Parents - YIKES

Twotex: I think that the parents of younger players want to talk to parents of older players to get a feel for things. Basically to get a lay of the land so to speak. Many times they have certain gripes and are hopeful that the parents of older players have experienced the same issues.

If the parent of the older player agrees with their gripe/issue/concern then it validates their opinions.

Of course, by the time the parent of the older player has been around the program long enough, they realize that it doesn't matter what they think or the new parent thinks.

Actually, you're right! We prefer to watch the game and keep to ourselves. Maybe it's us But I just thought it was interesting.

JP24, Congrats to your son for the move up to varsity. I know it's a large milestone in this journey.

When our son made varsity to start his freshman year, we used to laugh that you could hear the crickets in the stands when he took the mound. The players and coaches were all excepting and supportive because they had practiced with and faced him through the fall and spring practices. The old saying "if the adults would just get out of the way, the boys knew which players belonged and should play" was appropriate. The parents took a while to accept that he belonged on a heavy upperclassman (1 freshman 1 sophmore) squad. They eventaully did.

Enjoy the ride. The seasons get faster and faster.

I have been at this (coaching hs ball) for 18 years now.  In that time I have run across the whole spectrum of parent. Some hard to deal with, but most have been great, and some never talked.  I like getting on here and reading parent perspectives. It helps to understand the how and why behind some parent behavior. 

I have a 6 yo son who is starting his baseball journey and seems to have the knack for this game (his older sister...not so much).  Anyway, as a parent, I sit down the foul line and don't say too much. Just encourage the kids as they come by.  I am sure some of the other parents don't understand why, but from reading this some of you that have been around the game awhile understand.  

My son also plays in the next town over. I guess if he played in our home town, I would have to go mix and mingle to do a little PR.

Preteen parents were brutal. While it gets better with age and experience, I found the only place parents were actually tame was showcase ball. Parents knew every kid was getting to college ball. I remember a lot of backstabbing in high school ball (and we won the conference twice and came in second). I often watched from down the foul line or (OMG!) with parents of opposing high school players I knew from travel ball. This ticked off some parents.

Note: Our high school was fed by two youth baseball programs that did not like each other or respect each other. A lot of people never grew up and got past it. Imagine how popular I was for having my son switch programs and help his team win districts twice.

Part of the problem with parents is travel ball. They become accustomed to their son being a star in his age group. Then the kid gets to high school which is 18U ball regardless of age or grade. I've seen plenty of freshman parents have hissy fits their son was assigned to the freshman or JV team. Then they attend varsity games and back stab varsity players.

I agree Fenway just stay away from the bitch sessions. You can 2nd guess all you want personally,coaches aren't perfect nor should they be. Just don't get involved with that crap.

LOL! Just don't give my son the take sign early in the count.Let him get himself out.

I spent 24 years as a cop in an urban environment.  I dealt with more than my fair share of emotionally disturbed people.  But, the largest group of them I've ever encountered is parents at travel ball games.  

As they say, you need a license to drive a car, but you don't need one to raise a kid.  Some people should have to get a license.  

For the most part, it doesn't matter what your kid does during those years.  I don't care how many homeruns your son hit on a field with 200' fences as a 13 year old with a -10 bat.  It doesn't translate to a 60/90 field with 300'+ fences and a wood or bbcor bat.  Make sure they get proper training, some competitive games and let them continue to learn so they are ready for HS baseball.