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1) it’s not “normal”, it’s pathetic

2) it’s not my place to tell someone else how to parent

I use to play with a kid who had a dad like this. Kid could actually swing a little, as long as his dad was working. Always felt really bad for him, but his dad just couldn't leave him alone. 

I remember one practice the coach decided to play a pick-up style scrimmage composed of players and some parents that could play. Coach made sure this dad was there for it. He quietly struck out multiple times, but still didn't get the point.  Baseball is freaking hard. 

@ReluctantO'sFan posted:

I use to play with a kid who had a dad like this. Kid could actually swing a little, as long as his dad was working. Always felt really bad for him, but his dad just couldn't leave him alone.

I remember one practice the coach decided to play a pick-up style scrimmage composed of players and some parents that could play. Coach made sure this dad was there for it. He quietly struck out multiple times, but still didn't get the point.  Baseball is freaking hard.

I was the manager of the 12u all star team. A few parents wouldn’t shut up at practice. So we decided to have “hitters” while the pitchers basically threw bullpens. One agreed to stand in. One pitch and he was done. No other dads wanted any part of it. Funny how that works

Not our style at all. Only thing we ever got mad at was being a bad teammate and that got fixed real quick real young.

The only thing I truly pushed my kid on was his Grade Point Average.  There were very hard and firm minimum GPA’s he had to achieve every semester, or he was only going to have access to his phone for 10 minutes per day.

He thought I was way too strict .  But he knew I wasn’t kidding.

Now he’s been accepted to a high academic college on a very generous academic scholarship.

With Baseball, I helped him.  I made sure he had opportunities.  But it was up to him to push himself.

Yes, I got very mad a few times... when he wasn't acting like a decent human being while competing.  Never for anything having to do with performance.

For that, see 3and2's reply.

Never ever have I gotten mad.  Bummed is more like it, but I always keep the feelings to myself.  I’ve matured since then and that’s kind of changed too.  I don’t get as nervous now either.   I’m loving the moment.  

I do get angry when the game gets cancelled though

Oh and I’ve seen those crazy parents and my heart truly goes out for those kids

I've seen that the further along you get the more restrained the parents are.  I'm sure its not a coincidence.

  I don't get mad at my kid, but sometimes my husband does (though not publicly)  -- I think husband gets more upset because he is the one throwing 3 buckets of BP to kid most days, and driving kid to and from lessons. I keep telling husband that if he doesn't feel like throwing BP he shouldn't do it!!!! At school we talk about how teachers shouldn't work harder than the students they're teaching - I think it is same for parents. No point putting in more effort that your own kid.

Fan, yes an no.  I remember a couple years ago, had to beg son to go hitting.  Now he begs me, not that I don’t want to, but I’m tired!  He just spent 4.5 hours practicing, 2.5 with the team and 2 on his own.  Where did this come from?  Kid is my hero!

@Dadof3 posted:

Never ever have I gotten mad.  Bummed is more like it, but I always keep the feelings to myself.  I’ve matured since then and that’s kind of changed too.  I don’t get as nervous now either.   I’m loving the moment.  

I do get angry when the game gets cancelled though

That pretty much described my feelings whenever my son had a bad game.  I don't recall getting angry enough to do some of the stuff I've seen other parents do.  As my wife would often remind me early in our son's baseball career, "It's only a game. He probably feels worse than you do."

I took it out on the umpires. Cant do that anymore.

We had a dad in HS that made a fool of his son often,  got into Duke and a year later out for smoking weed.

I saw a dad in college go berserk on his son in the parking lot after a game.  Coach told the dad to leave and not come back

Similar vein with @PTWoodd, only game-related (or practice-related) anger I can ever remember was in relation to him being a bad teammate. He came to me after a practice around 5th grade complaining about the teammates being mean to him, and I told him that he is lucky he didn’t get beaned during BP, because I would have thrown a ball at him had I been a teammate. After the tears, I explained it and he learned from it.

I think maybe I got mad when oldest was young. I was wrong, you live you learn. Never got crazy.

I am on the opposite side now with my son being committed as a PO, but just DH'ing now in HS. Not a lot of stress and because the team itself is not very competitive, he's usually just swinging for the fences (again, unless in situations where that's not appropriate).

I don't think it's my place to tell anyone else how to parent, but if I hear it, I can and will passive aggressively troll the cr*p out you during the game.

@K9 posted:

I've seen that the further along you get the more restrained the parents are.  I'm sure its not a coincidence.

^this

I do feel bad for the kid as I see the grind and not trying come out as baseball gauche, but this is a game of failure and all the remarkable advances (maturity, skills, wisdom) in my kid (me too) were from those beautiful failures.  I do admit as a parent I get bothered by the repeat failure (not learning) and of course things out of my kid's control. For example, he was benched last night (he can only DH) as the roster is 28+ deep and I get the coach wanted to try different players. The team could not score runs and was down 4-2 late in the game. There was pinch opportunity with 2 out and runners on 1&2. The kid was getting ready to pinch hit then gets subbed because it was a LH pitcher and the coach wanted a L/R match up. Unfortunately that plan did not work and the next inning the team falls apart and gives up a lot of runs. On the ride home he was vented he was annoyed because what was proven at tryouts,  BP and past performances against LH pitching and their statements he was their team's best hitter, he was passed over an arcane thought process.  I told him all he can do is keep preparing and not dwell on the coach's process as that is a large and complex roster and maybe he did want to see what the other players had to offer. I tried a version of below on him and it probably work a little as soon as we got home he grabbed a quick bite and we hit for an hour. He felt better afterwards until he realized how many hours of school work was ahead of him.   

2022NYC what you said rings true to me as far as the repeat failures that learning does not seem to be taking place...for instance, taking first pitch hittable fastballs, getting rung up on close 3rd strikes....over and over....I dont mind failure if there is a lesson being learned and it's not occuring over and over..

I have seen too many parents acting out in ridiculous ways that I guess I determined at the very beginning to never be that guy. Also, I guess I kind of always wanted to act like my dad who never said anything during a game, and only ever was encouraging before and after. There are many levels and circumstances between little league and a having a draftable player, but I believe in general if you are not a coach in the dugout, you definitely should not be "coaching" during a game, and probably not in the car on the way to the game or on the way home either

I played in college and my son played in college. For every time I told him something like "you should try gripping your change up like this" or "you have to keep your eyes behind your glove when you backhand", I told him 10 times something like "I love you", "do your very best", or "I have so much fun watching you play"