Quitting already?

[Rick M]

I PM'd him that if any of the kids on that team want to play in college their parents would need to calm down in 14u, because college coaches watch parents as part of the recruiting process.
…
I've gone to coaches clinics where Mike Candrea, Ken Eriksen, and Mike White have mentioned watching parents, as well as two coaches clinics where D2/D3 coaches have talked about the recruiting process.

This really needs to be hammered home, and I’m hopeful that the proliferation of streaming games will put some pressure on bad parent behavior.

Just seeing that little camera on the backstop means you have no idea who is watching. Could be an interested college coach, could be your own parent, could even be your employer checking in to see what your kid is up to. Just behave yourself.


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[CoachJD]

This is long, but you asked…

I don’t know all the back story, but, in the end, it mostly comes down to playing time. Head Coach took 16 girls for Varsity, including 5 Seniors. The two Seniors that quit were starting players last year in a somewhat truncated 2021 season (season started about a month late due to COVID). This season both those Seniors were displaced by two Freshman. The two Seniors in question have not played travel for at least two years. The Freshmen, who play on regional-level travel teams, were defensive upgrades and at least one of them was also an offensive upgrade. The two Seniors also seemed to come into the HS season physically banged up. So, early on, they seemed to be rolling with it.

As the season wore on (we have 1 regular season game left now) and it was more and more obvious that the opportunities would be few and far between, pressure began building. They did get some pinch hitting opportunities, but very little field time. The one that quit after the National Anthem apparently had her own convo with the head coach about her role not long before. When she saw the starting line up for that night (apparently judging that her talk had had no impact), she walked. In her mind, she didn’t think she was really getting a chance to compete for playing time and that the coach’s mind was fixed. There may be some truth to this.

I think the trigger for the other Senior last night was that the game was a make up for our rained out Senior Night. She did start in the field and got one AB (a K). When the pitcher was pulled in the 3rd or 4th inning, she replaced the Senior defensively. It was not long after that that someone noticed the Senior walking away from the field.

Beyond playing time, I think the second Senior felt that the coaches do not communicate effectively (think there is some truth to this) or appropriately (that is, they are “mean”; not sure there is any truth to this) and that the Head Coach had obvious favorites that are treated differently (probably some truth to this too). Anyway, it was a mess, and I am sure there is more to it than what I know or have heard. I do think that the coaches do not communicate enough with the girls about their roles, where they see them, what they need to see from them, etc. The communication mostly comes through the line up card and the rest is left up to the girls to figure out.

What some of the girls have found curious is that the Head Coach has never addressed the fact of either girl quitting with the team. Was as if the players (who to that point had been in the program 4 years) had never existed, at least one of the two was well liked. Definitely has cast a shadow over the end of the season.

Thank you for the even-handed response.

Seems like a case where the coach probably didn't communicate effectively, but it also appears that the seniors lost starting spots to better players and handled their demotions poorly (or like teenagers, which I guess should be expected).

Not addressing the quitting with the team is tough. It's also a tough situation in how you address it. You don't want to bury the girls who left, even if you believe they're 100% in the wrong. You don't want to act as though their leaving really hurts the team, true or not, because it sends a bad message to the remaining players. You don't want to act as though them leaving doesn't matter at all, either, because it says you didn't value their friends. Not an easy tightrope to walk, but it's also a mistake to not address it at all.

 

[CoachJD]

You right about that brother! Softball and baseball are really the only sports without a time limit. I did a jv game this years went over 3 hours and I ended it because it got too dark, final score 34-22

You think that's bad? We played a team yesterday that had this score for a ("varsity") game this year:



We beat them 10-0, but we only made three outs in the game. In the top of the 2nd he asked if we could just switch after the batter at bat completed her turn. I said sure. When they didn't score in the bottom of the second, they just decided they had had enough and ended the game.

I also made sure to thank the umpire for coming and working the game in the rain. He was lucky though since the "game" lasted well under an hour.

 

[kennykozman!!]

I would like to see accountability on both sides.
Baseball/Softball umps do more required training and spectators are now past the dugouts (1st and 3rd base).
Basketball refs have fitness and can call charge v. block correctly and players can have one adult spectator.
Mainly youth sports.

I like the spectators outside past the dugouts.......that might be a good option to deescalate the animosity in many instances.

 

[Cougars]

I like the spectators outside past the dugouts.......that might be a good option to deescalate the animosity in many instances.

One of the best things about the mess that was 2020/2021 covid, was many of the fields around here removed all fans from basically the entire infield portion of the fields. Fans sat down the lines, or beyond the OF fence. That eliminated almost all of the fan/ump interaction, and the general "distractions" for the teams.

We played one tournament where it was a 4 field complex. Teams/umps only allowed to enter the overall "circle" of the outfield fences. Fans/families sat in the OF. I liked it. The people that normally sit out there to be away from everyone might disagree.

 

[_MIA_]

The people that normally sit out there to be away from everyone might disagree.

 

[Cougars]

didn't want to call out specific names, but I might have had certain posters in mind...

 

[uncdrew]

This really needs to be hammered home, and I’m hopeful that the proliferation of streaming games will put some pressure on bad parent behavior.

Just seeing that little camera on the backstop means you have no idea who is watching. Could be an interested college coach, could be your own parent, could even be your employer checking in to see what your kid is up to. Just behave yourself.


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Hah. I need to sit back behind the plate and comment on the jerk parents.

"That was Bob Callaghan, father of the EC Bullets - Smith '07 team's third baseman He's well known for his unruly outbursts, drinking bourbon and cokes out of his Yeti cup, and not understanding the infield fly rule. You might remember him from the incident last year when the cops arrived at King Park and escorted him off the premises."

 

[CPEM]

I was at an event where that happened (same event, maybe).

My understanding, from what I was told by others...Coach was one of the organizers of the event (maybe responsible for paying the umps), and is a prominent in 18U TB in So Cal. Coach had repeated issues with the ump in his game. The ump eventually got sick of it and walked off the field. The game continued with the catchers calling balls and strikes.

@CPEM was working games that day, and may have more insight from the ump side of the story.

It was a weird day. The event was an Alliance Qualifier, and was supposed to conclude with a tournament champion. When teams got to the point of clinching a berth, they left the event. No semi-final or championship games were played.

I apologize for the late reply. "Return to work" madness, having to set up a new office, etc.

Pretty much what you wrote. The game was forfeited and both PU and U1 left the field. The teams continued playing.

Showed up expecting to work 4 games, worked 1 on the bases, and got paid for all 4 anyways.