coaches

[SKIF]

I am writing this in regards to several topics that I have read on this board.

Let me start out by saying i don't have a daughter or son on a softball or baseball team, because i know that the normal response to someone making comments about coaches is that it must be an unhappy parent of a child with not enough playing time. I have read several posts about players quitting teams because of their coaches and people given their opinion that these kids are quitters. Well I would like to give my opinion on this subject. I have been around sports for a long time, and I grew up in a time that coaches were friends, and were there for there players. The players respected their coaches because the coaches earned that respect, not just because they expected it. I have seen many coaches that treat their players like dirt, on and off the field, and when these kids (they are kids) have had enough and they quit, people call them quiters. I know of about 10 high school kids personally that are no longer playing high school ball, because of the coaches. I think it would be an honor to get to coach in high school, because it should be something you love to do, not just because you get paid for it. It seems that some coaches coach for the money and some just for the power of it, not because they love the game or teaching kids to love the game. I think it is time for principles to stand up and listen to these kids instead of the coaches blaming it on the parents and kids. I read the story where Blackman baseball players stood together and fought for what they believe in, thank God someone listen to the voices of these kids. To the kids out there that has the type of coach that verbally abuses them and criticizes stand together as a team and make a difference, the parents complaining doesn't help, stand together as a team (it takes everyone), and maybe it will make a difference.

 

it is about time that someone listens to these kids !!!!!!!!!!

[std]

WARNING: NO NAMES OR BASHING ON THIS THREAD. POSTS CONTAINING SUCH CONTENT WILL BE DELETED.

[deadeye]

Good Post. Well thought out and articulated.

 

You make some good points. I have been a coach on and off for years. I can't imagine any coach not providing and supporting their players. It is, after all, the definition of a coach. However, I have seen what youa re talking about, and it is sad to watch.

 

That being said, I will say that any kid that quits a high school team over a coach is misguided. I quit my high school baseball team over comments made by one of the coaches and I have regreted it every since. I love the game. I should never have let the coach force me from the game I loved. I was stubborn, and a regular pain in the butt. I didn't take practice serious. I was above average, some would say even good. But I had no desire to get any better. I just liked playing. Yet, I allowed the coach to run me off. And, back in those days, there was no such thing as travel ball. When I quit the HS team, I quit baseball.

 

In high school, you are pretty much stuck with the coach you have. You can certainly do as you suggest, and would recommend it. However, quitting a team or quitting anything because you don't get along with the coach or disagree with his/her philosophy is just wrong. In coaching, there are a several ways to achieve the same results. You typically have to use the one that matches your personality, and sometimes those personalities clash with those of the parents and players.

 

In life, you are going to have to work with or even for someone you don't like. But you must work. So you figure out a way to make the situation as favorable as possible. What I see more often as not is players not willing to budge or work with a coach. They blame the coach for everything.

 

Previous posters have slammed the Lewis Co. coach. I don't know the coach, but have played and coached against the Dixie girls from Hohenwald. They were good at one time. Don't know about recently. From reading these posts, it appears the players are making many more errors this year than last, despite having nearly the same roster. How is it that a coach can have the effect of increasing errors? The only way that I know of is lack of or worse no practice. But that is never the complaint of the posters on here. It is always about something the coach said, or lack of playing time, or roster decisions that get the flack. If the players are making more errors, how is that automatically the coach's fault?

 

I agree with what you said. I have seen coaches show a complete disregard for the player, or worse yet, using the player to accomplish something other than playing, and it is pathetic to watch. However, I believe that is only part of the problem. If I had it to do over again, I would never have let the coach get to me like that. After all, he was the coach of the team... he was not the team. He never threw anybody out in any of our games, never hit a single pitch. The players are the game. A coach you don't get along with, even if the coach is awful, could never have so much influence to cause a player to forget the love of the game.

 

Sounds polyannaish, but I have regretted my decision for years. Missed out a lot in the process.

[panther037]

when i posted my comment about the lewis co. softball coach i was only sayin that it is clear that he dont want to be out there coaching, seeing this, the team must be demoralized.

 

just to get this cleared up im neither a player or a parent

[ggsos]

This is a reply to Deadeye. When you were in high school you were not as mature or self-confident as you are now. High school and middle school students are insecure about themselves and take to heart anything a coach says to them. Use to coaches were key people in kids lives. Coaches turned kids lives around by believing in them and not belittleing or humiliating them in front of their peers. I can't remember anything about my high school teachers but I can still tell you everything about my high school coach on down to favorite color. Principles need to address problems and not ignore them anytime kids are involved. Parents cannot always be pleased but every effort should be made not to lose a kid. Who will listen to a kid? No one will. Look how long Bobby Knight lasted. If that kid had decided to just finish the year out and stick it out for the sake of the team... Some times kids are under so much stress at home, at school, everywhere and just can't take anymore conflict. I am in the work force now and you don't always have to work for or with those kind of people. That is a standard coach or athletic directors statement.."You learn so much from sports about life. What will you do if you work with someone abusive or hard to deal with? Well, I fire them" so what I learned from sports was to get a good education,and own the business.

[muffin]

Great post,would have been better if std had stayed out of it.

[catchman]

SKIF i hear you. seems like ever time i try to be on the players side , i get jumped on. These coaches have a lot on them, trying to please all the parents, grandparents, players, umps. and o yeah they have a job also. It even seems like they have a click. So if your going to say things like this be ready to be jumped all over . In the middle of all this the players [ kids ] seem to get lost in the shuffle sometimes... Gives you the impression that its all about winning so the role modle and leadership, respect gets lost in there. The kids [ players ] are the ones playing the game, most coaches couldnt play fast pitch if they wanted to. There a lot of coaches that were very good players in some sport in their time, but this is girls fast pitch. These girls go out of their way to try to please their coaches and have to put up with things said to them , that a parent would fight a stranger if they would say these thing to their daughter.

AGAIN most of the coaches are doing a good job, just the few that we think are doing bad stick in our minds. So now i guess i will get jumped on again, Please jump on me and remember the girls are trying to please you,

[leigh14]

I have to agree with you deadeye.I think that Coach Serbin was blamed for things that weren't even his fault.Instead of the other 2 girls going to Coach Serbin to try and talk things out they went staright to the atheletic director and handed in their jersey.They didn't even explain why they were quiting to the coach.In fact I'm not even sure why Susan and Meagan quit.I know that Melissa wasn't playing because her grandfather was in the hospital and she went to visit him and missed a game, so she was punished for it and didn't get to start the next game and the girl that was playing while she was gone stepped up and out played Melissa.Melissa was hitting around .150, the girl that took her position was hitting around .320, I dunno about ya'll but I would let the girl thats batting .320 play.It doesn't matter what you miss a game for but you will get punished for it no matter what the reason is.Coach Serbin is a great coach.I don't know why the girls didn't like him and couldn't work out whatever the problem was.He not only is a great coach but is a great person.He goes out of his way to get to know his players on a personal level and I know he would do anthing for them to help them out in anyway.

[flngrvy]

The misguided notion that high school ball doesn't matter for college scholarships to me is a nonsensical argument which i have heard relative to the Mt. Juliet situation. These girls and there parents are convinced that travel team exposure will be sufficient to attract recruiters. Maybe I am wrong, but if you can't play for your high school team, what college coach wants you in their program? Have you ever seen a picture of a young lady signing a college scholarship without the high school coach somewhere in the photo? This whole deal was handled wrong and the parents should have stopped these girls from making a wrong life-changing decision. Poor, poor, judgement.

[leigh14]

I agree with you flngrvy.I think it will be hard for these girls to ever get a scholarship with the college coach knowing that they quit there high school softball team cause they couldn't get along with the coach.

[deadeye]

Good thread so far. std has kept me out of trouble before.... I am sure he is trying to do so now.

 

To Leigh14: I am not taking sides in this, and wasn't even applyng to any particular situation. I was talking about my situation and my regrets for allowing my coach to run me off.

 

To ggsos: You are correct about self-confidence. But the regret remains.

 

It is never a good situation to have to deal with someone you don't like, especially when they are in charge. However, even if you own your own business, it is just like Bob Dylan said, "you gotta serve somebody". There is no one who has so much power that they are not held accountable to someone, and that someone may be a a complete jerk.

 

To flngrvy: Not related to this discussion, but I happen to agree about travel ball. That is where the exposure is. So long as a kid has good grades, I don't think coaches care about HS performance. Travel ball is much more competative, and the college coaches know it. Even at the Worth tournament, as fine a HS tournament as it was, there were only a couple of local JC coaches there that I saw.

[iconu2]

Deadeye, Good post. I think that most coaches agree that you make the real name for yourself in summer ball. I don't believe this situation will really hurt these girls unless they are not college material, or they have caused problems before. This does'nt appear to be the case.Just a bad situation for all parties.