Coaches and cuts....

No I have not because I try not to hold the parent against the kid. Chances are the kid will just end up like the parent but I still want to give the kid a chance to become his own person.

I think this is a very interesting topic. I will be shocked if one certain kid makes the team for my son's high school this year. It could certainly be said that his talent is suspect but he is not horrible. The biggest issue is that his parents can be very overbearing and really burned some bridges with the coaches last year. I have heard that they have said there is no way this kid plays this year. We will see. Tryouts are next week.

Parents are irrelevant in player decisions in HS sports. Period.

Below this is a completely different story.....many of them.

This is pretty extreme:

In another sport, the HS often stationed a security guard (off duty cop) next to the kid's dad at games. This was a big dad with a violent temper.

Still the kid easily made the team. He was a D-1 quality player who never made it past low D-2 in college. Lsst I heard he was at his 3rd college in three years.

That's the worst I've heard of. Baseball parents tend to brood quietly

quote:

In another sport, the HS often stationed a security guard (off duty cop) next to the kid's dad at games. This was a big dad with a violent temper.

good coaches, mediocre coaches, bad coaches who wants to put up with that.

quote:

Originally posted by micdsguy:

In another sport, the HS often stationed a security guard (off duty cop) next to the kid's dad at games. This was a big dad with a violent temper.

Unfortunately, if you coach long enough you're going to run into, "that dad." As I've posted a time or two before, I've run into "that dad" twice. One attacked me from behind. Not a pretty scene by the time it was over. In fact, I almost lost my job since he told numerous lies to the Police and my administration. Thank goodness there were so many witnesses that came forward that told the truth. Second Dad made threats. The reality of this situation is that in the end, he attacked his son. He now has a loooong time to think about that. I love both of these kids and would never have considered cutting them. NO MATTER WHAT! Baseball was their time to get away from a very unpleasant home situation. I still talk to both kids and they call/email often. BTW, both were starters and both went on to play college ball.

This is as extreme as it can get and so, in my opinion, the parents NEVER figure into the equation of cuts. JMHO!

Wow,
I read this thread expecting the opposite response.
This is good to know. My son is in 7th grade and I guess now is the time to start hassling the coach about playing time and positions.

To do list:
1. Find coaches home address and home phone.
2. Call crazy Uncle and inform him that coach works for CIA.
3. Go to all games with bull horn.
4. Research limericks.
5. Start blog site.
6. Tell wife that coach thinks all women should be stay at home Moms.
7. Start juicy gossip.

That should do it.

I just deleted my original post when I realized it could have been interpreted as disrespectful to stay-at-home moms. No disrespect meant at all.

So the other part was that we had a dad who was banned from our field by the coach a couple of years ago. I didn't know the guy, but heard from both coaches and former players that there was much drama. It didn't affect who made the team. Both his boys were all-state and are or will soon be playing at the next level.

Doughnutman, I still like your list.

quote:

Originally posted by Doughnutman:
Wow,
I read this thread expecting the opposite response.
This is good to know. My son is in 7th grade and I guess now is the time to start hassling the coach about playing time and positions.

To do list:
1. Find coaches home address and home phone.
2. Call crazy Uncle and inform him that coach works for CIA.
3. Go to all games with bull horn.
4. Research limericks.
5. Start blog site.
6. Tell wife that coach thinks all women should be stay at home Moms.
7. Start juicy gossip.

That should do it.

You left out #1. Telling everyone the coach obviously can't judge talent if your 14U or 15U travel stud isn't in the varsity starting lineup.

No, I haven't. Most (not all) of the players of the difficult parents are easier to work with than their parents and, as was mentioned, it isn't fair to the players to hold someone else's behavior against them.

Do you think it happens? Do you think the coaches talk about "Is it really worth the baggage?" "Do you really want to have to deal with them this year?"

What do you honestly think? Is anyone going to admit to it? When your sitting there and two kids are pretty much equal in what they will bring to the table and one has to be cut do you think it has a bearing on the decision? Think about that for a moment.

I have come back to say that I am officially shocked. The one kid I had heard would no way be on the team this year is in fact on the roster. Some very talented kids did not make the roster, although I have to say that the positions played by these players likely had everything to do with the decision. Although my son will not be playing this year due to his injury, we will still be going to games and he will be in the dugout for the games.
For those who say that the parents who volunteer the most do not have their kids cut, one of the cuts was the son of the President of the parent's association. At least in our case, the coaches do not take that into account.

I have not cut a kid because of his parents but I have let a kid stay because of his one parent

there was a parent that was a piece of work: true story, parent thought that a spectator (boy) same age as team players who was on the bleachers was making a racist statement about mexicans (because of a comment the boy made about a car going by with spinners and low-profile tires), the dad in question took it personally and approached the kid's dad and called him out for being the father of a racist son and that the kid had learned how to be racist from the dad. Fists nearly flew....anyway, the dad in question was later (following year) involved in a police shootout and fled and was a fugitive.

In basketball, we occasionally get "that dad" and the worst thing he does is coach from the stands "shoot the ball", "drive", "press him". Dads who do that usually carry more baggage too.

I have never held a parents actions against a kid, but every Dad I've had like that, has a kid that absolutely does what the dad says. You can probably imagine why.

I have a simple recipe that has worked every time over 25+ years...

I take the kid and the dad and I tell them, "I am Johnny's coach, and Johnny is being coached to work within the system of this team. When you holler instructions from the stands and Johnny follows them, it hurts what we are trying to do as a team, and I can't have that. In the future, if you holler out instructions from the stands, and Johnny follows them, I will have no choice but to take Johnny out of the game because I can't allow one player to hurt the whole team." And I walk away. To date, it has always worked.

quote:

Originally posted by CoachB25:


Unfortunately, if you coach long enough you're going to run into, "that dad."

I'd like to ask the coaches here a couple questions. A dad from our summer team has had physical run-ins our coach and a couple umpires over the last couple years. His son is trying out at our high school this year and I didn't say anything but I was tempted to warn the high school coaches about him. If a parent came to you with that type of information, would you coaches want to know? Or would you assume the parent telling you the story had an agenda?

I have another minor dilemma coming next year. One kid that will be trying out for freshman ball is a serious trouble maker, as is his dad as you can imagine. Would anyone here consider warning the high school coaches about what's coming?

Just wondering if I'm alone in considering doing this.

I would mind your own business

I have so far. But I/m tempted to warn them just in the name of humanity.

If they have done their homework they probably already know the facts

quote:

Originally posted by YHF:
I have so far. But I/m tempted to warn them just in the name of humanity.

I'm not a coach. But what do you expect the coach to do with this adverse information? Cut the kid? Post an armed guard? Accomodate and appease the dad?

Unless you can easily see a way for the coach to use the information in a positive manner, I think the only likely result would be political problems.

quote:

If a parent came to you with that type of information, would you coaches want to know? Or would you assume the parent telling you the story had an agenda?

I have another minor dilemma coming next year. One kid that will be trying out for freshman ball is a serious trouble maker, as is his dad as you can imagine. Would anyone here consider warning the high school coaches about what's coming?

I would think you have an agenda of knocking one kid out of your son's path.

Last fall the high school coach asked me about one of my travel kid's attitude. I was uncomfortable responding and having it appear I was knocking someone off my son's path. I told the coach the player needed to focus more on his potential and less on other distractions. I couldn't say the kid was a legend in his own mind, had a horrible work ethic, blamed others for his mistakes, the entire team disliked him and we didn't have him back last summer. The kid told the coach he was still on the team.

quote:

Originally posted by RJM:
I couldn't say the kid was a legend in his own mind, had a horrible work ethic, blamed others for his mistakes, the entire team disliked him and we didn't have him back last summer.

LOL. That's pretty much what I would have to say as well. The dad I mentioned does have a kid my son's age but he's a LH pitcher and my son is a catcher/1B. Not really competing against each other. But I think the real reason I didn't say anything is I don't know the coach and I didn't want him to think I was trying to do something to bring attention to myself or give my son a better chance to make the team, even though that wouldn't be my intent.

Regarding the troubled kid I was talking about, I don't have a son trying out for the same team he will be trying out for so no real conflict of interest there.

I'm still thinking of just keeping my mouth shut. Having coached these kids in summer ball, I just fear for the coaches having to deal with the dad and kids in question.

quote:

Having coached these kids in summer ball, I just fear for the coaches having to deal with the dad and kids in question.

It's not your responsibility to save this corner of the world. The coaches can take care of themselves.

I once coached with a guy who said he'll take the talent and tame the situation. I watched him walk up to a huge dad, poke him in the chest (couldn't reach his nose) and told him his son's future on the team was very limited if he (the dad) didn't STFU and watch the remainder of the season.

I've seen PITA kids turn the corner emotionally from one season to the next. A kid I coached woke up last year when I didn't want him back.