6/19/07

LIVID

Matthew had tryouts for the All-Stars team last night. There are about 24 kids that will be split into an A team and a B team.

I was going to post a huge rant about the coach that was in charge of the tryouts and what a jerk he is, but I decided against that. I will instead tell you that he has no business coaching kids this age.

I would like some input, though. I wanted to call the head of the league, but Mike thinks I shouldn't. I slept on it already and I don't feel any different. Mike thinks I am crazy for being this mad (incidentally, every other parent at the tryouts was equally mad) and he says that parents shouldn't be allowed at kids' practices.

I told him that that is unrealistic. Parents these days don't regularly just drop their 9 year-olds off at practice and leave. I also know that I would have been equally -perhaps even more- ticked had I not been there and found out what happened afterward.

This "coach" talked to me afterwards. I explained to him that what was going on wasn't communicated to the parents very well, or the kids for that matter, and he said that he didn't care about the parents.

FYI, "coach"... if you are coaching 9 and 10 year-olds you're going to have to deal with the fact that they come with parents and guardians and you have to learn how to speak with and deal with them, too. You have to communicate with the people who get the kids there, pay for them to participate in the league and provide you with your team.

This man may very well be a good coach, but he is in the wrong age group. He should be coaching high school kids at the very least.

He did not impress me with his "credentials" which included that his cousin is one of the coaches for the Indians. Give me a break! What did make an impression on me is the dejected faces I saw on the kids and other parents.

So tell me, have you ever dealt with a teacher/coach/ instructor who was just not in the right age group or field? What did you do about it?

7 comments:

Rebekah said...

first I want to say that being the wife of a coach (Chuck coached the boys the last two years of baseball) I have to say that parents are too emotionaly attached to their children and need to back off when the coach makes a decision.
But... I do totally agree that there are some people who should not couch young children.
Chuck does a great job with coaching the kids. He talks to them and encourages them. I have seen some coaches belittle their players right in front of everyone. Or they wont let certain kids play.
I don't agree with the 'A' and 'B' teams though. We had a very bad experience with that. We had so many kids that wanted to try out and the guy in charge didnt want to hurt anyones feelings. He created two teams. The 'A' team was all the best players. The 'B' team consisted of the less talented players. I felt very sorry for them. They lost every game. Their self-esteem was low and the parents were very angry. Which I dont blame them.
So which is worse? Cutting the kids from the team? Or letting them feel like constant losers?
I would agree that your coach does need to work on his people skills. His comment would have ticked me off too. Hope things get better.

Tim Appleton (Applehead) said...

That's a hard one...

humble servant said...

I wonder if the coach I remember as a kid is now coaching one town over? huh. I told off a coach my senior year (his little league team practiced on the field adjacent to where we practiced in that town just north of you). He was the father of some of my classmates and he coached LL the same time my Dad did (coincidentally, my dad thought he was a jerk too and never said anything to us). He was not the coach everyone loved years later - even though he had winning teams. The kids on my dad's teams always had more fun (even if they didn't win as much) and for many years afterward (actually, some of his LL kids came to his funeral).

Anyway, I think you are entitled to expect proper communication and for the kids to be treated like kids, not like professional athletes. Even on the All-Stars teams.

Best wishes.

Mandy said...

I was going to say "At least Matthew got picked for All stars." But then I thought that I would rather have Jarrett at home than to have to deal with that crap. I posted about our coach a while back and am getting ready to do it again! Stop on over.

Anonymous said...

I've never had to deal with a coach like that but if I had to, I would not let my child play. There has to be somewhere else you could enroll your child, right?

Michelle said...

Ufortunately, that is just the way team sports have become! Everyone is looking to for their child to become the next "THING". And the coaches end up with that same mentality. But I applaud you for being so involved. When I coached at that age level, and in lower age levels, I had MANY parents that dropped off and came back! Its always a struggle to get parental help and support at the practices. And yet it is the same parents that look to place blame if something doesnt go the way they expect!

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