Screaming doesn't help

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Ken Krause

Administrator
Admin
May 7, 2008
3,911
113
Mundelein, IL
Heard about this one yesterday. It happened at a 14U game on Wednesday. A team with some girls I know (not part of our program, though) went to play a practice game against another team. Practice game, mind you.

According to the person who was there, the coach of the other team was a screamer. He said the coach was screaming at his girls pretty much from the time they hit the parking lot on.

Doesn't seem like it did him much good. The team with the girls I know beat that team, and beat them pretty handily. From what I heard, the girls on the losing team didn't have much fun either.

Once again I don't get it. Why would parents sign their kids up to play with someone who thinks coaching is about beating your players into submission verbally? I've found as a general rule that the more the coach screams, the less he or she knows. Often those types of coaches bluster and blow to cover up the fact they are clueless. Some think they know the game, but it becomes pretty obvious that their knowledge is both limited and outdated.

There's a big world out there. When it comes to travel softball you have a choice. If parents would simply opt out of teams like that, pretty soon those coaches who feel the need to scream won't have teams and they'll be rooted out of the game. And everyone will be the better for it -- especially the players.

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Coach-n-Dad

Crazy Daddy
Oct 31, 2008
1,010
0
I don't get it either, but in a small community there isn't the same choice of travel teams that larger communities have.

In our community there was one choice of 12U teams within 45 minutes, until last fall when a local rec. coach started a travel team. DD joined the team because it was local and she could play at a higher level than the Little League she had played for the previous 3 years.

It turns out that the coach was a verbal abuser, not only to the girls but to the volunteers that agreed to help him coach the team. Within 2 months one volunteer coach quit and the other had backed off so much she was of no help to the team. By the end of the 4 month season half of the girls were ready to quit softball all together and the other half were ready to go back to rec.

Thankfully this coach decided to quit coaching softball alltogether and another has picked up the reins. We were able to salvage some of the girls and recruit enough to complete a roster for this season.
 

Ken Krause

Administrator
Admin
May 7, 2008
3,911
113
Mundelein, IL
You bring up a good point. I live in a pretty populous area where there are any number of teams to choose from. I hadn't thought about the more rural areas. I can see where your choices would be more limited. That would definitely put you in a tougher situation.

Glad yours worked out. Unfortunate that you had to go through what you did but at least it had a happy ending. Not everyone gets that lucky.
 

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