Am I Crazy?

Are you crazy? Maybe, maybe not. If you ask the question, you're probably OK. Though the fact that you had to ask it so many times may be a bad sign.

That being said, as a second year travel baseball parent, I'm having my eyes opened all the time. Its clearly diffficult to find a situation where everyone's expectations are in alignment. This includes players, coaches, and parents. Everyone loves winning, but as you said, I believe the main goal should be for all the players to improve and enjoy themselves.

You're always going to run into those parents that think their kid is the next (insert your favorite major league star here), and you just have to learn to deal with it. They aren't going to change.

I saw a cartoon recently. A father was standing next to his young son, who was dressed in a football uniform. The caption was "Son, I want you to go out there and show those other fathers that I'm better than they are," or something along those lines.

DOP,

Many parents lose sight of why the team was started in the first place. Espcially, if there has been some decent success at winning.

It sounds like what needs to happen is a heart to heart meeting from the coaching staff with the parents. (Basically, if you don't like what's going on, pack your cr4p and go conversation).

I agree that the purpose of travel teams should be to improve the skill set of the players to help them continue in the game!

That being said, I think that is just a line too many coaches use. Too many are out to win by any means and if they have to change personnel to do it, that is what they do.

I believe that a team should continue to develop the players they have. There will always be attrition but it should not be by cuts or coaches cruelty.

When my son was 9 he was on a travel team that has won many local and national championships in the last 3 years. The coach is an idiot who mistreats his players and especially his son. I expect to see in the news paper one day that the son has injured the father..... My son was on that team less than a month. That is all it took to see what a lunatic this guy was. In the last 3 years they have had no less than 50 different kids on this team.... Only the coaches son remains from that original 9u team. What amazes me are the parents who actually allow there kids to stay with this team... We played them a couple of weeks ago and he was screaming at his son for missing a fly ball and they were cursing at each other.... amazing. What is wrong with the parents of the rest of the team that they keep their kids on this team. In the 5th inning, one of their players missed his bunt attempt on a suicide squeeze and we easily got the runner attempting to reach home.... The coach flipped out, screamed a while and walked off the field, told his assistant to coach third..... It was nice a quiet the rest of the game

Sorry I went off on a tangent....

I have seen a AAU Team of now 13 yr. olds that have really benefitted from starting at 10 yrs. old ,and for the most part remaining intact. They have "danced with who brought them". These kids have won their share of games, but not really set the world on fire. I have a friend who has a son on the team so I occasionally get to see them. It has been fun to watch their progress. They have intermittent problems, but nothing earth shattering. They also have a good non-dad coach. That is the Catch-22 of most travel type ball. I guess we generally would prefer not to have dads coaching, but if not for the dads might not have many travel ball opportunities.

You have to ask yourself one question. Are we putting this team together to win games now. Or our we putting this team together to build for the future so we can win games later and be the best players we can be when it counts the most. If I had a son this age again I would look for a situation that focused on teaching solid fundementals and work habits. Taught teamwork and dedication and loyalty. A situation where the coaches were about building a program and not a team.

The best competitive teams are just that -- competitive. And at 13, players have changed. Some who were among the best at an earlier age are no longer competitive among the best players and they probably never will be again. Thus, the best teams have ongoing turnover. It is the way it is and it will only accelerate at each succeeding level.

Teamwork, dedication and loyalty will always be important and throughout life, but talent will win out nearly every time. And the teams that don't constantly pursue the best talent will not remain among the best teams.

And, if these players enter truly top level high schools, far fewer will succeed there than you might imagine.

We have a team thats been playing since 9 and we are 13 now. We have lost and gained a few players here and there but we still have 5 thats been together since the start.. The way we look at it is that the team you have right now is just that, so with what you got we do everything we can to make them successful on and off the field. There is know since and complaing about other kids, if this is the best we got and if they are trying there best, what else can you ask for... To many parents have short memories when it comes to there kids mistakes. They are to quick to point out when someone is in a little slump while the last tourny there kid went 1 for 10 or a kid misses a ball but forgets how many game saving plays they made during the season.. There was a dad I talked with a few days back and he said he was so mad at his son and work up over a game last week he couldnt see straight. I asked him if he ever he felt that way last year, and he said many times. So I told him think about last year being mad, whats that mean now -NOTHING-...... What I told him then was try to take the good with the bad, cause baseball will always have ups and downs. Parents need to look it the big picture, there is much to learn from baseball.. If your team is average just wish them all good luck and be positive. It wont be to long until there in highschool and all this travel ball will be just a nice little memory and then people are wishing they were a little more positive and when kids were slumping they would have spent more time trying to help them instead of saying they are just average players just wasting there time. Like you said all kids mature at a different rate..

Sorry to just ramble but you sound like are team, good luck the rest of the season...

Check out are website.. http://www.eteamz.com/kycomets

Corey, I like your way of thinking!!