What to do when coach starts playing "Daddy Ball"

Funny this thread was brought up again. Thought you might be interested in finding out how things panned out. We stayed with the team through spring and when fall started the younger players started another team and we picked up some new players. We had a fantastic season, even finishing first in the state. Unfortunately the problems were still there. Dads were still coaching and playing their sons even when they struggled greatly. The catcher could not throw much past the pitcher's mound, and our lead off batter hit .230, the lowest on the team.

As it turned out, we left this team at the conclusion of our last tournament, going to another program without Dads as the coaches. Every other player (except the coaches sons) then decided to leave and start over thinking they'd rather start over with coaches that didn't play "daddy ball".

I guess the moral of this story was that the kids really did want what was best for team. Even the winning record, being ranked, etc.. wasn't as important as being fair.

It is a bittersweet time. I know even though we are now not with any of the same players, my son is very excited about his new team. He has learned so much and is going to grow so much as a ballplayer and person.

bbfam - And a great time and many, MANY winding turns ahead for him.

"Have fun with it"....thats what Augie Garrido once told me and it was GREAT advice!

Merry Christmas!

BBFAM ,

Glad you stuck with it. I am sure you and your son took some valuable lessons throughout the year.

I live in a very small town and we had to deal with daddy ball all the time. The worst year my son had was his first year of majors. At 6 yrs. old my son lost his dad to cancer. Playing baseball without a dad is hard enough but when you get a coach that plays daddy ball it made it that much harder. This coach made rude degrading comments to my son. He would only play him the required 2 innings per game. He wanted to quit the team. I did let him quit on the last game of the season so he could be redrafted the next year. But this coach really screwed my son up, my son was starting to doubt his talents. The following year my son got a wonderful coach, that took time with him and really taught him the game. For the first time that year my son made allstars. He pitched his team through district and went on to sections. He pitched agaisnts a team from a town about 35 miles from our home, and this coach ask him to play on his travelball team. Letting my son play on this team would be the best thing I could have done for him. His coach taught him so much about pitching and more then anything he believed in my son. I also think that getting him out of the town we lived in was really a good decision. He played with this travel team for 3 years and did very well. He is now a freshman and we are back in our hometown. I was a little concerned with how high school ball would go. He went to tryouts for the JV team last week and everything went well. Got a call from the coach and they are pulling him up to varsity squad.
so all ends well. But as for the daddy ball coach, my son made him eat his words.

Another side of "daddy ball" ;
Son played on a tournament team w/ no Dads for coaches. Final inning, tying run on 2nd, 1 out, top of the order coming up. Coach marches my boy out to the mound for the save.
Had I been the coach of this team there is no way I would have given him this opportunity even if I thought he was right for the spot. Many times the coaches more talented kids are held back in the name of being fair.
BTW, he came thru with the save.