Baseball.4.real

I hear these stories at nearly every ball park I've been to about parents coming after coaches, coming on the field to threaten them, usually complaining because Johnny isn't playing enough, playing the right position etc. What does your coach do when parents scream, yell and complain to him about their son's playing time? Does he play the kid or does he tell them to turn in his uniforms and go somehwere else if that's how they feel?

It is really a shame that this happens. I am aware of a situation where at least 4 players have had this kind of pressure put on them. 3 of the 4 are 5' 6" or shorter. Not that they would have a future in baseball, but guys this size definitely don't play college football very often. Some of the posts mention the boys choosing the sport that they prefer, but I think that frequently there is a degree of intimidation that scares the boys into "choosing" football. Of the 3 or 4 schools that I am aware of, it seems that the ones that have the best working relationships also seem to have more success, in both sports. Some football coaches tell the boys that after Christmas, they are baseball players. They also tell them to play summer baseball, just make sure they get their wieight lifting in. It just seems funny to me that these schools usually have pretty good teams in both sports.

I once saw a college third baseman boot a ground ball and pick it up only to throw it over the first baseman's head. A player in the dugout yelled, "nice pair of boots!" s

First you're ripping the umpires and now the JV coaches. What is your problem? Your son having a bad year or something? I guess before you graduated to driving the "big rig" your previous experience in truck driving was taking "Susie" for a spin in your Chevy Luv truck. Or was it an Isuzu Pup? Everybody has to start somewhere and most JV coaches, like high school umpires, are doing it because they love it and want to get some experience and maybe someday move up to a higher level. Unlike you, who are obviously on top of your game. You need to get a life!

From my observations, over several years of hanging around ball parks, it seems that umpiring is probably just below coaching as far as respect! Most parents can't fathom the possibility that there little Johnny could possibly be just average. Which means he is going to make some errors and strike out at least occassionally. So this means that either the coach messed up or the ump blew the call. It's funny how when the team is winning and Johnny is playing good, that you don't hear much from these parents. But, lose a couple games or let Johnny go hitless or make a couple of errors, then the complaints start flowing. If they can't get any support for their feeling that it is the coaching or the umps, field conditions usually start getting commented on. Anything other than Johnny! All of this is usually followed by mentioning the possibility of transferring to a school where Johnny's talent would be better suited. (Usually a smaller school or possibly even a private school) Where Johnny can get better coaching and play on a better field while playing against schools that almost gaurantee success and a winning record. I usually see some questionable calls at any game, little league, high school, college, even pros. But rarely does one call or one ump cost a team a game. There are some umps that are too old or even too young and inexperienced, but they are calling the same game for both teams. You just don't see "homers" calling in sports these days. I think that in most instances, the one factor that influences a kid and his future are the parents. They set the pattern that the kid will live his life by and when they set an example that it is always someone elses fault, the kid grows up thinking that and will most likely never be a success. Parents can't protect their kids from all of the adversity they will face in their life, but they can prepare them to overcome adversity if they will just encourage them and help them to fight through tough times including bad umpires calls! I know I got a little carried away, but it seems there are just so many parents these days that try to protect and hide their kids from experiencing life by always blaming somebody or something else when the child faces failure and hard times. Failure, frustration, disappointment and mistakes are all part of life. The kid has to learn to deal with these things in order to be a success in life or sports.