Thank you all for the outpouring of advice! You all never cease to amaze! I still love the stories. Our first practice is Sunday. So I haven't been through the full thing yet. But I am very excited! We have coaches that are excellent with these kids! Anyways, some asked what the parents are doing. It is only one childs parents. We play in a league that has a high school softball coach that is coaching a 6u team. This player was on her team last year and as you might imagine they were undefeated. However, for whatever reason this player is not on her team this year. And the parents are irate! They sat at the far back of the room and were raising their voice obnoxiously trying to get me to cave to their wishes. I think they were trying to get me to show my weakness in front of everyone. Anyway, shortly after I would catch the mother saying snide remarks and giving dirty looks. I am flat out not going to put up with it. I am afraid of showing my rear to everyone because I don't want to scare any away from playing next year. But these people are out of line. Maybe they should consider playing up or coaching themselves. They even said they would have pulled their child if the fee was refundable. Its going to be a great season regardless. I don't take crap and I know my asst. coaches won't either.
Parent problem..... already?
- Thread starter swayman2202
- Start date
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JJsqueeze
Dad, Husband....legend
They have every reason to be upset, not being on a particular team at 6u will have disastrous effects on her chances of playing top 25 D1 in college. Anyone care to guess why the girl wasn't taken on the team this year.....scooby doo would say rarents...
sounds like you are in good shape swayman as long as you don't get sucked in.
sounds like you are in good shape swayman as long as you don't get sucked in.
If you tell parents as a rule you dont want 12 kids eating during a 1 hr game and to make sure they are well fed before and after and that parent basically tells you " I dont give a f... what your rule is Im feeding my kid when I please" you bet Im shaming them in public.....
and Im not shaming the kid but rather the parent...
and Im not talking a bite of a granola Im talking a full sandwich, drink, fries, and apple pie to top it off...
I dont buy into the "poor kid will starve unless I shove their face with crap food at every moment" camp and it has nothing to do with age group
In this situation (as I understand it from this thread), I would have a private conversation with the parents along these lines...
"It is clear that you are unhappy with being a part of this team. More than anything, I want your daughter to be in a place where she can have fun and improve her skills. However, I'm concerned with the vocal displeasure you displayed, and that it may affect the ability for other parents to enjoy their daughter's time on the field. I invite you to contact the league (president, player agent, or whoever makes player decisions) to see about the possibility of being placed with a team that better fits your needs. If they are unable to place you with another team, I ask you please make the best of being on this team, and hopefully she will be selected for a team more to your liking next season."
"It is clear that you are unhappy with being a part of this team. More than anything, I want your daughter to be in a place where she can have fun and improve her skills. However, I'm concerned with the vocal displeasure you displayed, and that it may affect the ability for other parents to enjoy their daughter's time on the field. I invite you to contact the league (president, player agent, or whoever makes player decisions) to see about the possibility of being placed with a team that better fits your needs. If they are unable to place you with another team, I ask you please make the best of being on this team, and hopefully she will be selected for a team more to your liking next season."
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One reason I do not like being the head coach....I am not very diplomatic and I will not put up with a lot of crap. If some parents were acting up like that in my parent meeting I would stop the meeting, take out my cell phone and call the league director and tell him/her that there were some parents who would like to request a transfer to another team and then I would hand them the phone. I do not care their DD is the best player on my team, I will not tolerate a cancer in the dugout or in the stands.
I would also like to point out that I have ZERO respect for a coach who would intentionally stack a REC team, especially at 6U!!! How much benefit does anyone get when the best 4 or 5 kids in the league are all on one team?
I think I will handle it in steps. Heck they may be completely different at practice. I doubt it, but I will keep my hopes up. I think I will start with a private conversation, followed by a public "taking care of business" meeting (basically clearing the air with all the parents at once) if that doesn't work I will talk to the league director. Hopefully they will get the message sooner rather than later. I tend to try to avoid confrontation but I have 11 other families to look out for too.
So take up a collection and call their bluff.
Would have been CLASSIC to pull out you wallet and hand them a refund and tell them to GTFO! You would have instantly become a coaching legend in your area...."Don't mess with Swayman2202, he doesn't take sh@t from no one"!
I would arrange a workout with the best team in the next higher age group. Then attend with mom and dad along and see how the little stud does. It is a win-win for you. If she does really well she can play up and you lose a problem. If not then it should put her skills into perspective for mom and dad.
