Team Rules~No player/parent interaction at the ballpark

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

Mar 4, 2015
526
93
New England
I'm going to bring this up but want to say it as best I can to not offend anybody.

There are some parents that are way over bearing on their kids and do disrupt a players thinking in between games.

it does happen. And while it may not be as prevalent that it happens to every player it can happen to players enough that it can affect what happens when they come back to the field to play.

Recognize that some people are seeing this as a control issue of the coach controlling the players.
In a way it is, by controlling the environment the players are in while they are supposed to be focusing on what the team needs to do that day. Trying to keep that Dynamic intact. Team unity.

I see the problem this coach is trying to manage, but I believe that children have the right to talk with their parents about certain problems when they don't feel safe discussing them with anybody else. Not comfortable cutting off this safety net entirely.

For example, my daughter (now age 22) bluntly responded when I asked her about this, "What if a girl has her first period? Is she supposed to confide in Coach Bruce for advice on this?"

I also recall a time when DD was 14 on a fairly new team when she got clobbered verbally by two teammates in a post-game players-only meeting and was pretty distraught about it, wanted to go home. I calmed her down, and she bounced back.

A coach can encourage players to solve problems in-house, and encourage parents to let the children solve problems in-house, and I get that, but in the end, I have a tough time telling a child that she doesn't have ultimate authority in deciding how to manage her anxieties and personal issues between games.
 
Jul 19, 2021
630
93
In doing so, produced success yearly and had people waiting in line to hopefully earn a spot on his roster.
Even going to add to that that he did not have the most pleasant personality to watch on the field. But he cares a heck of a lot about the players,
and always has!
As with most things, there is more than one way to skin a cat. I have seen multiple highly successful teams and none of them have these policies so it's not as if he is successful BECAUSE of this policy as you would seemingly have us believe. He is successful because he gets good players...................that just so happen to adhere to his policies. Just like Tyson and Smith and Rico and other top coaches get good players............................. without the draconian policies Those kids are not flocking to your guy because of this policy, they want to play for him because of the exposure he gets them.
 
Last edited:
Aug 6, 2013
392
63
I keep seeing "team unity" in the theme of your posts RAD. I think a great conversation would be - are teams that have "team unity" more successful than teams that just play their games and then get free time until their next warm up meet time?

DD played for a 16U team that did the "college style travel" to tournaments. The org paid for travel and the girls traveled together, roomed together, and basically did everything together. Parents traveled along separately and had no responsibilities for their players and TBH - I loved it. It was like a vacation for DH and myself. My DD - hated it. Hated every bit of it & fyi the team sucked, lol. Then Covid happened and games & team travel stopped - then our main fundraising (Bingo) stopped and we became a fully parent/fee funded team. DD was ecstatic - she now gets to travel with me to all tournaments (yes I go to all tournaments - even CA) and depending on the day she may spend most of her time with me in between games. Some days she spends time with a few of her teammates but I will say - her team does not have any "unity" between games unless its mandated.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
I keep seeing "team unity" in the theme of your posts RAD. I think a great conversation would be - are teams that have "team unity" more successful than teams that just play their games and then get free time until their next warm up meet time?

DD played for a 16U team that did the "college style travel" to tournaments. The org paid for travel and the girls traveled together, roomed together, and basically did everything together. Parents traveled along separately and had no responsibilities for their players and TBH - I loved it. It was like a vacation for DH and myself. My DD - hated it. Hated every bit of it & fyi the team sucked, lol. Then Covid happened and games & team travel stopped - then our main fundraising (Bingo) stopped and we became a fully parent/fee funded team. DD was ecstatic - she now gets to travel with me to all tournaments (yes I go to all tournaments - even CA) and depending on the day she may spend most of her time with me in between games. Some days she spends time with a few of her teammates but I will say - her team does not have any "unity" between games unless its mandated.
Team unity is overrated. It is softball, not the Marines.
 
Apr 20, 2018
4,581
113
SoCal
I'm going to bring this up but want to say it as best I can to not offend anybody.

There are some parents that are way over bearing on their kids and do disrupt a players thinking in between games.

it does happen. And while it may not be as prevalent that it happens to every player it can happen to players enough that it can affect what happens when they come back to the field to play.

Recognize that some people are seeing this as a control issue of the coach controlling the players.
In a way it is, by controlling the environment the players are in while they are supposed to be focusing on what the team needs to do that day. Trying to keep that Dynamic intact. Team unity.

We recently tried the team dynamic thing during game break. Didn't work. Actually caused problems. Forcing girls to socialize with each other proved to be difficult. Also some players like their parents. They want to sit in moms chair
be served her sushi and have dad rub her feet. LOL.
 
Jan 25, 2022
880
93
What is a dugout restroom?

We sometimes have a dugout trash can. Similar?

LOL. Home dugout has an equipment room and bathroom. It was a catch-all disaster of an equipment room the past 15 years, but was converted to an actual locker room this year. Lockers were built and everything was spruced up, hence the angry uterus drawer.

Visitor dugout has nothing. Not even a power outlet.
 

radness

Possibilities & Opportunities!
Dec 13, 2019
7,270
113
As with most things, there is more than one way to skin a cat. I have seen multiple highly successful teams and none of them have these policies so it's not as if he is successful BECAUSE of this policy as you would seemingly have us believe. He is successful because he gets good players...................that just so happen to adhere to his policies. Just like Tyson and Smith and Rico and other top coaches get good players............................. without the draconian policies Those kids are not flocking to your guy because of this policy, they want to play for him because of the exposure he gets them.
Absolutely correct there are many different ways to coach a team. Just happened to pick this topic to post this thread for discussion.

Actually incorrect to say this particular coach I was speaking about that you think he doesn't have anything to do with player development. When he does and did.
also think that's wrong of you to say that those people you mentioned haven't helped develop players because they certainly do. Whether I like all of them on the list or not they certainly do.
It's fairly apparent you have formed your opinion regardless of the success they have helped other players with.

Btw, I'm really happy to know there are coaches who develop players and stick with them over the years. Glad they have different coaching Styles because I don't think one style fits all.

Enjoy
 
Last edited:

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,481
Members
21,445
Latest member
Bmac81802
Top