Parents as player agents?

[InsidePitch]

It occurred to me that those parents that wish to see their kid get more playing time or a more attractive position are acting much in the same way a player's agent would. Do we denigrate the agent for looking out for his players best interest? Should we allow parents some leeway in speaking to the coach about stats and spots in the lineup?

I'm not talking about whining to the coach that Suzy should bat higher but talking to the coach about improvement in average = moving up in the lineup. Innings played vs errors or Fielding percentage. What do you think?

 

[NorthMS]

It would be easier if you could talk to the parents as agents. Sadly, telling an unhappy parent that Suzy isn't playing because she can't field, hit, or run, is probably going to make the situation worse.

 

[softballphreak]

Coaches already have enough to occupy them without negotiating with 9 players and 9 pairs of parents. The decisions concerning lineup, playing time, etc., are the coaches' responsibility.

Discussing what your player needs to work on would be good. Helping your player work outside of practice is better.

 

[chinamigarden]

I have seen it happen. But far more often are the parents who sit back and let the coaches coach. I have had some parents not only promote their kid to me and the rest of the coaches, but I have also had parents who will knock down another kid in an attempt to make theirs look better. But the vast majority of parents I have dealt with cheer on all the girls and accept where and when you play their kid.

I think the best way to go is to let the coaches coach and the parents cheer. Last year my dds team (I was not coaching) the top 2 hitters (by most all statistical measures) were batting 5 and 6. The team was winning and had extended rallies, partly due to the fact that these 2 girls were producing in the middle of the order. They could have moved them up to 2 and 3, but why make a change when the team is producing runs? A team can't be managed strictly on statistics. Coaches have to take a lot into consideration, things that parent's don't always look at.

 

[CycloneSoftball22]

I have seen it happen. But far more often are the parents who sit back and let the coaches coach. I have had some parents not only promote their kid to me and the rest of the coaches, but I have also had parents who will knock down another kid in an attempt to make theirs look better. But the vast majority of parents I have dealt with cheer on all the girls and accept where and when you play their kid.

I think the best way to go is to let the coaches coach and the parents cheer. Last year my dds team (I was not coaching) the top 2 hitters (by most all statistical measures) were batting 5 and 6. The team was winning and had extended rallies, partly due to the fact that these 2 girls were producing in the middle of the order. They could have moved them up to 2 and 3, but why make a change when the team is producing runs? A team can't be managed strictly on statistics. Coaches have to take a lot into consideration, things that parent's don't always look at.

Absolutely. My top 3 AVERAGE hitters bat 5th , 3rd and 7th respectively. All three have different skill sets that function better FOR THE TEAM in certain areas of the lineup

 

[CoachKevin]

I have seen it happen. But far more often are the parents who sit back and let the coaches coach. I have had some parents not only promote their kid to me and the rest of the coaches, but I have also had parents who will knock down another kid in an attempt to make theirs look better. But the vast majority of parents I have dealt with cheer on all the girls and accept where and when you play their kid.

I think the best way to go is to let the coaches coach and the parents cheer. Last year my dds team (I was not coaching) the top 2 hitters (by most all statistical measures) were batting 5 and 6. The team was winning and had extended rallies, partly due to the fact that these 2 girls were producing in the middle of the order. They could have moved them up to 2 and 3, but why make a change when the team is producing runs? A team can't be managed strictly on statistics. Coaches have to take a lot into consideration, things that parent's don't always look at.

That is the perfect place for the top 2 hitters, you wouldn't want them at 2-3 as they wouldn't produce as many RBI's.

 

[CoogansBluff]

Coaches already have enough to occupy them without negotiating with 9 players and 9 pairs of parents. The decisions concerning lineup, playing time, etc., are the coaches' responsibility.

Discussing what your player needs to work on would be good. Helping your player work outside of practice is better.

I agree.

It might sound arrogant of me to say as a head coach, but my assistants give me all the help I need with lineups. I don't need parents' advice on that. My DD is on a school team, and I question things all the time, but only to myself. The job of coaching is the staff's, not mine.

Also, why all this talk about batting average? It's overrated. That's just one of many considerations that a good coach will use to make a lineup. My own DD was #4 in batting average but batted 7th and 8th because she had 0 extra base hits and almost never walked. My leadoff hitter was maybe 6th or 7th in batting average, but she was a small girl who walked a ton and ran the bases very well. There are so many things to consider beyond batting average. There's power, on-base percentage, ability to put the ball in play, ability to bunt.

But that's just my opinion. I get to decide on my team, but when I'm 'just a parent,' I trust the coach.

 

[shockcoach]

Also, why all this talk about batting average? It's overrated. That's just one of many considerations that a good coach will use to make a lineup.

Batting average is just one tool to use. Others to determine lineup, especially #1 and #2 are OBP. 3, 4 and 5 you go with AVG and SLUG% to help you determine where to put them. Some can hit the crap out of the ball, but not with RISP's, others can't hit unless there are RISP's. However, even the best thought out lineup may not work. Sometimes the good old "gut feeling" works wonders.

 

[CoogansBluff]

Batting average is just one tool to use. Others to determine lineup, especially #1 and #2 are OBP. 3, 4 and 5 you go with AVG and SLUG% to help you determine where to put them. Some can hit the crap out of the ball, but not with RISP's, others can't hit unless there are RISP's. However, even the best thought out lineup may not work. Sometimes the good old "gut feeling" works wonders.

That's pretty cool that you consider RISP. I assume that you use a computer program to keep your scorebook? That's a hard stat to track otherwise. I'd be curious to see how my players hit w/ RISP, but we didn't keep those stats.

 

[PA SB Dad]

There are a number of things that parents don't take into consideration when advocating for their kid. If their kid is a sub, two things have to happen - their DD has to much perform better, and the kid ahead of her has to go into a slump (if not a downright nosedive). And it's not based on one game, or even one weekend. The kid who is lower down in the order has to consistently out perform the kids ahead of her, and the kids ahead of her, in most cases, need to "lose" their positions by consistently being outplayed. If the two are more or less equal, the kid that is already established in the postion is likely to keep it. I look for ways to reward hard work and improvement, but parents don't always take into consideration that the subs may have incremental improvement that is matched by those ahead of her. "Equal improvement" does not get her more playing time, only substantial improvement beyond what those ahead of her have done are what get her more playing time. Parents don't always see that side of the equation.