I'm reviving this thread because I'm living it right now. It's been a very frustrating season. A team that should compete with the best in the conference, is on a 9-game losing streak and the final game of the season is Friday. So much of the attitude comes from the parents. You can see it in how the kids carry themselves and what they say. It perfectly parrots the same things I hear in the stands from the parents. According to the parents, the coaches can do nothing right, even though every game is riddled with both physical and mental errors. The players don't accurately convey information from practices and games, so the parents don't truly know what is being said or done, but act as if they have all the information. As a mom to a varsity player and the wife of an assistant coach, it is hard to hear and hold my tongue.
I honestly worry about the kids we are raising. You see so much discussion about how entitled kids are causing all sorts of issues in society, and while I do not disagree, I place the blame squarely at the feet of our generation. We are the ones raising these entitled kids. I see these parents coddling their children, complaining about everything and all the "unfair" treatment. One kid, a sophomore, earned a starting infield position. But, he is being DH'd for and the dad is livid, to the point the kid is probably quitting. Like that is going to teach the coaches a lesson! I'm just sitting here scratching my head. This season hasn't been the best for my kid either. He didn't live up to his own expectations and did not play the role he was anticipating. Our feedback to him was change the things you can change, always work on getting better, be respectful of the coaches, don't feed into the negativity and always embrace the role you have been given. It is about the team at this point.
MIDLO DAD - This is such great advice and exactly how we are trying to raise our son. He is a sophomore and I am hoping he will step up and be the leader this summer. We've talked at length about the type of leader the team needs. The kids in his grade and below look up to him. The upper classmen have too much of a chip on their shoulder to take leadership from a Sophomore. The HS summer team will be young, but that's who we have to start with if we are going to change the culture. He'll work with the kids and I'll try to work with the parents. There has to be a way to turn this around.