Coach's change

It really does not matter why he is doing it. The fact that he is doing it at all tells me he has no business coaching. Are the players going to vote on when to pull the pitcher or the batting line up? How about when to steal or hit and run are the players going to vote on that too? You get the point. Any coach that decides to let the players decide how he should do his job is not the coach anymore. Too bad your son is a senior and can't find another place to play. I personally would have to call and have a meeting with this "coach" and ask him the same questions I have asked.

Coach May hit this one out of the park.... again.

I cannot imagine any coach allowing the players to vote on the starting line up!

My guess is that he suspects the players will vote for the senior. This way he doesn't have to explain to his friend why he didn't start his Friends kid, it was the players. Sort of a Pontius Pilate, washing his hands of the whole thing.

Only thing I disagree with Coach May on is, since your kid in not affected, I would keep my nose out of it.

I think Big WI has this one figured out. Coach wants the team to do his dirty work for him. I can see having the team vote for a captain, but the lineup......

Every kid on that team is affected. How do you know that your son wont be voted out of the line up down the road if he pisses off the boys? And as a player I have the right to have the best 9 players on the field not the most popular 9. I come to the ballpark to win it doesnt matter if Im in the line up or not I come to the ballpark to win. If your son is pitching and the most popular kid makes three errors behind him and he gets an L that doesnt matter right? If your son and his teamates have worked their butts off and are trying to win something and then someone goes and makes a popularity contest out of it that doesnt matter to you because your son is playing? You are wrong on this one. Every kid deserves a coach that is putting the best players on the field everyday to give them the best chance to have success. Anything less is cheating all the players not just the one that is left off.

I'm sure someone can come up with an instance, but at least in coaching, I can't think of a problem where looking someone in the eye and telling them the truth isn't the best solution. What kind of character concocts scenarios like this to avoid acting like a leader? Not anyone called "coach" that I know.

Billyjoe, I am usually very supportive of coaches. I think too often parents are too opinionated and should support their coach more, but this guy has issues. Voting for a highschool lineup? You wouldn't even see this in Little League. This sounds representative of some bigger issues IMO. I think parents (including you) should speak up now. I would do this directly with him. Hopefully, the guy's just having a moment of temporary insanity and this doesn't reflect his thinking processes during the season.

Good point Coach May.

I'm just not one for confronting coaches, It's their domian. But this may be the exception to the rule.

When you read about something like this you realize how far things can and in this case have got out of hand. I am in the corner of coaches but this is just not the way to go. Maybe let the parents vote.

In my place of work we have a couple of managers that do this. The rest of us managers call this "Managing by Avoidance". They don't last long here. On the baseball side, my son's coach let the players vote on a team leadership counsel. The only thing he empowers them to do as far as descisions is what color uniform they were in tournament games.

"just my 2 cents"

I must admit I have allowed my players to pick a line up. But this was done during a post season scrimmage game, a pick-up game, and a few times in a fall league. The players had asked to try so I let them. However, during a regular season, this is completely out of the question. It's my job and responsibility and something I want to do. I can not see why a coach would do this during his season or in a competitive event.

I have to admit this seems a bit strange. You want the players focused on one thing: working hard every day to earn their game time and improve themselves. Baseball isn't some new variant of 'Survivor' where personal alliances and betrayals can work towards forwarding an individual's own goals. It's a delicate art buiding cohesive high achieving teams made up of highly competitive individuals, and you don't want to introduce a dynamic that tips the scale towards individual interests over the team's interests. The coach is responsible for making sure that individual competition stays healthy and directed toward team goals and objectives. Once a coach opens that Pandora's box, you open it up for all kinds of personal issues to get in the way.

Ideally, the coaches job should be simple: here's the goals, expectations, and values of the team. The guys that work hard every day to step up to perform to those goals and live by those values ... regardless of size, personality, grad class, age, extrovert, introvert, family, good guy, pain in the a**, booster parents, obnoxious parents, whatever ... and get the job done every day get to play. The guys that don't get the job done don't play.

Our coach does rely on inputs from the players (team captains), but would never, and I mean never let the players "vote" on a starting lineup. Bottom line is the players want to win more than anything, but would never make it a popularity contest, if the player wasn't good enough, they wouldn't want him in there. He values their inputs, and respects their knowledge of the game, but would never give them the final say. This would be a joke! Hence the term "Head Coach", be one, and make the hard decisions. Gosh cut the players that aren't good enough, and start the players who are the best and deserve to be there. Respect the game, and the players and parents will respect you.

My team is a Democracy! However, I hold all of the votes!

I would never allow players to do this. Players want direction and they want to concentrate on what is happening on the field. They don't want to be the coach!

Coach May said:
How do you know that your son wont be voted out of the line up down the road if he pisses off the boys? And as a player I have the right to have the best 9 players on the field not the most popular 9.
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I feel sorry for billyjoe's son. You would be surprised how many high school coaches make up the lineup based upon indirect influences...like parents, athletic directors, and personal personality kinships. It was evident when my son played his high school ball and it was really very evident a the private high school he went to.

Beleive me, it doesn't change at the college level either. I feel sorry for the kids that are locked into sitting on the bench while a lesser p[layer gets to play based upon indirect lineups influences.

I don't understand what happened to just playing your best 9.

Welcome to the REAL WORLD.

I can only think of one reason a good coach would ever do this. As an exercise only.

At preseason practise he might let the players chose the lineup and then afterwards talk to them about why they chose each player.

Use it as a way to help the players gain insight into each others strenghts and weaknesses. This could be useful to build team cohesiveness.

But that would be the end of the exercise. He would certainly not use this voted on line up as THE actually line up.

The Omniscient, Omnipotent, Great and Powerful Coach has spoken. How dare anyone question his decisions? If he is looking to justify his decision to play who he wants, that is within his power. The Coach does not want to hear the suggestions of meddling whining parents. If you approach him and ask a question of his leadership of the team, hw may take action against your child just to put you in your place.

He may decide that your son is now a cancer to the team. He may decide that your son should sit the bench and never get game. And you can't do a thing about it.

The Omniscient and Omnipotent Coaches are now seeking to have the greater power. If a whining meddling parent does not like the way the coach is running their programs, they now want a rule in case you decide to play somewhere else.

Maybe a year off will cool the heels of the whining meddling parents and children.

As is the Omniscient and Omnipotent Coaches can call a meeting amongst themselves to determine who should never play for whatever reason.

Be wary if you decide to question the decision of the Great and Powerful Omniscient and Omnipotent Coach.

WillieBobo, You've got to move here! I need more parents that think the way you do. DON'T QUESTION ANYTHING. YOURS IS NOT TO REASON WHY. YOURS IS TO DO OR DIE.

High school politics of the worst kind.

Many years ago when i was hired as a coach I thought that I was the one who decided who played what when and where. When to bunt hit and run etc etc etc. over the years has that changed?

People have the right to question the coaches decisions. People have the right to complain gripe whine ***** and stab in the back all they want to. They have the right to sit in the stands and talk all the trash they want about the coach or coaches. They can call a meeting with the coach and voice their opinions. They can meet with the AD the principal and the school board. Hell they can write a letter to their congressman if they want. They still wont be the coach of the team. They still wont make out the line up. What will they accomplish? Well maybe they will make everyone around them miserable (other parents). And maybe they will cause their kid to have a closet full of excuses he can fall back on. I learned a long time ago that I was not going to make everyone happy no matter what I did. I decided if I was going to coach I would make my decisions based on what was best for the team and my players. If my parents like me great. If they dont there is nothing I can do to change that if I am doing what is best for the team and the players and they are still unhappy. Some parents are in it for their kid only. They dont care about the program. They dont care about the other kids. And they sure as heck dont care about the coaches. The whole program exists to serve their wants needs and desires. Do I really care about these types of people? Should I? Would you?

Coach May is right, as usual: players should NEVER get a say on these types of issues. Any individual that would ask for young kids' opinions on this is NOT a coach. Players should get to voice their ideas on things like uniforms, tshirts, lunch, etc.....not playing time. That's sad.

The fact that this is being discussed shows the different atmosphere today. To be a successful coach you better learn real early that you can not please everybody and if you do you wont be around very long.

Outside of ending civilization as we know it, what other viable reasons do coaches have to retaliate against transfer students?

If coaches 'recruit' , what are the penalties on the coach?

Will

It is very simple--"If you dont like the way I drive the bus, GET OFF!!!!"

If a kid does not want to play for our program I dont want him to play for our program. Why should I reward those that have no loyalty over those that do? I wont? Transfer and go somewhere else and see that the grass is not greener on the other side like many have already learned in life and baseball.

quote:

Outside of ending civilization as we know it, what other viable reasons do coaches have to retaliate against transfer students?

If coaches 'recruit' , what are the penalties on the coach?

People not happy with a program leave, that is a given.

Why do coaches seek to keep those players from succeeding somewhere else?

Trhit

if you dont like the way I am driving the bus complain to the bus company.