Some College Coaches are Good Car Salemans...

[John Ball]

Any info...

anyone know how to delete profile?

 

[Hit by the Pitch]

Interesting post, good luck on your quest.

Sorry to hear your DD needed to quit.

 

[JAD]

A lot of softball players transfer, so you should look into options for your DD. To the best of my knowledge there are no NCAA requirements about sitting out a year with non-revenue sports.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Condolences to the OP's DD. Fortunately, not all coaches operate that way. But knowing that some do, it makes it all the more important to make sure that the coach and softball program are just one of many considerations that should be evaluated when chosing a college.

 

[marriard]

Seven players quit last year .... softball field.

I am going to suggest that you don't air your dirty laundry on a public forum even if you are not using your real name. People close to the situation will figure it out pretty quickly and if your daughter truly wants to transfer and play elsewhere this will not make it any easier for her.

Any new coach is going to likley want both sides of the story and whether you think it is fair or not "Player's parent will post on a public forum and name names" is something that will very likely be considered.

 

[sluggers]

I'm not being critical. Softball (or any sport) in college is a completely different world than TB or HS. It isn't for most people.

(1) The coach is paid to win games, not to improve your DD's self-esteem or to insure she has a good time.
(2) If the coach doesn't win, s/he gets fired.
(3) The coach has a mortgage, and s/he likes his/her house. So, s/he will run the team the way s/he sees fit, and everyone else is irrelevant.
(4) The coach will play the players s/he feels give her the best chance to win. S/he may be right or wrong, logical or illogical, crazy or sane--but it is her/his decision. S/he might play favorites.

College coaches are demanding and unreasonable. Some are politely demanding and unreasonable. Other are obnoxiously demanding and unreasonable.

Ultimately, it comes down to whether a player is willing to put up with the college coach in order to play the game.

I wish someone would have warned us and was honest.

We've discussed these issues several times in the "Playing College Softball" forum. Cathy Aradi discusses it in her book, "Preparing to Play College Softball".

 

[David Carter]

I'm not being critical. Softball (or any sport) in college is a completely different world than TB or HS. It isn't for most people.

(1) The coach is paid to win games, not to improve your DD's self-esteem or to insure she has a good time.
(2) If the coach doesn't win, s/he gets fired.
(3) The coach has a mortgage, and s/he likes his/her house. So, s/he will run the team the way s/he sees fit, and everyone else is irrelevant.
(4) The coach will play the players s/he feels give her the best chance to win. S/he may be right or wrong, logical or illogical, crazy or sane--but it is her/his decision. S/he might play favorites.

College coaches are demanding and unreasonable. Some are politely demanding and unreasonable. Other are obnoxiously demanding and unreasonable.

Ultimately, it comes down to whether a player is willing to put up with the college coach in order to play the game.



We've discussed these issues several times in the "Playing College Softball" forum. Cathy Aradi discusses it in her book, "Preparing to Play College Softball".

College is a completely different world and the players are not going to dictate anything as long as nothing illegal is going on. The coach is held responsible for their team and as slugger said if after whatever time period the AD has in their mind they have not performed they are fired end of story, if AD fired coaches because of parents and players complaining they would never hold on to any coach for more than a season. If coaches don't perform after several chances at different places they find themselves unable to get another coaching job and their coaching career is over.

I remember a classmate of mine Chris Pryor was one of the best running backs in Texas High School history he went to college and was not used to being treated like everyone else coach said "my way or the highway" Chris chose the highway and was never heard from again, granted there were other issues but he could have swallowed his pride and worked hard and at the very worst got a four year degree for free and remeber this kid was the best running back in Texas during the days of "Friday Night Lights fame"

Do kids sometimes have to suffer because of bad or incompetent coaches...yes they do. Also this is a free country and it is always your right to simply leave and try and go somewhere else, it is also your right to "warn" other that this situation is not all it is cracked up to be and parent and players can use that as one data point when making their decision.

Thanks for letting people know about what is going on and Good Luck to your daughter hopefully she gets her love back for the game and lands on her feet.

 

[Sparky Guy]

John,

A caveat. Just because a team has a REALLY bad record does not mean the coach is a bully. They can be horrible recruiters too. The school my daughter played for has not made the conference tournament since she graduated. While she was there they made it every year and was in the championship game twice.

The W/L records have been similar to what your DD's old team is since then. The coach keeps playing kids with 20+ errors on the season. She's not abusive. She gets stuck in one mindset and doesn't change.

But like you said. Talk to players away from the coach.

 

[CoogansBluff]

... she would play a not so talent player over the talented one if they where a favorite. ...

What made a player a favorite?

 

[GOINGDEEP]

I'm not being critical. Softball (or any sport) in college is a completely different world than TB or HS. It isn't for most people.

(1) The coach is paid to win games, not to improve your DD's self-esteem or to insure she has a good time.
(2) If the coach doesn't win, s/he gets fired.
(3) The coach has a mortgage, and s/he likes his/her house. So, s/he will run the team the way s/he sees fit, and everyone else is irrelevant.
(4) The coach will play the players s/he feels give her the best chance to win. S/he may be right or wrong, logical or illogical, crazy or sane--but it is her/his decision. S/he might play favorites.

College coaches are demanding and unreasonable. Some are politely demanding and unreasonable. Other are obnoxiously demanding and unreasonable.

Ultimately, it comes down to whether a player is willing to put up with the college coach in order to play the game.



We've discussed these issues several times in the "Playing College Softball" forum. Cathy Aradi discusses it in her book, "Preparing to Play College Softball".

Good stuff.

( different world )
I admit I missed the OP story. What I see lots of times is the standout stud player from TB or HS sometimes brings an "attitude" to college. Most are pampered and treated like a god/goddess being the BIG fish in a little pond, before college. When you get to college you will find out real quick there are 20+ gals/guys on that team JUST AS GOOD OR BETTER, you'll find 100's of players in your conference JUST AS GOOD OR BETTER. Some players can't embrace that and fight it to the bitter end.

Like Sluggers said, thats the coaches call........that's his BBQ. Just like buying that car and paying a note for four years, you always want to do a test drive ( maybe a few ) before commiting or signing to a school. Go watch some games, go watch a few practices, see how he/she interacts with the players, ask the players how they feel about the program and coach. A great coach ( I'm not saying a winning coach ) can make the college experience a dream, a bad one can be years of hell.