I am a relative "Newbie to this board but have been around baseball as a coach or parent for a 30+ years. I have found the responses here to provide sound advice on a very wide range of topics including playing time, politics, horrible unfair coaches, blind umpires, soccer players moonlighting as baseball scouts and how to get grass stains out of white game pants...O.k. I did make one of those up but you'll have to hang around long enough to figure out which one...I heard someone state that the responders were "Tough on newbies" and it occurs to me there are some reasons for that assertion so this is my honest assessment on how to be respected and engaged positively on this forum:
- When writing your post people cannot see you or clearly identify your motive so try to be clear.
- When asking questions provide all pertinent information that a responder would need to place themselves at the game and in the situation
- Remember most posters have seen hundreds if not thousands of ball players ranging from HS, College, and all levels of the pros. This means that if you believe your situation is unique and no one can understand it you are starting from a bad premise.
- If you are asking a question but deep down have already decided that a coach, school, scout or the universe at large has it out for you the potential for you to be satisfied with an affirming warm or fuzzy response is rather slim.
- Most posters have seen players with tons of heart and marginal talent have satisfying and successful baseball careers through hard work and a love of the game. Because of that they are fiercely opinionated when it comes to the concept of blaming others whether it is the coach, school, parent or scout. Life and baseball is about overcoming obstacles both real and imagined.
- The forum seems to really get that baseball is about more that baseball it is about life. I have heard support, compassion, encouragement and tough love during my short time here. I have heard fathers and mothers encouraged to exhort their children to take responsibility for communications with coaches about hard stuff like playing time and fairness and not because it is easy but because they will grow to become better more capable young men.
- The posters seem to know that parents love their children but often have difficulty in assessing their true potential as well as where they fit on a team. As an example the comment was made earlier that numbers don't lie...sure they do...especially in baseball. Weakly hit balls find holes and flares drop while rockets find gloves. Over a pro season of 500AB these usually even out but in a shortened HS season a player can bat .250 while squaring up 6 out of 10 and a player can hit .450 while squaring up 1 out of 10. This is why coaching is so difficult. every parent is an amateur scorekeeper and wonders why Johnny is sitting batting .325 and Billy is playing when he is only hitting .200.
- And finally, don't take responses too personally unless you will benefit from doing so. People are not trying to make you feel bad or ruin your day but if they disagree with you they will share that. If you can learn from it great if you can't there is probably no need to argue about it. Unless you are bringing new facts to the situation or clarifying something (See number 2) trying to change someone's opinion has the same affect as trying to teach a pig to dance. It embarrasses you and annoys the pig...
I have had a great time reading and exchanging thoughts here and I think all newbies who are respectful and willing to look in a mirror will have the same positive experience.
