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Parents are the true downfall of a lot of programs. Arlington Martin fell because of a few jealous parents, to name one. Baseball has become such a business because of professional contracts being so high, that parents refuse to see that Johnny just isn't good enough. They exhaust money with personal lessons, make them play year round, and bad talk their coaches to them when they come home. Parents do more damage in one night at the dinner table to a coach and program than ever can be repaired. Most parents say they support the program, but want the best eight players on the field, plus their son. And if that doesn't happen, then the coach is the one to blame. Coaching is not fun anymore because parents have unrealistic views, and if they are not happy they try to get coaches fired or just make it miserable. Even to the Little League levels parents are so demanding, they burn kids out at an early age and embarass them and take the fun out of the game. Even winning programs have parent problems because of jealousy. Just because a program loses, doesn't mean the coach is an idiot. Player work ethic is never evaluated, and can't be. Parents just assume that Johnny works hard every day and the coach must be wrong. Parents love to bail out kids these days and blame someone else, usually the coach. Instead of helping kids learn a valuable lesson about working hard and dealing with failure.

Bottom line is ... be a true "booster" of the program and promote it to all in a positive way or keep your mouth shut and try to find your baseball Utopia else where.

There are some great parents out there and I applaud you for the great job that you do. If you have ever been a part of tearing someone down or have heard it and didn't say anything, then you are aiding in the downfall of your program.
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a coach work with the parents not against them.
if that is layed out early i think it will alleviate problems.

lets face it most coaches want to win so they are not going to play people he doesnt think he can win with.

Sometimes the more talented kid may not play in certain situations because the team plays better when another kid is in the line-up.


this is playing the best 9 not the 9 best. in high school you have great teams when your more talented players buy in to the coaches philosphies and then the coach plays the best players and they are all on the same page.


more often the (studs) think they are better than the other players and so do their parents and this causes dissention and next thing you know the coach that won district last year is all of a sudden an idiot that doesnt know how to coach.
Parents may be the downfall for many programs but coaches who attack a kids character and try to discourage kids, to achieve their personal goals, are nothing more than miserable human beings. Forget the coaching aspect. If any adult treats a child that way then they are in a category lower than scum. And if you don't think this happens then please send me a private message and I will explain to you exactly just how bad some of these supposed coaches/adults can be.

Sorry this thread struck a nerve. I'm sure there are good coaches/adults out there by the way.

TXDad
No, I do not know this poster. I typically don't post here often but do read a lot of the information. While I am a supporter of this site I have read a lot lately about coaches who are getting the wrong end of the deal. While that may be the case in some places, it is not the case in all. Just wanted to make sure and point out that there are miserable people in all walks of life and when it comes to gutless treatment of children, by people who hide behind a title of "coach", it disgusts me more than you would ever know.

Other than that, I will continue to lurk :-)

TXDad
TXDad-

You are right. There are coaches with hidden agendas and/or don't always make the right decision when dealing with kids. Maybe it's the end of the season that gets me this way, but I hear it too much...blaming the coach and I can't believe the coach is doing that. And it struck alittle nerve. I know we all lose sight of our goals from time to time. I'm truly sorry if you or your family has had a bad experience, and I know that anyone who writes on a message board is not speaking for everyone or bashing everyone in a certain profession. I have just seen too many situations in the last few years.

One of the toughest jobs in the world is being a parent. Knowing what to do and when to do it, making decisions that effect the long term of your child. However, unlike a coach, when WE parents screw up on a decision, no one else sees it (usually unless your beating your kid on camera) and it can be covered up as parenting. Coaches and teachers have an extremely tough job too, but it is compared and contrasted by ALL. Dealing with sometimes 40 to 80 kids (which means hundreds of individual parents) in one program and making hundreds of decisions daily. I know I chose to get into this profession because I love to teach and instruct, so that comes with the territory. And I do not condone harsh treatment of children, but we don't get do-overs sometimes. One wrong decision when dealing with a few kids can tarnish a coaches image forever.
25e5,

I agree with you 100%. Being a coach/teacher in itself is a very difficult job. Both of my kids have had outstanding teachers who were/are positive influences in their lives and continue to be so. For the most part I am grateful for those people because they are doing a job that is both thankless as well as not monetarily rewarding. (Which I feel is very wrong)

I know that there are quality poeple in the profession and I also know that there are parents that are not happy regardless of what those people do.

All I have ever asked is for adults to be fair with kids and tell them the truth. Coaches/teachers gain respect from those kids by doing so, in my opinion. It continually amazes me at the lack of that knowledge, by adults, that I have come in contact with. Then those same adults wonder why kids pay no attention to their direction. Kids are not stupid and I think some adults think they are.

Sorry for rambling on but this subject hits a nerve:-) As I said earlier, I am grateful for teachers and the jobs they do. For those that continually display a lack of skill to be able to perform those jobs, those people need to find a job that better fits there skills. Just my opinion.

TXDad
Last edited by TXDad
25e5 and all you Texas posters: I will just say the following: There are PLENTY of GREAT coaches - as instructors in the sport, educators and human beings - out there. If there were an award for "Coach of the Decade" based on all of the above I have a nomination in mind. He's a central Texas coach - former MLB player, has produced both winning (State) and losing teams and goes out of his way to be fair and CANDID with players, parents and the administration he works for. His caring attitude starts off the field but is tempered by a Major League "must win" attitude on the field.
The other side of the coin - visit the Texas UIL website and do a search for UIL violators. This is the worst of the worst - the ones that get reported, have a fair and impartial hearing and are sanctioned. There are, I would guess, more than a few that are not reported and would get my nomination for 'Horror Story of the Decade'. As TxDad said, there are some miserable, self-centered, self-serving, gutless coaches out there as well.
I have been involved with youth as a school teacher and as a youth league coach. I was not always the best at either, but I tried to be. For any shortcomings I may have had in these areas, I always tried to maintain respect for parents and players alike. Most others do the same. However - blinders are for horses in disturbing and distracting situations. It's best we as parents and those coaching our kids see the reality of who and what is out there dealing with our kids. My point in this is that there are great coaches and great parents, and a few very bad 'coaches' and lousy 'parents' as well.
"If you have ever been a part of tearing someone down or have heard it and didn't say anything, then you are aiding in the downfall of your program."
This quote needs to be applied to both parents and coaching staff.
This is not a personal attack on anyone. Maintaining a sense of dignity prevents me from naming names of both the Great Coaches and the Horror Stories I personally am aware of. I will leave the parents off that list as well. In reality, I think the "bad" parents infuriate me more than the "bad" coaches. The kids have no choice but to maintain their parental heritage. They can move on as far as the coaches are concerned.

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