Youth Sports

[baldy1]

Oct 8, 2019 14:29:01 GMT -6 allend said:

Oct 8, 2019 9:56:05 GMT -6 baldy1 said:

’Tis certainly true he could become a player. Just depends on how hard he works. We have a kid that is the tallest kid in our middle school by 4-5 inches. He played on my kid’s middle school basketball team last year and improved a little bit but was mostly painful to watch because he was so klutzy. His dad has been telling him he’s one of the top players in the county, mostly because of his size. He had a few decent games and has potential IF he worked hard. He didn’t work in the offseason, showed up for tryouts last week out of shape and guess who got cut? (It helped that another large kid HAD been working hard and showed up in shape.)

I was a y’all klutzy kid and I put in the work and ended up doing ok in athletic endeavors as a kid. We coulda won state if coach put me in.....(lol). My older kid is also a testament to what hard work can do as he isn’t a natural athlete like my younger one but he works his butt off and it’s looking like he could make varsity basketball in 10th grade in a 7A school with TONs of athletes. It can be done. (In some schools, younger kids playing varsity is the norm, but at our school, it’s not. Our coach won’t usually invite but one or maybe two 10th graders to join varsity annually as he has tons of older talent to choose from.)

This kid’s biggest disadvantage is his parents whispering in his ear that he’s the best instead of pushing him a little to work on his craft. If he wants it, it’s possible with work. Therefore, I believe in work. Hard work.....

Side note - if I’m coaching and a dad told his kid to ignore me, that kid would ride the bench the rest of the season.

Instead of sentencing the kid to the bench for his father’s transgressions,..you could maybe, you know.. coach him...just a thought. Or at least off to the side tell him - “coaches way or another way....I know which one gets playing time...that whole “team” thing”

Not gonna fight that fight. It’s a very effective way to get the parent’s attention. It’s usually much less toxic than having to approach a parent in the heat of battle and have them get pissy.

When I coached, the kid would sit and after a game, the parents approach and ask what’s going on. I tell them “I’m trying to coach your kid. If you want him to play on this team, be a parent and sit down. I’ll handle the coaching. You joined this team and aren’t a coach. No kid or parent is more important than team and if you think otherwise, find another team.” (It gives other parents ideas to do the same, and it confuses kids who are being told 2 different things. You wanna coach? Sign up and form your team. Otherwise, cheer him on from the stands and don’t interfere.) The kid may lose some playing time for a game or two but have no doubt, parents won’t sit on their hands long. When the answer is delivered calmly, 9 times out of 10, it gets the desired effect. That 1 in 10 doesn’t hang around.

We got this speech when my son played for Mark Wohlers 2 years ago. It would be silly for anybody to think they knew better than a former pro player, but he said this should apply whether he was a former pro or not. He laid down the law and it was a drama free season. Also had this same thing said to our parents on my kid’s current team. One of the coaches was a high school coach at Milton for a decade, and the other played for the Yankees organization for several years. These guys know what they’re doing and they tell the kids to do specific things that I might not be aware of for strategic purposes. By interjecting, I can impact what they’re trying to do.

Point is, this approach gets parents prepared for the high school level as high school coaches don’t even talk to the parents whatsoever after the intro meeting. If a parent coaches from the stands, that kid won’t see the light of day again. May as well start parents early on that path because if they wanna play high school, that’s where it ends up.

[warhog1]

My friend the Bald One is telling the truth. I have been around a lot of baseball in my 73, soon to be 74 years from Oklahoma & Texas all the way to Georgia. Have played, coached and officiated. To old, too slow, and with my health issues can't officiate anymore. I say this to clarify that I have first hand knowledge of what he says. As a matter of fact, the baseball program at Stanhope Elmore in Millbrook had gone down hill drastically mainly because the baseball staff was trying to be buddy-buddy with the kids and the parents.

The new Principal fired the whole crew, and being a disciplinarian and very competitive searched for a replacement. He found a young man with a very successful track record that had the respect of players and parents alike. He found him and hired him. When the parents met him at their Diamond Club meeting for the first time, he headed them off at the pass. He told them that he had been hired to return the program to the winning side of the ledger and laid out the rules. "I will play the best nine players that we have at any given time. Just because your son is a starter this week does not mean he will start every game. If he starts slacking in practice or thinks he's bigger than the team, he will find a place on my bench. If he thinks he can sic mommy or daddy on me and it will change his circumstance, he will sit on my bench. My job involves helping these young men become the best they can be on the baseball field, in the classroom, and in life. If he is not willing to put in the work to get back on the field that is on him. After the laying down of the rules. He had a short Q & A session and was asked, among other things if he would share his phone number. His answer was a flat no! He said that "I devote so much time to building a successful program, when I go home it is to my wife and children. I owe them that time!"

I assure you that some did not like it, but basically it is time to Suck it up, Buttercup!  He is a class act, and is loved and respected  by his former players. He has also coached AAU travel ball in South Alabama.

I have met him, talked with him along with a former coach and a retired Major League Hall of Fame Scout. He finally figured out that one of my grandsons is a pitcher on this team. The old scout told him that he didn't have to worry about me because I bleed baseball and would bench any member of my family who wasn't doing what they were supposed to do!

So I assure you that when you leave travel ball and go High School, you ain't in Kansas anymore, Dorothy!

[michael]

Just so I understand for the sake of thread integrity: is the purpose of this thread for Norm to complain to us about random kids he doesn't like who are in youth sports, or is it meant to be a more general thread about youth sports?

[Jet]

Oct 9, 2019 11:49:25 GMT -6 michael said:

Just so I understand for the sake of thread integrity: is the purpose of this thread for Norm to complain to us about badly'skids he doesn't like who are in youth sports, or is it meant to be a more general thread about badly and Norm?

FIFY

[ehyou]

Oct 9, 2019 11:49:25 GMT -6 michael said:

Just so I understand for the sake of thread integrity: is the purpose of this thread for Norm to complain to us about random kids he doesn't like who are in youth sports, or is it meant to be a more general thread about youth sports?

Yes

[Jet]

Maybe Dinger Lardbutt can finish this one off for the Braves.

[michael]

DingerLardbutt1 wouldn't be intimidated by the occasion one bit.

[API]

Oct 9, 2019 16:08:46 GMT -6 Jet said:

Maybe Dinger Lardbutt can finish this one off for the Braves.

The Braves are finished alright.

[baldy1]

My sophomore has a big basketball game tonight. He made the varsity team and is actually getting playing time.

We get to play a team tonight (river ridge) that has two players that are approx 6’ 8” (one of those players is a supposed top 10 player in the state) so they’ll need my boy on the court as he’s one of the tallest we have. Two weeks ago, we didn’t even know if my kid would make varsity, but Tuesday, the coach pulled him aside and said he’s counting on him to play a little more than half of each game so don’t be too aggressive early in these games. That’s a nod at the kid for the amount of work he’s put in over the last year to become a better player as he’s worked his butt off. His coach doesn’t give too many “attaboys” but he’s been doing more of that lately and it’s nice to see.

Baldy Jr played against them about 6 weeks ago in a pre-season game and did just fine. Baldy Jr scored 12 in that last game, and the ranked player scored 12 as well (although 6 of those points came while my kid was sitting on the bench) so it was a stalemate. We’ll see how it goes!

[allend]

Good to see he got his mom’s athletic ability and drive....

[baldy1]

Nov 14, 2019 9:38:05 GMT -6 baldy1 said:

My sophomore has a big basketball game tonight. He made the varsity team and is actually getting playing time.

We get to play a team tonight (river ridge) that has two players that are approx 6’ 8” (one of those players is a supposed top 10 player in the state) so they’ll need my boy on the court as he’s one of the tallest we have. Two weeks ago, we didn’t even know if my kid would make varsity, but Tuesday, the coach pulled him aside and said he’s counting on him to play a little more than half of each game so don’t be too aggressive early in these games. That’s a nod at the kid for the amount of work he’s put in over the last year to become a better player as he’s worked his butt off. His coach doesn’t give too many “attaboys” but he’s been doing more of that lately and it’s nice to see.

Baldy Jr played against them about 6 weeks ago in a pre-season game and did just fine. Baldy Jr scored 12 in that last game, and the ranked player scored 12 as well (although 6 of those points came while my kid was sitting on the bench) so it was a stalemate. We’ll see how it goes!

Won by 25. Baldy jr played a little less than half the game and did well. 2 blocks, 2 steals, 5 rebounds, took a charge and scored both shots that he took. (Looking like he won’t get a ton of designed scoring opportunities on this team as they have a bunch of good point guards that can hit the 3 with accuracy (so they want him on the block trying to clean up around the basket and play solid defense, which he obliged) and that’s how we survive/whoop bigger teams. Every team we play this season will be significantly bigger than our team. He’ll have some games where they script plays for the big man if they’re not hitting the 3’s, but last night was air raid from downtown and those kids were killing it from deep!

[petefrankenschmidt]

You’re all bad parents

[bubbs]

TGWOS

[baldy1]

Dec 8, 2019 20:12:57 GMT -6 petefrankenschmidt said:

You’re all bad parents

You misspelled “awesome”. You spelled it “b-a-d”.

[baldy1]

Baldy Jr is taking his lumps in basketball. Most nights he’s going against kids that are significantly bigger and stronger and he has had some successes and some failures. Going about as I expected. But.....

My kid is on a short leash as he’s young so he gets pulled multiple times a game if things aren’t perfect and they usually coach him and then put him back in. But tonight a big guy scored on him, and coach loses his mind. He humiliated my kid. Not only did he yell at him at the top of his lungs as it happened, as he walked off the court and followed him to the bench screaming, he walked away and came back for more. I’ve watched a lot of basketball and I have never seen a coach act like that to a kid. It was beyond over the top.

The intensity of the screaming has amplified in the last three games and it’s not equal (other kids getting a total pass if they screw up). I told my son (who is a quiet kid and internalizes stuff) that he can quit as that’s simply unacceptable. I’m all about coaching a kid and getting into him if he’s screwing up. Problem is, half the time he’s yelling at my kid, it’s because someone else didn’t do their job. He got yelled at Saturday because a kid didn’t rotate down in a trap and my kid was where he should be. (I know one of the assistant coaches who verified it wasn’t his fault). The coach told him to go back into the game and he accidentally kicked over a water bottle that his neighbor had put on the floor and he stopped to pick it up. The coach then screams “SIT BACK DOWN, YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE!!” And sat him the remainder of the game. I can’t say anything yet as my kid is dealing with it and has asked me to stay out of it for the moment but last night he almost broke my kid. Dude was on the verge of tears (which he doesn’t do), and I can’t blame him. I know the coach saw my reaction to it and the look on our faces and the friends around us and I could see he was embarrassed. Folks sending me texts saying it was wrong and such. It was a great comeback win but I couldn’t cheer. I just sat there, staring at him in disbelief when the SAME thing happened on no fewer than four (4) occasions (kids getting beat on a basket) and not one word to them. Nothing.

The coach sent an apology text last night saying “don’t give up on me” and such. (He is a very intense coach and is aware that he yells too much, because another coach mentioned it to him after he chased off a former starter with similar behavior). The coach met with my kid this morning, and my kid said a few things to him but I’m confident he didn’t say all that I wanted him to. I told my kid if it happens once more like this, we are pulling him. There’s a difference between teaching mental toughness and abuse.

The coach said he now recognizes that he needs to change his approach with my kid, so I’m hopeful he does as in a few short weeks, he’s turned a kid that played carefree ball into a skiddish kid afraid to make a mistake as he’s gonna get blasted.

So my question: Would you guys talk to the coach to draw a line in the sand despite your kid’s wishes or wait and see if it happens again? (I have an 8th grader that they have indicated will be one of two kids pulled up to JV early next year so I don’t want to mess that up, but trying not to be a Helicopter parent. My 8th trader said he is re-thinking about playing for the coach after what he saw last night.)