- Feb 3, 2011
- 1,880
- 48
I was at a 10u/12u tourney here yesterday and wanted to see some of the 10u teams I'd heard of but not yet seen in action. I went out early, because the start of our season had been rained out on Saturday and I was itching for my softball fix on this sunny Sunday.
During the 2nd game of the day, there was some griping coming from a mother on the team. She was not happy with the defensive positioning. When she was done explaining what should be happening to the parent next to her, she stood up, turned to the dugout and laid out where she wanted the defense set up. When it seemed the coach wasn't listening, she began walking closer while she explained her position. When she was about 6 feet away - and with runners now on 2nd & 3rd - he turned in her direction, put up his hand as if to say 'calm down' and said "I know, I know, but let me coach". His voice was very calm, but during that moment, R1 scored on a WP/PB.
But mom wasn't having any of that. She then proceeded to walk into the dugout and stood right over the coach who was sitting on the bucket and outlined where she wanted the defense positioned and why. This went on for somewhere between 2-3 minutes, with none of the other parents or assistants intervening. I assumed at first that he must be her husband, because he was being very patient and listening to her concerns while also trying to coach the team. She wasn't raising her voice, but her tone was an angry one.
She finally retreated from the dugout and returned to her position near the backstop. When her husband arrived some minutes later, I was a bit surprised, because hubby was not the HC.
But during that whole affair, the PU ended up calling an IP which sent another run home. I cannot say what happened, but apparently there was some problem with the way the signs were coming in from the dugout to the catcher and then to the pitcher. I'd love to have heard the actual ruling on that.
The team eventually lost by 1 run. As you might have guessed already, her DD was pitching.
During the 2nd game of the day, there was some griping coming from a mother on the team. She was not happy with the defensive positioning. When she was done explaining what should be happening to the parent next to her, she stood up, turned to the dugout and laid out where she wanted the defense set up. When it seemed the coach wasn't listening, she began walking closer while she explained her position. When she was about 6 feet away - and with runners now on 2nd & 3rd - he turned in her direction, put up his hand as if to say 'calm down' and said "I know, I know, but let me coach". His voice was very calm, but during that moment, R1 scored on a WP/PB.
But mom wasn't having any of that. She then proceeded to walk into the dugout and stood right over the coach who was sitting on the bucket and outlined where she wanted the defense positioned and why. This went on for somewhere between 2-3 minutes, with none of the other parents or assistants intervening. I assumed at first that he must be her husband, because he was being very patient and listening to her concerns while also trying to coach the team. She wasn't raising her voice, but her tone was an angry one.
She finally retreated from the dugout and returned to her position near the backstop. When her husband arrived some minutes later, I was a bit surprised, because hubby was not the HC.
But during that whole affair, the PU ended up calling an IP which sent another run home. I cannot say what happened, but apparently there was some problem with the way the signs were coming in from the dugout to the catcher and then to the pitcher. I'd love to have heard the actual ruling on that.
The team eventually lost by 1 run. As you might have guessed already, her DD was pitching.