What to do with little Hitler Newbie HS Coach?

[riseball]

Your first sentence is a suggestion to keep things in perspective. And that perspective is: High school coaches are clueless, athletic directors don't care, public schools are incompetent, high school sports suck, and the only real softball is travel ball. I guess it would be a coach's dream to have a team of players with that perspective.

Can't speak for all high school programs, but where I am in Central Florida that is a pretty accurate assessment. I also don't believe I said high school sports suck. My point was that if you are in a difficult situation "embrace the suck" and make the most of your situation. Wringing you hands and whining won't fix it. Either find value in what you are doing or move on and do something productive.

If the term "embrace the suck" makes no sense, ask a combat veteran for an explanation. They will be happy to oblige.

 

[riseball]

I think we need to be careful about generalizing the lack of competitiveness of high school softball. In SoCal, many high schools have excellent softball programs and take it very seriously. The coaches are very good and few players make the varsity team without having played on good travel ball team for multiple years.

Very true. Behind every excellent High School program is one or more good Travel Ball Programs.

 

[softballdad97]

Helicopter dads and overprotected DDs. Hey, OP, why don't you actually let this coach do the job for a few weeks before invoking the Godwin Principle? IMO you need to learn some patience. All you've heard is some scuttlebutt second-hand information and you're already calling the coach Hitler?

Hey Klamath632 I did come here to be named called, I came here searching for answers and/or suggestions to be proactive about a situation that could be on the horizon and could affect my daughters high school softball experience. Not to have to scramble for ideas or suggestions after the fact. This could potentially affect many other girls, not just my own, and many of these girls this will be their last year of high school. I know many of you feel the high school experience has nothing to do with college recruiting but I say it does have some in the overall perception of the athlete. I have been an active member of this board for about 5 years and use this site for a ton of great input. I don't need a newbie calling me a helicopter dad or overprotective. If caring and having an active roll in coaching up my daughter and guiding her as best I can through her softball career in an effort to get her an education. All the while enjoying the game of softball and time with my daughter along the way as a vehicle to that education. Then yes I am a "helicopter dad" and "overprotective" as you put it. I guess to the ill informed and name calling sort maybe that's what I am. I'm thinking most here at discus fast-pitch that have taken an active roll in their daughters careers might find those terms offensive.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Hey Klamath632 I did come here to be named called, I came here searching for answers and/or suggestions to be proactive about a situation that could be on the horizon and could affect my daughters high school softball experience. Not to have to scramble for ideas or suggestions after the fact. This could potentially affect many other girls, not just my own, and many of these girls this will be their last year of high school. I know many of you feel the high school experience has nothing to do with college recruiting but I say it does have some in the overall perception of the athlete. I have been an active member of this board for about 5 years and use this site for a ton of great input. I don't need a newbie calling me a helicopter dad or overprotective. If caring and having an active roll in coaching up my daughter and guiding her as best I can through her softball career in an effort to get her an education. All the while enjoying the game of softball and time with my daughter along the way as a vehicle to that education. Then yes I am a "helicopter dad" and "overprotective" as you put it. I guess to the ill informed and name calling sort maybe that's what I am. I'm thinking most here at discus fast-pitch that have taken an active roll in their daughters careers might find those terms offensive.

Just as some would the Hitler reference

 

[JJsqueeze]

I'm fine with being called a helicopter dad and I don't mind Hitler comparisons (although I feel Pol Pot and Stalin could be sprinkled in a little for variety). But if someone were to call me a helicopter Hitler I might be offended.

 

[Cannonball]

softballdad, I understand the desire to be prepared for what might transpire. However, what do you think your options are? Do you think in terms of starting a movement to get the coach fired? If so, you had better be successful. In your OP, you wanted to stay anonymous. To be honest, I've coached for a very long time. I know every parent that was for and against me so anonymity won't last for long. Then, there is the loyalty issue. In my parent's meeting, I made it clear that any player that displayed disloyalty would be gone. Why would I want to work with/play someone who doesn't buy in to what I coach and believe in? As a parent, what you say will directly affect your child's loyalty. As a parent and not a coach, I watched my child play for others. Yes, some where extremely strict and used "punishment." DD broke down and cried more than once. As a parent, I didn't like it. As a coach, I understood that sometimes that happens. Therefore, the wife and I stayed out of it. Some of those "lessons" were the best my dd could learn because she found out just how tough she was.

I wish I had some great pearl of wisdom for you to make this process easier but I don't. As I said, as a coach, I've been called everything including Hitler. My teams won. My players got scholarships that I got for them and not some TB coach. I've been there and done that for multiple decades. Give it a chance.

 

[sdsoftball]

But if someone were to call me a helicopter Hitler I might be offended.

Sounds like the newest craze in Halloween costumes.

 

[Grogger31]

To the OP ...

Are parents allowed to attend these preseason workouts? If so, I'd advise going to a few and forming your own opinion.

I'm not trying to be confrontational at all, it just seems to me either:

- Your DD deals with it and plays for this new coach for as long as she's still the coach OR
- She finds the coach too difficult to play for and chooses not to

Regardless of the reality of the situation, I'm curious what you feel your role is in guiding your daughter in this circumstance?

 

[NorthMS]

OP, after reading your other post, these girls are the same ones that were mistreating your daughter, correct?. I would be less inclined to take anything these girls say or claimed as serious or factual. You need to find out what's really going on and then judge for yourself.

Grogger laid out the 2 options above.

Good luck.

 

[softballdad97]

Okay. okay, perhaps the Hitler reference is too bold. At the time I couldn't think of a better adjective for tyrant. I have instructed my DD that some people's coaching styles are different and that she needs to ride it out and see how her personal interactions will dictate her own personal experience with this coach. I related about a boss I had when younger that at first he came across as a real tyrant and he screamed at me in our very first interaction over a miscommunication and that he eventually became my favorite boss ever. My initial concern was of the team blowing apart on this season when we have a large group of seniors graduating this year. Yes NorthMS some of the girls did give her a hard time last year but now it is her second year with the team and some of the petty jealousies are subsiding. It is only a couple that had kept on with it mainly because it took them a while to make varsity and her my DD waltzes right in and starts as a freshman and batted third right out of the gates, but now most of that appears to have subsided.
I don't recall saying I was creating a movement to get the coach fired, I was asking what my options are as a parent in how to deal with the situation should it develop into something I feel it could be headed for.

Once again I do see the need to call me an OP. I just looking for advise. Nothing has been done or said, and yes it is anonymous because I have not mentioned any names, my name, location, and identity.