; several of them say that they don’t want to play this team because they’re scared of the parents. I am fairly sure these parents won’t actually physically harm the girls but they sure have no problem scaring them.

How can we make the girls understand they’re safe and that they only need to worry about what happens on the field while the parents (or tournament officials or police, if need be) will take care of what happens in the stands?
Played against a team that always handed out jerseys in the parking lot on Sunday. Same jerseys different girls. Had photographic proof one weekend. All the other teams in the tournament were also tired of the garbage.

We contacted the UIC/Tournament and it cost $100.00 to protest.

We turned in the money and the kicker was that the Director said they wouldn't check into the provided pictures or birth certificates and gave the money back.

The director got in trouble by the State folks as they're never to return the protest money.



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