Little League and parent arrogance

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve coached baseball for years both rec and travel and adapted practices for each as well as age. Biggest challenge by far has been getting volunteer help - not so much travel because folks are invested. But in rec parents were always quick to be all over their kid for swing mechanics etc but couldn’t bother to volunteer for station help. Or when they saw I was solo with 12 8-year-olds. “I don’t know baseball that well” - did you see me lobbing balls underhand? did you see me putting balls on tee for tee work? It’s that simple and doesn’t take PhD in baseball to help…

This, although I will note that everyone weighing in on Vienna Little League, which OP specifically referenced, made it sound like people were tripping over themselves to coach. Honestly, that would be awesome. Typically the only way to get parents to help is to have a bad enough coach that parents give up and step in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Listen, no one is saying kids shouldn’t practice on their own or with their parents on their own time. Obviously they should. But there is one “coach” on this thread who thinks it’s ridiculous that parents expect their kid to learn ANY skills during their Little League practice sessions. Which is obviously a stupid position.

If he doesn’t want to coach any kids but his own, he should simply bow out. Lots of Dads are eager to volunteer, and he is not doing these kids any favors by refusing to even TRY to help them get better at baseball. If he wants to get paid for his incredible coaching program, he shouldn’t VOLUNTEER to coach and then not do it.

My DH volunteers as a LL coach and he has invested his own time and money in buying equipment to create baseball-related games to work on skills during practices. He enjoys seeing the kids improve and gain confidence. He can watch a kid and see what their strengths/weaknesses are and gives feedback to parents. Hopefully the parents are working with them at home, but not every household has a parent available to work with their kid outside of practice. I’d be disappointed if my DH just wrote a kid off for something that may be no fault of their own.

I also know he’s big on sportsmanship and good attitude even while losing. There is so much more to learn from LL than just baseball.

Your husband sounds great. I appreciate the volunteer coaches who are just trying their best. I understand it’s a lot of time and sometimes money, and it’s great that so many people are willing to give back, even if they’re not that great at coaching or even baseball. (And obviously it’s fantastic when they are great, as it sounds like your DH is.)

I take major issue with the guy in this thread who has repeatedly said that if a parent isn’t practicing skills for 6-10 hours per week with their second grader then it’s because they are lazy parents who hate spending time with their kids. And that as a Little League coach his only responsibility is setting lineups and strategies. That is a volunteer who will end up doing more harm than good for some kids who might have learned to love baseball with a coach who actually cares.

Dude is a jackhole. I coached rec for a long time and then my son switched to a club team.

The club coach does often say "we will not be hitting at practice this week; you are expected to find time to hit on your own." But this is 13-14 year old boys on a competitive team.

8u rec is about groups of 3 rotating between 4-5 stations. It's not hard to do.

- Fly balls
- Ground Balls
- Tee
- Soft Toss
- Live pitching

Each group get 10 minutes at each station (or 5-6 and have them go through the rotation twice)

Then finish with something fun like sharks and minnows.

This isn't rocket science.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve coached baseball for years both rec and travel and adapted practices for each as well as age. Biggest challenge by far has been getting volunteer help - not so much travel because folks are invested. But in rec parents were always quick to be all over their kid for swing mechanics etc but couldn’t bother to volunteer for station help. Or when they saw I was solo with 12 8-year-olds. “I don’t know baseball that well” - did you see me lobbing balls underhand? did you see me putting balls on tee for tee work? It’s that simple and doesn’t take PhD in baseball to help…

This, although I will note that everyone weighing in on Vienna Little League, which OP specifically referenced, made it sound like people were tripping over themselves to coach. Honestly, that would be awesome. Typically the only way to get parents to help is to have a bad enough coach that parents give up and step in.

Yup, when I coached, I would just walk up to the folks sitting in the chair and ask "Do you mind lending a hand?"

If they said "I don't know baseball", they'd get a simple job like, place the ball on the tee and make sure the other kids don't get too close to the kid swinging

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Listen, no one is saying kids shouldn’t practice on their own or with their parents on their own time. Obviously they should. But there is one “coach” on this thread who thinks it’s ridiculous that parents expect their kid to learn ANY skills during their Little League practice sessions. Which is obviously a stupid position.

If he doesn’t want to coach any kids but his own, he should simply bow out. Lots of Dads are eager to volunteer, and he is not doing these kids any favors by refusing to even TRY to help them get better at baseball. If he wants to get paid for his incredible coaching program, he shouldn’t VOLUNTEER to coach and then not do it.

My DH volunteers as a LL coach and he has invested his own time and money in buying equipment to create baseball-related games to work on skills during practices. He enjoys seeing the kids improve and gain confidence. He can watch a kid and see what their strengths/weaknesses are and gives feedback to parents. Hopefully the parents are working with them at home, but not every household has a parent available to work with their kid outside of practice. I’d be disappointed if my DH just wrote a kid off for something that may be no fault of their own.

I also know he’s big on sportsmanship and good attitude even while losing. There is so much more to learn from LL than just baseball.

Your husband sounds great. I appreciate the volunteer coaches who are just trying their best. I understand it’s a lot of time and sometimes money, and it’s great that so many people are willing to give back, even if they’re not that great at coaching or even baseball. (And obviously it’s fantastic when they are great, as it sounds like your DH is.)

I take major issue with the guy in this thread who has repeatedly said that if a parent isn’t practicing skills for 6-10 hours per week with their second grader then it’s because they are lazy parents who hate spending time with their kids. And that as a Little League coach his only responsibility is setting lineups and strategies. That is a volunteer who will end up doing more harm than good for some kids who might have learned to love baseball with a coach who actually cares.

Dude is a jackhole. I coached rec for a long time and then my son switched to a club team.

The club coach does often say "we will not be hitting at practice this week; you are expected to find time to hit on your own." But this is 13-14 year old boys on a competitive team.

8u rec is about groups of 3 rotating between 4-5 stations. It's not hard to do.

- Fly balls
- Ground Balls
- Tee
- Soft Toss
- Live pitching

Each group get 10 minutes at each station (or 5-6 and have them go through the rotation twice)

Then finish with something fun like sharks and minnows.

This isn't rocket science.

What about fielding situations?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve coached baseball for years both rec and travel and adapted practices for each as well as age. Biggest challenge by far has been getting volunteer help - not so much travel because folks are invested. But in rec parents were always quick to be all over their kid for swing mechanics etc but couldn’t bother to volunteer for station help. Or when they saw I was solo with 12 8-year-olds. “I don’t know baseball that well” - did you see me lobbing balls underhand? did you see me putting balls on tee for tee work? It’s that simple and doesn’t take PhD in baseball to help…

This, although I will note that everyone weighing in on Vienna Little League, which OP specifically referenced, made it sound like people were tripping over themselves to coach. Honestly, that would be awesome. Typically the only way to get parents to help is to have a bad enough coach that parents give up and step in.

Yup, when I coached, I would just walk up to the folks sitting in the chair and ask "Do you mind lending a hand?"

If they said "I don't know baseball", they'd get a simple job like, place the ball on the tee and make sure the other kids don't get too close to the kid swinging

I coached for many years…I never had anyone sitting around watching practice to even ask. There were parents that agreed to help formally with the league and parents that opened the car door and were gone within 10 seconds. Maybe you get a small group showing up near the very end of practice for pick up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve coached baseball for years both rec and travel and adapted practices for each as well as age. Biggest challenge by far has been getting volunteer help - not so much travel because folks are invested. But in rec parents were always quick to be all over their kid for swing mechanics etc but couldn’t bother to volunteer for station help. Or when they saw I was solo with 12 8-year-olds. “I don’t know baseball that well” - did you see me lobbing balls underhand? did you see me putting balls on tee for tee work? It’s that simple and doesn’t take PhD in baseball to help…

This, although I will note that everyone weighing in on Vienna Little League, which OP specifically referenced, made it sound like people were tripping over themselves to coach. Honestly, that would be awesome. Typically the only way to get parents to help is to have a bad enough coach that parents give up and step in.

Yup, when I coached, I would just walk up to the folks sitting in the chair and ask "Do you mind lending a hand?"

If they said "I don't know baseball", they'd get a simple job like, place the ball on the tee and make sure the other kids don't get too close to the kid swinging

I coached for many years…I never had anyone sitting around watching practice to even ask. There were parents that agreed to help formally with the league and parents that opened the car door and were gone within 10 seconds. Maybe you get a small group showing up near the very end of practice for pick up.

Really? You never had a bunch of parents bring camping chairs and set up off in the distance to chat?

It literally has happened at every youth team I've been a part of (under 10, at least). For soccer, football, baseball, softball

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Listen, no one is saying kids shouldn’t practice on their own or with their parents on their own time. Obviously they should. But there is one “coach” on this thread who thinks it’s ridiculous that parents expect their kid to learn ANY skills during their Little League practice sessions. Which is obviously a stupid position.

If he doesn’t want to coach any kids but his own, he should simply bow out. Lots of Dads are eager to volunteer, and he is not doing these kids any favors by refusing to even TRY to help them get better at baseball. If he wants to get paid for his incredible coaching program, he shouldn’t VOLUNTEER to coach and then not do it.

My DH volunteers as a LL coach and he has invested his own time and money in buying equipment to create baseball-related games to work on skills during practices. He enjoys seeing the kids improve and gain confidence. He can watch a kid and see what their strengths/weaknesses are and gives feedback to parents. Hopefully the parents are working with them at home, but not every household has a parent available to work with their kid outside of practice. I’d be disappointed if my DH just wrote a kid off for something that may be no fault of their own.

I also know he’s big on sportsmanship and good attitude even while losing. There is so much more to learn from LL than just baseball.

Your husband sounds great. I appreciate the volunteer coaches who are just trying their best. I understand it’s a lot of time and sometimes money, and it’s great that so many people are willing to give back, even if they’re not that great at coaching or even baseball. (And obviously it’s fantastic when they are great, as it sounds like your DH is.)

I take major issue with the guy in this thread who has repeatedly said that if a parent isn’t practicing skills for 6-10 hours per week with their second grader then it’s because they are lazy parents who hate spending time with their kids. And that as a Little League coach his only responsibility is setting lineups and strategies. That is a volunteer who will end up doing more harm than good for some kids who might have learned to love baseball with a coach who actually cares.

Dude is a jackhole. I coached rec for a long time and then my son switched to a club team.

The club coach does often say "we will not be hitting at practice this week; you are expected to find time to hit on your own." But this is 13-14 year old boys on a competitive team.

8u rec is about groups of 3 rotating between 4-5 stations. It's not hard to do.

- Fly balls
- Ground Balls
- Tee
- Soft Toss
- Live pitching

Each group get 10 minutes at each station (or 5-6 and have them go through the rotation twice)

Then finish with something fun like sharks and minnows.

This isn't rocket science.

What about fielding situations?

Yup, that's a good question. Situations wasn't something I would do at every practice. Honestly, at the under 10 & under level, it would usually be explaining mid-game where to go with the ball. And often times, it was either "get the lead runner" (for example, telling 3rd to just step on the bag if there is a force) or just telling the boys to get the out at first.

As they get older, 12u & up, you dedicate more time in practice to that. But that comes at a cost, which is often why certain things (like hitting) need to be done on your own time. Bc an entire practice can be dedicated on what to do for each position on things as simple as a ball in the gap with runners on 1st and 2nd, or a bunt with a runner on 3rd but no force, etc. You can easily burn through 60 minutes making sure each position is doing the right thing, bc you have to go slowly.

But at the younger levels, its: keep it moving, keep it fun, and focus on skills

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve coached baseball for years both rec and travel and adapted practices for each as well as age. Biggest challenge by far has been getting volunteer help - not so much travel because folks are invested. But in rec parents were always quick to be all over their kid for swing mechanics etc but couldn’t bother to volunteer for station help. Or when they saw I was solo with 12 8-year-olds. “I don’t know baseball that well” - did you see me lobbing balls underhand? did you see me putting balls on tee for tee work? It’s that simple and doesn’t take PhD in baseball to help…

This, although I will note that everyone weighing in on Vienna Little League, which OP specifically referenced, made it sound like people were tripping over themselves to coach. Honestly, that would be awesome. Typically the only way to get parents to help is to have a bad enough coach that parents give up and step in.

Yup, when I coached, I would just walk up to the folks sitting in the chair and ask "Do you mind lending a hand?"

If they said "I don't know baseball", they'd get a simple job like, place the ball on the tee and make sure the other kids don't get too close to the kid swinging

I coached for many years…I never had anyone sitting around watching practice to even ask. There were parents that agreed to help formally with the league and parents that opened the car door and were gone within 10 seconds. Maybe you get a small group showing up near the very end of practice for pick up.

Really? You never had a bunch of parents bring camping chairs and set up off in the distance to chat?

It literally has happened at every youth team I've been a part of (under 10, at least). For soccer, football, baseball, softball

DP. Wish you were on some of my kids' softball teams. We are almost always at the sidelines unless something atypical has happened, but definitely deal with more of the gone within 10 seconds parents some seasons. Some parents are so hands-off they stand across the entire facility just waiting for their kids to walk 50 yards so they don't have to come near practice. Some 12U teams my kids have been on have had more parents than 8U teams they've been on. It's so weird to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve coached baseball for years both rec and travel and adapted practices for each as well as age. Biggest challenge by far has been getting volunteer help - not so much travel because folks are invested. But in rec parents were always quick to be all over their kid for swing mechanics etc but couldn’t bother to volunteer for station help. Or when they saw I was solo with 12 8-year-olds. “I don’t know baseball that well” - did you see me lobbing balls underhand? did you see me putting balls on tee for tee work? It’s that simple and doesn’t take PhD in baseball to help…

This, although I will note that everyone weighing in on Vienna Little League, which OP specifically referenced, made it sound like people were tripping over themselves to coach. Honestly, that would be awesome. Typically the only way to get parents to help is to have a bad enough coach that parents give up and step in.

Yup, when I coached, I would just walk up to the folks sitting in the chair and ask "Do you mind lending a hand?"

If they said "I don't know baseball", they'd get a simple job like, place the ball on the tee and make sure the other kids don't get too close to the kid swinging

I coached for many years…I never had anyone sitting around watching practice to even ask. There were parents that agreed to help formally with the league and parents that opened the car door and were gone within 10 seconds. Maybe you get a small group showing up near the very end of practice for pick up.

Really? You never had a bunch of parents bring camping chairs and set up off in the distance to chat?

It literally has happened at every youth team I've been a part of (under 10, at least). For soccer, football, baseball, softball

Same. And I was often in those seats watching my younger child. I was often doing the coach a favor as my youngest would play with his youngest so he could focus on coaching and I watched the kids. I wasn't putting a ball on the tee to move practice along though. And I sometimes was the drop off parent because I had an older child who needed to get somewhere. I didn't get a say in the practice times and they weren't always convenient for dropping everything to help out formally or informally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve coached baseball for years both rec and travel and adapted practices for each as well as age. Biggest challenge by far has been getting volunteer help - not so much travel because folks are invested. But in rec parents were always quick to be all over their kid for swing mechanics etc but couldn’t bother to volunteer for station help. Or when they saw I was solo with 12 8-year-olds. “I don’t know baseball that well” - did you see me lobbing balls underhand? did you see me putting balls on tee for tee work? It’s that simple and doesn’t take PhD in baseball to help…

This, although I will note that everyone weighing in on Vienna Little League, which OP specifically referenced, made it sound like people were tripping over themselves to coach. Honestly, that would be awesome. Typically the only way to get parents to help is to have a bad enough coach that parents give up and step in.

Yup, when I coached, I would just walk up to the folks sitting in the chair and ask "Do you mind lending a hand?"

If they said "I don't know baseball", they'd get a simple job like, place the ball on the tee and make sure the other kids don't get too close to the kid swinging

I coached for many years…I never had anyone sitting around watching practice to even ask. There were parents that agreed to help formally with the league and parents that opened the car door and were gone within 10 seconds. Maybe you get a small group showing up near the very end of practice for pick up.

Really? You never had a bunch of parents bring camping chairs and set up off in the distance to chat?

It literally has happened at every youth team I've been a part of (under 10, at least). For soccer, football, baseball, softball

Never…maybe this is urban LL vs suburban LL. Parents may live just around the corner so it’s a 2 minute drive vs 15-30 minutes each way (so a parent may decide it’s easier to just stay vs driving home just to have to leave to pick up the kid soon after).

By 10 years old you have kids that were reasonably close walking to practice together with no parents.

I think it’s weird for parents to just hang around a practice and do nothing. If I saw that I would also make them help in some way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve coached baseball for years both rec and travel and adapted practices for each as well as age. Biggest challenge by far has been getting volunteer help - not so much travel because folks are invested. But in rec parents were always quick to be all over their kid for swing mechanics etc but couldn’t bother to volunteer for station help. Or when they saw I was solo with 12 8-year-olds. “I don’t know baseball that well” - did you see me lobbing balls underhand? did you see me putting balls on tee for tee work? It’s that simple and doesn’t take PhD in baseball to help…

This, although I will note that everyone weighing in on Vienna Little League, which OP specifically referenced, made it sound like people were tripping over themselves to coach. Honestly, that would be awesome. Typically the only way to get parents to help is to have a bad enough coach that parents give up and step in.

Yup, when I coached, I would just walk up to the folks sitting in the chair and ask "Do you mind lending a hand?"

If they said "I don't know baseball", they'd get a simple job like, place the ball on the tee and make sure the other kids don't get too close to the kid swinging

I coached for many years…I never had anyone sitting around watching practice to even ask. There were parents that agreed to help formally with the league and parents that opened the car door and were gone within 10 seconds. Maybe you get a small group showing up near the very end of practice for pick up.

Really? You never had a bunch of parents bring camping chairs and set up off in the distance to chat?

It literally has happened at every youth team I've been a part of (under 10, at least). For soccer, football, baseball, softball

Never…maybe this is urban LL vs suburban LL. Parents may live just around the corner so it’s a 2 minute drive vs 15-30 minutes each way (so a parent may decide it’s easier to just stay vs driving home just to have to leave to pick up the kid soon after).

By 10 years old you have kids that were reasonably close walking to practice together with no parents.

I think it’s weird for parents to just hang around a practice and do nothing. If I saw that I would also make them help in some way.

FWIW, they don't usually "do nothing." It's really not weird; they are usually socializing with other parents and enjoying a nice evening. I don't think there's anything wrong with it.

And even better, when the kids were a little older and I would work on situations, I would recruit those parents to be baserunners, with the kids always loved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve coached baseball for years both rec and travel and adapted practices for each as well as age. Biggest challenge by far has been getting volunteer help - not so much travel because folks are invested. But in rec parents were always quick to be all over their kid for swing mechanics etc but couldn’t bother to volunteer for station help. Or when they saw I was solo with 12 8-year-olds. “I don’t know baseball that well” - did you see me lobbing balls underhand? did you see me putting balls on tee for tee work? It’s that simple and doesn’t take PhD in baseball to help…

This, although I will note that everyone weighing in on Vienna Little League, which OP specifically referenced, made it sound like people were tripping over themselves to coach. Honestly, that would be awesome. Typically the only way to get parents to help is to have a bad enough coach that parents give up and step in.

Yup, when I coached, I would just walk up to the folks sitting in the chair and ask "Do you mind lending a hand?"

If they said "I don't know baseball", they'd get a simple job like, place the ball on the tee and make sure the other kids don't get too close to the kid swinging

I coached for many years…I never had anyone sitting around watching practice to even ask. There were parents that agreed to help formally with the league and parents that opened the car door and were gone within 10 seconds. Maybe you get a small group showing up near the very end of practice for pick up.

Really? You never had a bunch of parents bring camping chairs and set up off in the distance to chat?

It literally has happened at every youth team I've been a part of (under 10, at least). For soccer, football, baseball, softball

Never…maybe this is urban LL vs suburban LL. Parents may live just around the corner so it’s a 2 minute drive vs 15-30 minutes each way (so a parent may decide it’s easier to just stay vs driving home just to have to leave to pick up the kid soon after).

By 10 years old you have kids that were reasonably close walking to practice together with no parents.

I think it’s weird for parents to just hang around a practice and do nothing. If I saw that I would also make them help in some way.

FWIW, they don't usually "do nothing." It's really not weird; they are usually socializing with other parents and enjoying a nice evening. I don't think there's anything wrong with it.

And even better, when the kids were a little older and I would work on situations, I would recruit those parents to be baserunners, with the kids always loved.

Yeah…it’s weird. Sorry, sitting around socializing is doing nothing. I didn’t literally mean they just sit there staring into space.

So, yeah I will make them help if they are sitting there and see there is only 1 or 2 adults managing a whole team that they don’t volunteer to help…yet they are coming to watch the practice? Why didn’t they volunteer to help if they were going to be there anyway?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve coached baseball for years both rec and travel and adapted practices for each as well as age. Biggest challenge by far has been getting volunteer help - not so much travel because folks are invested. But in rec parents were always quick to be all over their kid for swing mechanics etc but couldn’t bother to volunteer for station help. Or when they saw I was solo with 12 8-year-olds. “I don’t know baseball that well” - did you see me lobbing balls underhand? did you see me putting balls on tee for tee work? It’s that simple and doesn’t take PhD in baseball to help…

This, although I will note that everyone weighing in on Vienna Little League, which OP specifically referenced, made it sound like people were tripping over themselves to coach. Honestly, that would be awesome. Typically the only way to get parents to help is to have a bad enough coach that parents give up and step in.

Yup, when I coached, I would just walk up to the folks sitting in the chair and ask "Do you mind lending a hand?"

If they said "I don't know baseball", they'd get a simple job like, place the ball on the tee and make sure the other kids don't get too close to the kid swinging

I coached for many years…I never had anyone sitting around watching practice to even ask. There were parents that agreed to help formally with the league and parents that opened the car door and were gone within 10 seconds. Maybe you get a small group showing up near the very end of practice for pick up.

Really? You never had a bunch of parents bring camping chairs and set up off in the distance to chat?

It literally has happened at every youth team I've been a part of (under 10, at least). For soccer, football, baseball, softball

Never…maybe this is urban LL vs suburban LL. Parents may live just around the corner so it’s a 2 minute drive vs 15-30 minutes each way (so a parent may decide it’s easier to just stay vs driving home just to have to leave to pick up the kid soon after).

By 10 years old you have kids that were reasonably close walking to practice together with no parents.

I think it’s weird for parents to just hang around a practice and do nothing. If I saw that I would also make them help in some way.

FWIW, they don't usually "do nothing." It's really not weird; they are usually socializing with other parents and enjoying a nice evening. I don't think there's anything wrong with it.

And even better, when the kids were a little older and I would work on situations, I would recruit those parents to be baserunners, with the kids always loved.

Yeah…it’s weird. Sorry, sitting around socializing is doing nothing. I didn’t literally mean they just sit there staring into space.

So, yeah I will make them help if they are sitting there and see there is only 1 or 2 adults managing a whole team that they don’t volunteer to help…yet they are coming to watch the practice? Why didn’t they volunteer to help if they were going to be there anyway?

That's probably a good way to make sure the parents drop off and leave. Not everyone is good with kids, wants to be involved, knows how to play the sport, or wants to run around. You volunteered, why did you sign up if you didn't really want to be there? I'm sure some will lend a hand but "make them help" is weird and aggressive.

[Anonymous]

If there's anything I've learned from this thread, it's that exactly no one will be happy with any one youth sports coach, because everyone thinks that things should be managed differently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve coached baseball for years both rec and travel and adapted practices for each as well as age. Biggest challenge by far has been getting volunteer help - not so much travel because folks are invested. But in rec parents were always quick to be all over their kid for swing mechanics etc but couldn’t bother to volunteer for station help. Or when they saw I was solo with 12 8-year-olds. “I don’t know baseball that well” - did you see me lobbing balls underhand? did you see me putting balls on tee for tee work? It’s that simple and doesn’t take PhD in baseball to help…

This, although I will note that everyone weighing in on Vienna Little League, which OP specifically referenced, made it sound like people were tripping over themselves to coach. Honestly, that would be awesome. Typically the only way to get parents to help is to have a bad enough coach that parents give up and step in.

Yup, when I coached, I would just walk up to the folks sitting in the chair and ask "Do you mind lending a hand?"

If they said "I don't know baseball", they'd get a simple job like, place the ball on the tee and make sure the other kids don't get too close to the kid swinging

I coached for many years…I never had anyone sitting around watching practice to even ask. There were parents that agreed to help formally with the league and parents that opened the car door and were gone within 10 seconds. Maybe you get a small group showing up near the very end of practice for pick up.

Really? You never had a bunch of parents bring camping chairs and set up off in the distance to chat?

It literally has happened at every youth team I've been a part of (under 10, at least). For soccer, football, baseball, softball

Never…maybe this is urban LL vs suburban LL. Parents may live just around the corner so it’s a 2 minute drive vs 15-30 minutes each way (so a parent may decide it’s easier to just stay vs driving home just to have to leave to pick up the kid soon after).

By 10 years old you have kids that were reasonably close walking to practice together with no parents.

I think it’s weird for parents to just hang around a practice and do nothing. If I saw that I would also make them help in some way.

FWIW, they don't usually "do nothing." It's really not weird; they are usually socializing with other parents and enjoying a nice evening. I don't think there's anything wrong with it.

And even better, when the kids were a little older and I would work on situations, I would recruit those parents to be baserunners, with the kids always loved.

Yeah…it’s weird. Sorry, sitting around socializing is doing nothing. I didn’t literally mean they just sit there staring into space.

So, yeah I will make them help if they are sitting there and see there is only 1 or 2 adults managing a whole team that they don’t volunteer to help…yet they are coming to watch the practice? Why didn’t they volunteer to help if they were going to be there anyway?

It's called community. Many of these people know one another. They have kids in school together, or work out at the same gym, or little siblings are in the same cub scouts troop.

Tending to community and friendship is a far cry from nothing.

To be perfectly honest, I think its "weird" that you would find catching up and socializing with neighbors and friends to be weird.

And a lot of these aren't people that drive 30 minutes to the field. We can walk to our local softball/LL field, as many other families can as well. But they come because its beautiful spring evenings and friends/neighbors are hanging out. It's actually really nice and creates a really great atmosphere for practice.