That Parent?

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We knew she would be good,
It was clear for all to see,
We'd been practicing four days a week,
Since the ripe old age of three,

Tee ball was our first stop,
We found it quite a bore,
What was my daughter learning?
I mean they never kept the score.

We skipped tee ball that next year,
I think everyone knew,
Everyone except her coach,
That guy didn't have a clue,

Just some dad volunteering,
Not really a coach at all,
I'm surprised he could swing a bat,
Or even throw a ball.

The next year was another team,
We gave it another try,
Another worthless experience,
Time to kiss rec ball good-bye!

Travel ball, thank the Lord,
Now we were on our way,
"What do you mean? Utility player?"
We paid our fee to play!

A brand new year and another team,
This one was really bad,
Another worthless coach,
I'm sure another dad.

Six more teams the next five years,
Our talent they just don't see,
She's easily the best on the team,
It's plain as day to me.

High school ball, what a waste,
My daughter deserves to start!
Give me that AD's number,
Time to rip that coach apart,


Winter of her Senior year,
It was heartbreaking to hear her say,
"Dad, I'm not trying out this year,
I've lost the will to play."

I can't much say I blame her,
As I look back through the years,
I think of all the memories,
My eyes well up with tears,

If it wasn't for all those coaches,
And all those worthless teams,
My daughter would still be playing,
We'd still be chasing our dreams.

 

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AMEN...

funny thing is those parents dont even realise its them,
they think its the other parents that dont agree withem...

 

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Much can be said about this Poem. I've seen alot of parents Little Stars rise only to fall. Whether due to lack of interest, (BOYS!) shown up by another player, (BOYS!) interest in another activity, (BOYS!)longer the shining light on the team, (BOYS! What else can I say?



FASTPITCH! Anything else, And you're playing to SLOW!

 

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I am sure at one point in our DD's career we have all been that parent. Just glad to realizeits all for her and if she wants the game.

 

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None of those parents will read this poem cuz its not about them!

 

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AMEN...

funny thing is those parents dont even realise its them,
they think its the other parents that dont agree withem...

That is so right, they would laugh at this and not have any clue it was them. :lmao:
My first year coaching I took a bunch of rec kids and tried to give them the opportunity to play travel ball, NOT a good idea. The kids actually did a really good job, it was the parents who just didn't get it. There is a HUGE difference between travel ball parents and rec ball parents!! Boy am I glad to be out of rec ball.

 

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Great post!!!! So many days I wonder the same thing!

 

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Did you break into my house and pull that from my desk drawer??

It's over too fast sit, watch and enjoy!

 

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I won't deny, the first year my oldest played, she played for her all-star rec team, but not a lot. The next year, I realized. The following year, she worked in the off-season and it paid off. Now, she does it for fun. I know a few parents who are mentioned in this poem. So they took matter in their own hands and became daddy ball coaches. I just love how parents try to live through thier kids.

 

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How many parents really played the game at this level? Travel ball was not a option when we were growing up in the 60's & 70's. We were lucky to play rec ball back then. Times have changed and many parents are giving their kids the opportunities we never had as kids. Enjoy these times because they go soooo fast. Can't wait for the grandbabies to start playing ball, lol

 

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You know if you stop and look at things you can learn a lot. lol, when my oldest first started playing it was CYO, she dominated so we took her to a travel tryout the Lady Irish, YIKES, she was in WAY over her head, she knew it, I knew it lol, I even offered to let her leave halfway through, but to her credit she wanted to finish it that was 5th grade, obviously she didnt make it lol. She ended up playing for a high school feeder team and this little 19 yr old former high school player. Again in this league there were a ton of travel kids, and my DD was horrible lmao, she must have went down swinging in her first 20 Abs, but this coach never gave up on a kid. Her name was Sara Laundry, she continued to encourage my DD and the others that were bad. Because of this my DD worked her booty off, she will play college ball next year at the D2 level. She has played for the Irish for 4 years, Lasers and currently for the SGS Magic White. I credit my DD's work and Coach Laundry for her success first and foremost. Its too bad though, to many parents complained and were a pain in the booty that year and coach laundry stopped coaching.

I am now coaching 10U ball, and I want to be like coach Laundry. I want my job as a coach to coach every single kid, not to give up on a kid because currently she is not one of my best, its my job and her parents job to encourage her to improve. I have had my moments as a pitchers dad/players dad etc. trust me lmao, but all the stuff I have learned through the years from coaches like Wayne Baker, Duane Lanham, Jim Hall, Kevin Snyder, Dave Day, Bob Graham, etc. the list goes on and on...I think the most valuable lesson I just realized I learned the past month, and it was from Coach Laundry.

Let's face it 80% of the coaches out there, have the best intentions, but it seems like 80% of the players play for the 20% that dont. Instead of complaining due to playing time, posting on here about how bad coaches are etc., do a real self check and if your daughter loves softball and you love your daughter, it costs nothing to go out and hit her ground balls, pitch to her, hit her fly balls, watch practice and do the same drills at home the team is doing...work with your kid!!! Coaches get maybe 5 mins a practice of 1 on 1 time with a player, you can give your daughter hours a week of 1 on 1 softball time, and in the process create a strong bond with your daughter. Clearly many of the parents who are always posting about how bad a coach is have internet access, there are a ton of sites including this one with smart coaches and parents always willing to give advice on drills and how to correct things.

lastly as I have said a million times, Raise a daughter not a softball player....you complaining all the time in front of her about her coach or playing time is not teaching her anything positive . Take her out and work with her and you teach her how to work for what she wants.

 

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Uber you will be a coach Laundry, I have seen you in action. Thanks for the years of being behind my DD, your encouragement has always meant alot to her

 

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Uber you will be a coach Laundry, I have seen you in action. Thanks for the years of being behind my DD, your encouragement has always meant alot to her

Thanks Gram, see you tonight it might be the last time our girls face each other, where the heck did the time go?

 

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I think everyone has this in them, the inability to objectively look at their own kids. I have no kids, so I was watching my nephew play Marxism (kickball sport) several years ago for his school. All of the sudden I found myself thinking he was the best player out there and I caught myself.

I started to think about it and what I discovered was that I absorbed everything he did that was good and blew off everything he did that was bad. If I had failed to look at him objectively as an uncle, imagine how hard it is for parents to objectively evaluate their kids.

The day that I get a parent come to me and say why is my daughter playing over that other girl, then I'll start to listen to parents' thoughts on my lineup.

 

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I think everyone has this in them, the inability to objectively look at their own kids. I have no kids, so I was watching my nephew play Marxism (kickball sport) several years ago for his school. All of the sudden I found myself thinking he was the best player out there and I caught myself.

I started to think about it and what I discovered was that I absorbed everything he did that was good and blew off everything he did that was bad. If I had failed to look at him objectively as an uncle, imagine how hard it is for parents to objectively evaluate their kids.

The day that I get a parent come to me and say why is my daughter playing over that other girl, then I'll start to listen to parents' thoughts on my lineup.

Thunder_road use to tell some of his more animated parents, hey your kid knows she made an error, she feels horrible about, but she needs to see 1 friendly face in the stands and it would nice if it was her parents. I have used that line on a few of my foul pole buddies during game only to have it thrown right back in my face when my daughter screwed up and I became animated. Its for sure not easy being unbiased when it comes to our kids and basically impossible, but its the effort you make to control it that separates the good parents from the ones that cause trouble.

 

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Now for the other side of the coin........how many go the opposite way and are much much harder on their own child/player than anyone? I keep hearing about Daddy Ball and truthfully most of the coaches I know and have coached with including me have been guilty of being more critical of their own than any other..........have not seen many who overlook poor play just because it is their own kid....I am sure they are there but my guess is not many at high level travel play.

 

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I was when I coached her, but only in the car on the way home. Other than that it is "come on dd, you know better than that." I will admit, when she was pitching, I cut her no slack. I didn't jump on her in front of the team, but I pulled that hook fast. That was for travel. In rec, I couldn't yell at her for 2 errors in a game when everyone else was making 3 or 4, not even on the way home.

 

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I am hard on my kids in general. I see what they did wrong in their sports, and then tell them what they did wrong and how to fix it. Then we work on it, Dad and Son or Daughter. But I also make a point to tell them what they did right in their games and how proud of them I am of them.... Then I always say "Now if you want to get better or earn/keep the starting position lets go and fix the wrong things."

After todays highschool game and 3 strikouts latter, I noticed how my DD was dropping her hands and swinging on an upward angle to the ball.... I didn't try to coach her as a parent from the stands to tell her the problem. I told her why she was striking out after the game and then asked her "do you want to work on it to fix the problem". She said yes, because striking out is letting the team and herself down....

Thats my approach as a PARENT and a COACH, its also i guess all 3 of my kids approach as well..

 

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Parma,

Pretty much my approach. After practicing with my DD's, try to review the bad issues and finish up with the good things they did. Fortunately, they want to get better so makes it easier for me.

 

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That is exactly why I had to get away from coaching my older DD. I had much higher expectations for her than the others and she is a smart kid and finally called me out. I will still occasionally point out something she can improve on but she is more willing to listen since it is dne privately.

Now my younger DD is a bit different. She is a pleaser! I can get on her at practice and see her determination to want to make an immediate correction. And after a rough practice all it takes is a "thanks for working so hard today" to make her face light up.