Worst Parent Stories

Heinie Wagner

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Nov 14, 2001
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I didn't know the minimum players on a LL tournament team was 12. I looked it up and you can request an exception, which I know some teams do around here. I know one of the teams my older son played against as a 12 year old had 10 on the roster and played with 9. Probably pretty difficult to do from a political standpoint in most LLs though.
 

Cumberland Blues

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They give those waivers out without really checking if it's necessary - in my distriict we've got a bunch of small leagues so they give out the waivers regularly - but they really shouldn't because then they feel obligated to give the waiver to the larger towns too - which is bullshit.  I was pretty annoyed when we played a much bigger town and they showed up with only 10 on their roster - they had at least twice as many kids to pick from as we did and couldn't field a 12 man roster?  I don't buy it.   We probably should have asked for a waiver as we have at least 2 kids who really aren't good enough to play on the tournament team, but if we went with 10 or 11 we'd have caught hell from a half dozen parents who would've been convinced their kid was #11 or 12.  And those last two kids bust their asses  trying to keep up - so we really don't mind having them.
 

Heinie Wagner

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My oldest sons manager went with 13 for his majors district team.  No defensive requirement in the min playing time rules when you have 13 - just one at bat. My son was one of the kids who got one AB per game and no time on the field. Tough to stay focused as  a 12 year old for that, but it was a fantastic experience for him, the manager was a very positive guy and an outstanding teacher of baseball and he actually told my son (and us) going in that if he wanted to be on the team, that would be his role. A terrific example of doing things right as a manager..
 

robssecondjob

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Jul 18, 2005
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Another installment of parents behaving badly.  In this case very badly.  
 
https://canipitchcoach.wordpress.com/
 
My wife keeps asking me why we see this more in the baseball program than in our soccer program.  Many of the same players and parents are involved.  I don't have a good answer for her.  I tried explaining they live in fear of me at the soccer facility, but she is to smart to believe that.
 

Heinie Wagner

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Wow, just wow. In the dugout.
 
I think baseball is worse for a few reasons.  The coaches have more control than soccer, baseball is more position specific and you can really bury a kid (or a parent can think you are). It's easier for parents to blame a coach when their kid isn't doing well. You hurt their confidence by batting them last, you only played them in the outfield, you didn't give them a chance to pitch, you didn't throw them as many pitches in BP, or you threw hard to them than to other kids etc, that aspect can be absurd.
 
It's also harder to tell the difference between kids in baseball. The top kids always stand out, but those kids in the middle of the bell curve are harder to differentiate for parents who see them only make a couple plays in the field or get 3 at bats in games. Parents rarely watch practices so they don't see what you see and can easily think their kid is as good as or better than a kid who is really much better, but hasn't shown it in games (small sample size or whatever other reason). The coaches kid struck out (in an 8 pitch at bat) their kid struck out (3 straight pitches) why does the coaches kid bat second and their kid bat last?
 
In my town baseball is a much more social event than any other sport, we have 4 LL fields in one complex right next to each other, so you see other teams playing more, compare the kids more, talk to other parents more, it bumps everything up big time, some parents get really involved emotionally. No other sport in town is like that. I think many towns have multi baseball field complexes so this is probably pretty common.
 
I also think many people equate LL more to travel sports than the recreational level, even though it's really recreational in the regular season. My middle son is 10, there are two travel basketball teams for his age in town and two for soccer, there are 8 teams in our AAA LL level where he plays.  You get a lot of parents who are much more into it than their kids are in LL compared to travel sports where there are tryouts.
 

Was (Not Wasdin)

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robssecondjob said:
Another installment of parents behaving badly.  In this case very badly.  
 
https://canipitchcoach.wordpress.com/
 
My wife keeps asking me why we see this more in the baseball program than in our soccer program.  Many of the same players and parents are involved.  I don't have a good answer for her.  I tried explaining they live in fear of me at the soccer facility, but she is to smart to believe that.
 
While baseball does seem to be the worst, it is getting bad everywhere.  An entire team of boys U-14 soccer players had to write letters of apology to the referees that worked their game a couple of weeks ago.  It was due in large part to the behavior of the parents on the sidelines, including one who got in the ref's face and told him to "F off" in earshot of all of the players and parents after the game.  Parent bannings are likely to be involved, and there is some discussion as to whether the coach will be coaching next year (his son has another year of eligibility).
 
Should make for an interesting board meeting in a couple of weeks.  
 

Skiponzo

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Heinie Wagner said:
Wow, just wow. In the dugout.
 
I think baseball is worse for a few reasons.  The coaches have more control than soccer, baseball is more position specific and you can really bury a kid (or a parent can think you are). It's easier for parents to blame a coach when their kid isn't doing well. You hurt their confidence by batting them last, you only played them in the outfield, you didn't give them a chance to pitch, you didn't throw them as many pitches in BP, or you threw hard to them than to other kids etc, that aspect can be absurd.
 
It's also harder to tell the difference between kids in baseball. The top kids always stand out, but those kids in the middle of the bell curve are harder to differentiate for parents who see them only make a couple plays in the field or get 3 at bats in games. Parents rarely watch practices so they don't see what you see and can easily think their kid is as good as or better than a kid who is really much better, but hasn't shown it in games (small sample size or whatever other reason). The coaches kid struck out (in an 8 pitch at bat) their kid struck out (3 straight pitches) why does the coaches kid bat second and their kid bat last?
 
In my town baseball is a much more social event than any other sport, we have 4 LL fields in one complex right next to each other, so you see other teams playing more, compare the kids more, talk to other parents more, it bumps everything up big time, some parents get really involved emotionally. No other sport in town is like that. I think many towns have multi baseball field complexes so this is probably pretty common.
 
I also think many people equate LL more to travel sports than the recreational level, even though it's really recreational in the regular season. My middle son is 10, there are two travel basketball teams for his age in town and two for soccer, there are 8 teams in our AAA LL level where he plays.  You get a lot of parents who are much more into it than their kids are in LL compared to travel sports where there are tryouts.
 
At one point this year I got some questions as to why I was hitting a particular kid second all season...."My sons getting as many hits as him"...but I was prepared. I keep stats on every player and was able to show the parent that while "yes your kid is getting about as many hits, he's also not walking or beating out infield hits at the same rate." OBP differences proved that statement.
 
Mostly I think I got grief because it was my 9 year old hitting second.
 

BigJimEd

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Jan 4, 2002
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Do most of you use a set lineup or do you rotate?
In my town league I've always tried to rotate kids in the lineup. I look at it the same as letting them play multiple positions. Try to let them have fun and develop.

Our local league board encourages it but I'd say only about half of our coaches in the major division (11&12) this year did it.

I generally try to group our better hitters together in the lineup so we can try to string an inning our two together but it's not necessarily at the top.

I'll make lineup for the two or three games that week. Then whoever was on deck for the last out, leads off the next game. The kid who made last out, bats last.
Then the following week I mix it up. Try to even up the at bats a little bit in the short season and allow kids to bat throughout the lineup.



Playoffs, I handle different though. I let the players and the parents know there is more of a set lineup. Same in the field.
 

Cumberland Blues

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I do the same thing with the on deck hitter leading off the next game.  I keep the same lineup pretty much all season - and that way everyone gets the same number of AB +/- 1.  The only time it's off more than that is for kids who miss a game or two. I'd rotate everyone out on defense for the same number of innings too.  And like you saw in your league BigJimEd - only some of the coaches do it that way and others used a more traditional set line-up.  It makes sense for playoffs and for tournament play, but for regular season the set line-up and postition thing drives me up a wall...I think at any level below HS varsity, that's doing everyone on the team a disservice.
 

Heinie Wagner

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I haven't been a manager but have been an asst coach in our LL for a number of years now (2nd son has played 2 seasons in AAA).  Starting with AAA (9-10-11) few coaches do what you're saying, maybe 1 or 2 out of 8 teams.  Some will do that for the first few games, then go with a more or less set lineup, some will move most kids around but have the top 2-3 and bottom 2-3 mostly in the same positions.
 
By majors (11-12) nobody is moving kids around much, positions on defense or batting order. It's really brutal. A lot of people treat it like a competitive travel league rather than a local little league. The top majors team went 18-1 allowed 76 runs and scored 195, worst team went 2-15 scored 99 gave up 180. 
 
There is talk of drafting teams blind - you don't get the team you draft, so everyone has a stake in picking even teams, but there are enough drawbacks that I don't think it will ever happen. They shouldn't draft, the should just try to pick even teams, but that would require a bunch of guys acting like adults and in the best interests of all the kids.  
 

Skiponzo

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I've been managing for about 8 years with my oldest aging out of LL this year and my youngest just completing his first year of kid pitch. In the lower division (for us meaning prior to kid pitch at age 8/9) I moved everyone around the order and in the field. As we hit the first year of kid pitch I continue to move the kids around the field but let them know they will have to earn their batting positions. Better hitters will get to hit at the top of the order. The idea is I want them to develop but I also want them to know that outcome matters. We don't play to "win at all costs" but we should try to win the game while remembering the #1 priority is for kids to learn how to play and enjoy themselves. 
 
They way I see it it's a fact of life that some people are better at things than others and they ought to get used to that being the case in a supportive environment.
 

BigJimEd

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Yeah, half was probably a little high. We had 12 teams and probably about a 4 change their lineups significantly.
I was mostly thus curious as I always felt like Cumby before HS move them around in the field and lineup.
But I know plenty of good coaches, better than me, who will move around in the field but not even think about using anything but a traditional lineup.

Heine, unfortunately, I think your league structure and attitude is way too common.

Since this is parent stories thread, I'll bring it back around. Parent on my 12 year old nephews club team. He's on the board of local league and coaches their summer all star at my sons age group. So I know him a little from that. A win at all costs type. I've seen him and his younger some get warned by the umps on a couple occasions.

Standing near him while watching the game. He and another parent talking about their local league. Both complaining about the other guys 9 year old son's coach who needs to let everyone play different positions. Board member insinuating he won't coach the next year.

Later in the game, kid called out at first. Looked to be safe by maybe half step. Close call that sometimes goes for you, sometimes against.
This guy starts screaming. Dad of the kid called out then starts in. Now kid feels enabled and starts chirping on his way back to the dugout. Ump looks like he's about to say something to the kid but leaves it alone and tries to ignore. Both dads still yelling with some obscenities mixed in. Coach sitting silently. After next pitch with the dads still at it. Ump calls time and warns them to stop or they will be ejected and need to leave. The one guy, who coaches and is on his town's board, laughs and says good luck with that. Ump who so far has remained calm and professional, tells him in no uncertain terms that if he hears him again he will stop the game and if he refuses to leave he will call the local police to escort him off. Game would not resume until he leaves. And then asks him if he understands. Guy mumbles yes and then quietly complains to anyone around about ump threatening to call police.
I merely said loud enough for him to hear that a smart ump probably wound have called them already.

Apparently, according to my brother the arguing was not that unusual and it didn't slow down his complaining the next game.
 

robssecondjob

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My son was forced to decline a spot on the 10 year old All-Star team because we are going to be away for two weeks.  Absolutely unfair to take a roster spot and not commit.
 

Cumberland Blues

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We had a parent throw a pretty epic shit fit when told her her son would not be able to be on our 9-10 team because  he would miss 3 practices and a game due to family vacation.  The kid's regular season manager was the all-star manager and had coached this kid since t-ball and knew the family well - they never mentioned the vacation until after the kid had been selected.  The dad was upset - but is a good guy and understood that we had to be consistent (we'd told another player already that he couldn't play for a similar amount of missed time) - but the mom went nuts and threatened legal action and called our new league president (on the job for all of a week at this point) all sorts of awful names.  She is actually considering moving the family to the next town over so that their kid won't be in our league next year.  People are insane.
 
Too bad too....the kid's a whale of a player and a good kid who got stuck w/ psycho mom.  He would've been our best pitcher had he played and our team would very likely still be playing right now.
 

Heinie Wagner

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Our LL does a nice job of making the expectations clear.  You have to register online for consideration and check a box saying you plan on attending all the practices and games. This is just to be considered for the team and takes place a few weeks before the team is selected, which they do partly by kid vote, partly by some mysterious selection process.
 
You can't field a team without some sort of similar policy for commitment, this is just common sense. If you have 12 players and 4 of them go away on the same weekend, you're done and you can't be competitive if players are missing a lot of practices.  
 
Our town doesn't go this far, but I have a friend who says his LL discourages kids from going to summer camps during the day while the district season is going on, they want the players to save their energy for the practices.
 

BigJimEd

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Nice friend who wouldn't even wave to him because his son stole may have taken his son's spot. He's as bad as the dad that lied.
Talk to your son and let him know the deal beforehand. If you want to play all star this summer this is the deal. Of course that would be after discussing with your wife. But far too often what team the kid is on is more important to the parent. I bet that dad was proud bragging about his kid making little league all star.


Our little league has similar policy. But I know it's not consistently enforced across all age groups. Causes some minor issues every year but nothing major yet as far I am aware.
 

Fred not Lynn

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When I was league president tournament team coach (small league, and no one wanted to be President), we had to cobble together a team with 12 because I wanted to have a AA team too so more kids could play. I had a spreadsheet of who was going to be away and when, and made it clear to every family that while it was OK to miss the things they said, but I needed them to absolutely committed to the days they said they'd be there.

So the Friday before the one Saturday I knew would be tight, I get a call from one parent away on vacation saying that it had rained all week and they decided to stay an extra day. I was kind by phone, but eventually we forfeited.
 

HomeBrew1901

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It's been awhile so....
 
Heinie, didn't take it personally at all, and I'm with you.  This team has been a pain in my ass for a number of reasons, the coach has his heart in the right place in the sense that he would rather play in the Premier division and go 4-4 than go to Division 1 or 2 and win 8-0, where he lacks perspective (honestly perspective is something I didn't have 3 years ago when my son was at this level) is developing the "B" team kids because eventually he's going to need them as he lost another player that moved unexpectedly.
 
On expectations... This is the most important thing.  I don't mind the Premier/D1 no equal playing time rule as long as that expectation is set before any commitments are made, it's the parents that know their kid isn't going to get any or much playing time and still push for their kid to make that team. 
 
I coach U12 now and it is likely my last season as next year I will hand the kids off to play middle school and eventually high school.  For the first time in years I actually have a full roster of 14 while playing 8v8 which means I actually have more than 2 subs a game.  It also means that we have moved from development to competitive and playing time has to be earned.  I had my parents and players meeting last night and laid it all out for them because there are 2 players I already know will be riding the bench more often than not simply because they have a bad attitude and are lazy during practice and some games.
 
Made it clear that every player will play each game for at least a few minute and that I don't care if a player makes a mistake.  If they are playing hard and trying their best they will keep playing, but now the players that practice the hardest, are into the game and paying attention, and want to be on the field are going to be the players that stay on the field.
 
That went over great last night, it will be interesting to see the reaction when one or two of the parents realize that I was talking about their kids and they are the ones playing 15 or so minutes.
 

HomeBrew1901

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As for protecting the refs, they have instituted a policy in the regional league we are a part of that if a coach or parent are ejected by the ref the head coach is automatically suspended.  There is also a 3 step process the ref must take, ask, tell, eject.  They can go straight to eject if the offense is bad enough "You're an effing moron" or gets physical as opposed to "C'mon Sir, what's up with that call".
 
1  ejection, 1 game
2 ejections 3 games
3 Ejections 8 games and potentially banned.
 
I guess this spring was the worst they have seen with players fighting each other and coaches and parents jawing at the refs.
 

HomeBrew1901

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A post in the worst ref stories reminded me of an incident with another team this past season.  My team was down 7-0 with 20 minutes left to a team that dropped from D1 to D2 so they could try and win the division, I had 2 subs (they had 6) and a couple kids that just flat out gave up (two that will be riding the bench this season for not trying I'm sure) there was absolutely no way we were coming back. 
 
Then the team did something I've never seen before in my 8 years of coaching, he had all of his players rush on offense with the exception of the goalie to try and run up the score. I was dumbfounded and pissed that they did this and it still chaps my ass.  Move your weaker players or defenders to offense and they still score, OK that's our problem, rushing all 7 players was just fucked up.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Jan 15, 2004
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My buddy Danny who I played hoops with ran (may still run) the Parks & Rec Dept in Johnston, RI back in i'm guessing 1997 and needed basketball coaches for his towns Sat morning youth league and asked if i'd volunteer so I agree. For those non-RI'ers the town of Johnston was at that time (may still be) predominantly Italians of the.....let's be generous and say Type-A personalities. I'm half Italian so I can say this.

Week One all 11 of my team members show up for the ages 8-9 league. Hmmmm, ok so rotating two teams in and out every 5 minutes won't work so I have to have one kid who is odd man out. Thinking back I could have had one kid sub with the first team then have all the other 5 enter together getting each equal minutes but Danny told me not to make it complicated and sit one person out since I was told to rotate kids in and out as a unit. Let's just say the parents of the kid who had to sit each half wasn't happy and I heard about it throughout the game....it was hell. I still got them in but of course not as much as most of the other kids.

After a couple weeks I figured out which kids had their parents drop them off rather than attending so it was those 3-4 kids who would rotate as the odd man out.....why make it difficult on myself plus I felt like the parents who took the time to spend with their kids deserved to see them play the most. I remember thinking.....shit, if the poor kid doesn't have a parent who will spend an hour supporting their kid then playing a few minutes less on a Saturday will be the least of his problems growing up.

Apparently one boy who was the odd man out for a few weeks told his father that he always sits out to start either the game or the half and isn't inserted with the second team all the time. Unknowingly this father shows up one week when I don't have his son in with the second team. After the game as everyone is on the floor and walking toward the exit this irate tattooed Italian guy gets in my face swearing and pointing his finger in my face with his son by his side (I was correct about youth league minutes being the least of this kids problems). My buddy Danny the Director comes over to protect me from this guys outrage and they begin exchanging words as the father begins calling Danny certain names (Danny is 6'5 230). As things begin escalating and we are working the guy toward the exit the 8-year old kid steps in AND SPITS up at Danny's face hitting him in the neck with his spit. We are all stunned and the father who clearly saw what transpired tells his kid "Let's get out of here and we're not coming back. Nobody is gonna push you around."

Father of the Year.
 

robssecondjob

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I just guest coached a game in Germany and the parents were no different than in the US. Talented group of kids. Lots of bitching about calls.

Later tonight I am lacing up with the big boys. They asked if I am fit to go a full 90 at center back. I fear this is going to hurt.
 

Schnerres

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robssecondjob said:
I just guest coached a game in Germany and the parents were no different than in the US. Talented group of kids. Lots of bitching about calls.

Later tonight I am lacing up with the big boys. They asked if I am fit to go a full 90 at center back. I fear this is going to hurt.
Bitching about calls is one thing and this happens everywhere, because you will have people who do this in every region of the world.
 
Complaining about playing time? Well, if someone plays and is part of the team, it´s ok. But the examples above are ridiculous (having 14 players for 7 spots on the team, so each has to play exactly a half - do i rotate in halves or do i rotate everyone by quarter/// I have 14 players for 10 spots and we play 40 minutes, so we have 400 minutes to play for 14 players, so each basically plays 28 mins. I sub in the four bench players after the first ten minutes and so on..), and i´ve never had such problems in the long-term. Parents got emotional, came up, i said they should calm down and we´ll talk after the match. Sure, everyone wants their kids to play and most definitely as much as possible. But if it´s a close match and you see that it´ll be a loss for the team if you sub somebody out and bring in a bench guy (your kid!!) then you obviously have to sit him and bring him in earlier or start him in the next match. After 1,2 weeks, the guy came up, said he was sorry for screaming at me and said he understood it now.
 

robssecondjob

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Got my first parent email of the season, one day before the first practice.
 
"The scheduled practice time doesn't work for us.  Please change it to Monday".  Practice time has been the same for this team for 4 years...
 

Heinie Wagner

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I'm helping out with a second grade rec soccer team, 5v5, 25 minute halves, one practice a week.  The club decided not to close registration once rosters were at 10, so we have 11 kids, meaning some kids will play less than half of the game every time all 11 show up.  Which from past experience (4th kid playing at this level) could be almost every game or could be almost never.
 
This is the first year where it's relatively competitive, last year was on really small fields, each team on 2 fields, 3v3 and nearly constant subs/rotations, so the parents get much more intense.
 
I'm dreading the parent complaints as there is no way to play 11 kids in 5 spots relatively equally, everyone is going to think their kids is getting the short end of the stick.
 

Heinie Wagner

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robssecondjob said:
Got my first parent email of the season, one day before the first practice.
 
"The scheduled practice time doesn't work for us.  Please change it to Monday".  Practice time has been the same for this team for 4 years...
 
LOL - Regular day was ok last year (and the year before, and the year before...)?  Are they going to miss every practice?
 

TimNJsoxfan

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Heinie Wagner said:
I'm helping out with a second grade rec soccer team, 5v5, 25 minute halves, one practice a week.  The club decided not to close registration once rosters were at 10, so we have 11 kids, meaning some kids will play less than half of the game every time all 11 show up.  Which from past experience (4th kid playing at this level) could be almost every game or could be almost never.
 
This is the first year where it's relatively competitive, last year was on really small fields, each team on 2 fields, 3v3 and nearly constant subs/rotations, so the parents get much more intense.
 
I'm dreading the parent complaints as there is no way to play 11 kids in 5 spots relatively equally, everyone is going to think their kids is getting the short end of the stick.
I ran into this with basketball and here is what I found worked well.
 
Sub ALOT!!    parents/kids will lose track of how much time they were on/off the field
 

moondog80

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Sep 20, 2005
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Managing a majors team in fall ball this year, mostly 10-12 years olds.  We had out first game Saturday, I get to the dugout, put my stuff down, within 30 seconds a parent (who is not an assistant and apparently has a rep of being a major pain in the ass) comes in and we have this conversation:
 
Him: Is Johnny pitching today?
Me: No.
Him: Why not?
 
I explain to him that he'll get in there at some point, just not today.  He tells me that Johnny is a great pitcher, has been pitching AAU, all that.  Later one of my assistants tells me that Johnny just signed up for AAU this fall and has yet to play a game.  Johnny isn't a bad player, but he's maybe our 7th best pitcher.  It's fall ball so he'll still get some opportunity, but probably not as much as dad wants. Even less so since we have 14 kids, which means lots of bench time for everyone when they show up.  Fortunately, that probably won't happen much. 
 

Heinie Wagner

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TimNJsoxfan said:
I ran into this with basketball and here is what I found worked well.
 
Sub ALOT!!    parents/kids will lose track of how much time they were on/off the field
 
I'll try that if all else fails.  Coach meeting tonight, I'm going to ask why not just play 6v6.  I get the 5v5 means more touches than 6v6 but you don't get any touches when you're on the bench.
 
One of the first things I pushed for and got when I got involved with travel basketball was 10 player rosters (down from 11 for A and 12 for B). At the time, a bunch of people gave me a hard time about it.  Now, most people can't believe anyone would want 12 players on a 5-8th grade basketball team.
 

Heinie Wagner

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moondog80 said:
Managing a majors team in fall ball this year, mostly 10-12 years olds.  We had out first game Saturday, I get to the dugout, put my stuff down, within 30 seconds a parent (who is not an assistant and apparently has a rep of being a major pain in the ass) comes in and we have this conversation:
 
Him: Is Johnny pitching today?
Me: No.
Him: Why not?
 
I explain to him that he'll get in there at some point, just not today.  He tells me that Johnny is a great pitcher, has been pitching AAU, all that.  Later one of my assistants tells me that Johnny just signed up for AAU this fall and has yet to play a game.  Johnny isn't a bad player, but he's maybe our 7th best pitcher.  It's fall ball so he'll still get some opportunity, but probably not as much as dad wants. Even less so since we have 14 kids, which means lots of bench time for everyone when they show up.  Fortunately, that probably won't happen much. 
 
The guy came into the dugout pre-game to ask you that? WOW! That's worse than overestimating his kid's abilities. Sounds like you were extremely patient with him.
 
14 players on a baseball team - OUCH, for your sake I hope only 10-12 show up for most games.
 
We have 11 on my 11 yo son's 11-12 fall ball team and I think that's just right, they can call up a younger kid if they're short.
 

moondog80

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Heinie Wagner said:
 
The guy came into the dugout pre-game to ask you that? WOW! That's worse than overestimating his kid's abilities. Sounds like you were extremely patient with him.
 
14 players on a baseball team - OUCH, for your sake I hope only 10-12 show up for most games.
 
We have 11 on my 11 yo son's 11-12 fall ball team and I think that's just right, they can call up a younger kid if they're short.
 
We had three missing for our first game, and this weekend I already know two who will be elsewhere and another who will be late.  The upside of over-scheduled kids, I guess. 
 
We played 7 innings out first game because we had 11 and the other team had 12, which helped me get at least one inning in the IF for each kid, but it was close to 3 hours before everyone was able to go home.
 

Heinie Wagner

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Skiponzo said:
My fall ball team has 15 kids on it. Folks better get used to seeing their kid on the bench.
 
They do that in Babe Ruth here and it's brutal.  First time on the big field for the 13 year olds, most of them have no chance at getting the ball out of the infield against 14-15 year old pitchers, they do continuous batting order so it takes forever to turn the order over. They must make a lot of money per team with that many players on a roster.
 

Skiponzo

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$80per kid with little to no expenses (at least compared to spring ball)

I'm actually ok with it since I recruited a lot of the families (yes families not players) and there will be plenty of conflicts with soccer and lacrosse.
 

robssecondjob

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"Is it appropriate to have the boys running this hard during practice?  It's not like this is a game."
 
One of my Division 1 soccer team parents.
 

robssecondjob

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Heinie Wagner said:
 
You coach Allen Iverson's kid?
I have really entertaining parents this season.
 
The boys were running hard because they didn't want to get beat by one of the high school girls I had helping at practice.    
 

Cumberland Blues

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My kid's soccer coach has been running their little 10-11yr old asses off - they started Aug 1 and first game isn't til next weekend.  We love it - no complaints about bedtime when he comes home from soccer that tired.  And they sure as heck won't get beat in the last ten minutes of a game because they were gassed, they'll be ready to play a full game.
 

LoweTek

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moondog80 said:
Managing a majors team in fall ball this year, mostly 10-12 years olds.  We had out first game Saturday, I get to the dugout, put my stuff down, within 30 seconds a parent (who is not an assistant and apparently has a rep of being a major pain in the ass) comes in and we have this conversation:
 
Him: Is Johnny pitching today?
Me: No.
Him: Why not?
 
I explain to him that he'll get in there at some point, just not today.  He tells me that Johnny is a great pitcher, has been pitching AAU, all that.  Later one of my assistants tells me that Johnny just signed up for AAU this fall and has yet to play a game.  Johnny isn't a bad player, but he's maybe our 7th best pitcher.  It's fall ball so he'll still get some opportunity, but probably not as much as dad wants. Even less so since we have 14 kids, which means lots of bench time for everyone when they show up.  Fortunately, that probably won't happen much. 
 
You missed your opportunity. At the end of this dialog you say to him, firmly, "Now that we have had this talk, I'm going to say this to you once. Are we clear? Don't ever enter this or any dugout ever again. If you do do, I will petition the league President to ban or severely restrict your presence at games. Further, unless your child is gravely injured, do not address me regarding any matter other than well prior to a game or well after and never from one half hour prior until one half hour after any game. Do we have an understanding? If this is not agreeable to you, I would welcome you to move on to another team or another league."
 
I've done it under similar circumstances. It works. Don't enable them with unnecessary courtesy or tolerance.
 

Dummy Hoy

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LoweTek said:
 
You missed your opportunity. At the end of this dialog you say to him, firmly, "Now that we have had this talk, I'm going to say this to you once. Are we clear? Don't ever enter this or any dugout ever again. If you do do, I will petition the league President to ban or severely restrict your presence at games. Further, unless your child is gravely injured, do not address me regarding any matter other than well prior to a game or well after and never from one half hour prior until one half hour after any game. Do we have an understanding? If this is not agreeable to you, I would welcome you to move on to another team or another league."
 
I've done it under similar circumstances. It works. Don't enable them with unnecessary courtesy or tolerance.
 
isn't this so sad? I am by nature pretty talkative and outgoing, and want to give everyone an opportunity. I got so burned from this at my first HS coaching job that I've been about as standoffish and short as I am capable. Sucks that a few entitled assholes force me to go against my general nature and be as tight as I am now, but I'm not dealing with shit. you want to talk?- set up a meeting with myself and my AD. No exceptions.
 

Heinie Wagner

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Dummy Hoy said:
 
isn't this so sad? I am by nature pretty talkative and outgoing, and want to give everyone an opportunity. I got so burned from this at my first HS coaching job that I've been about as standoffish and short as I am capable. Sucks that a few entitled assholes force me to go against my general nature and be as tight as I am now, but I'm not dealing with shit. you want to talk?- set up a meeting with myself and my AD. No exceptions.
 
It is sad, same with youth coaching. You have to be so guarded and careful with everything you say lest someone take something the wrong way.
 
My wife (a former div 1 hoops player) coached our daughter's team last season, our daughter was sick one game and she said something to the opposing coach during warm ups about missing her best player. A parent at the scorer's table overheard it and made a huge stink about how a coach shouldn't be saying any one player is the best player. Even if you agree with that parent (I don't - I think her point was absurd) taking something you overheard in that context and making a big deal out of it is ridiculous.
 
Our HS boys basketball coach doesn't do a team MVP, most improved or any awards at all, don't want to upset anyone.
 

Skiponzo

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Dummy Hoy said:
 
isn't this so sad? I am by nature pretty talkative and outgoing, and want to give everyone an opportunity. I got so burned from this at my first HS coaching job that I've been about as standoffish and short as I am capable. Sucks that a few entitled assholes force me to go against my general nature and be as tight as I am now, but I'm not dealing with shit. you want to talk?- set up a meeting with myself and my AD. No exceptions.
Yup. VERY sad it has to come to this. Personally I draft my teams based on the families and not the players. Yes, that means we've never been the dominate team in any league. I always get looks from other coaches in the drafting room like "why did he take THAT kid" but I don't care. Little league is supposed to build character and teach kids things like how to be a teammate so winning should be secondary anyway....and I wanna have fun during the season, not be dealing with asshats. 
 

Omar's Wacky Neighbor

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Leaving in a bit to the studio :)
A few years back in town, they put heavy tarps up  on the softball backstops, directly behind the plate.  Just learned from a softball dad:  it was in response to a solitary dad who insisted on standing directly behind the plate and loudly commenting on every pitch whenever his daughter was on the hill.
 

Heinie Wagner

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Omar's Wacky Neighbor said:
A few years back in town, they put heavy tarps up  on the softball backstops, directly behind the plate.  Just learned from a softball dad:  it was in response to a solitary dad who insisted on standing directly behind the plate and loudly commenting on every pitch whenever his daughter was on the hill.
 
That is brilliant!  I love the LL fields where the bullpen is a fenced area by the dugout, and there is an announcing booth behind the plate, so parents can't get anywhere near the players. Parents who just have to talk to their kids 3-4 times a game are doing a LOT more harm than good.