re: Proud dads, at which point did you realize you are not a coach?

I have a few comments here -

First, I will echo the remarks from others: In REC leagues, it's hard to find coaches. So if you have a 5 or 6 team league, you have at least 1 or 2 that really shouldn't be coaching. Those kids don't learn much except how to handle losing.

I am a pretty solid little league baseball coach. I've been doing it since 2007 and absolutely love it. Having said that, it's not easy.

I coach in rec leagues because #1 neither of my boys are good enough for tournament ball (my 12 yr old is but I'm not sure he has that commitment level), #2 I enjoy my weekends without being at a ballpark, and #3 the financial commitment.

Coaching is hard. It takes a lot of time and practice to build a good team. If 10 of your 12 kids get to practice, you're doing well.

The talent level in rec leagues continues to go down as more and more people flock to tournament ball. This is another reason why it's hard to find good coaches in rec leagues. Most of those dads have their kids on a tournament team.

Even if you put together a good draft, you have a bunch of inexperienced kids that spend more time on their Xbox than they do throwing outside with dad, or you get several that have never played before.

Another thing is - we live in world where people are quick to criticize. It's easier to complain about your coach than it is to volunteer to help or take a team on your own. It's much safer.


So if you're coaching, you better be winning. If you're not winning, it won't take long to get the peanut gallery stirred up.

I’d be way too hard on the kids.


Best coach my son ever had didn’t even play the sport when he was younger. He just read a ton and got certified. He continued to learn and tried to implement different training techniques...just much better than the ones who were superstar players and know-it-all. Those ex-players always had excuses....and they always used my son to facilitate their kid.

IDK, i guess I could do it...if I had some thick skinned kids. My boy’s U14 now, so they could handle it.

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The Spleen

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I coached soccer

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Figures.

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Because people like you complain but never volunteer.

It’s youth sports. Chill.

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Nailed it.

You see it more the younger they are. My son is only six years old and he is decent for his age. But coaches of that age group romanticize the fact that their kid is going to be the greatest of all time when in all reality he will focus more on fortnight in three years.

Absolutely, there is a 14-year-old dipping his boogers in dirt and having a snack, he needs a therapist for a parent not a baseball coach for a parent.

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And my kid always gets the shaft so it doesn't appear that I am favoring him over the others.

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Exactly. My kid always bats last at batting practice, always is first to rotate and always bats a couple spots lower than I think he could.

He gets cut reps so I can work with other kids because I know I can work with him at other times.

Last year I went to the cages with him an hour prior to our team practice to throw him some extra BP. A parent took exception to me having my kid out there early.

Yeah, All Stars brings out some terribleness in coaches. All it does is our league is insure that the All Star team becomes a travel team next year

One season, I had a kid that had moved in from Nebraska and came to registration on one of our Saturday sign up days. I could tell his dad was going to be an issue from how he was talking about how his son was all world RB. Granted, he looked athletic and passed the eye test. But I had guys on that team who were better. One eventually went to GT and started as RB one went to Clemson as a slot and started. The new kid got moved to safety and his dad started in on the “have you got a minute to talk” routine after practice. I talked to him and gave him my reasoning and assessment of where his son best helps THiS team and he actually told me that a friend of his was a coach at Nebraska and that he had talked to him about the situation and the offense I was running(I was Wing-T expert and taught Wing-T camp at the University of Delaware every summer) and the drills in practice, etc.. All that to come to the conclusion that I was making a mistake by not having his son practice at RB. I knew he was full of shite but I really felt bad for his son. He practiced hard and was a very good safety and might have been a slightly above average RB in our league but I had two studs and 2 other halfbacks that were better at the position than he was. That was obvious by the end of the first week in pads.... to all of the coaches. I don’t miss that part of coaching.