Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry the coach lied. Many coaches are really terrible at this age - any coach who thinks winning is important at age 11 (select team or not) has a screw loose and is getting some sort of weird validation from being a winning coach instead of developing athletes and setting a good example for kids.

My only advice is to find a more casual, local-only travel team that’s not trying to be “competitive” (I take it that’s what you were trying to do, but don’t give up because of one crappy coach!). We have always sought out teams like this for our son, and I think it has only helped his development as a player, teammate, and quite frankly as a person. He is in high school now and nobody knows or cares who was on the “elite” team three or four years ago.

My experience is that the better the team, the better the players and the more everyone plays. One of our kids was just a very natural athlete from elementary through high school and they tended to play for very competitive teams. Our younger is just not their sibling and they've played on a wider range of teams. YMMMV, but it's the worst teams that have the biggest skill disparity that leads to kids not playing the ultra competitive teams tended to play every kid because they were all really good

Maybe, but that advice only works if your kid is actually good enough to make the competitive team. I suspect OP and many other parents reading this thread will not have kids in that position.

FWIW my son is a natural athlete and has pretty much always been one of the best players on any team he’s on. I think it’s been VERY good for him to ride the bench in favor of clearly less talented players for no other reason than - it’s his turn. We’ve always had him on teams where ALL the kids play and ALL the kids sit. He has no sense of entitlement re: playing time and he has come a long way in terms of being a team leader (sincerely cheering for his teammates and doing extra reps, giving advice, etc. to help them when they want it).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I coached softball. Here’s what I found and what I told parents:

This is travel ball. It is a select team. Yes, we are developmental, but playing time is neither even nor guaranteed.

In doubleheaders and pool play on Saturdays I bat the roster and rotate the defense evenly. Everyone gets an opportunity. That doesn’t mean your kid starts at their preferred position if there are other players better in that spot, but I will look for opportunities to put them there to give them a chance to prove themselves.

On elimination Sunday, however, only the best 9 are starting. And that “best 9” is situational — who worked hardest in practice that week, who produced on Saturday, who hits fast pitching better versus slow pitching (and vice versa). A lot of variables. And that “best 9” might change game-to-game if we advance, depending on the opponent. If your kid is on the bench, I will try to get them into the game, either as a courtesy runner or as a pinch hitter, but it’s entirely situational.

One time we lost our first game and were out of the tournament early. One kid didn’t play in that game. Parents start screaming at me. I looked at them evenly, told them they signed up for this and reminded them of the player contract they signed that, among other things, had a 24-hour rule.

I cut the kid the next day.

So you're an a**hole who is incapable of properly assessing kids at tryouts and then gives offers to kids who don't play?

I think we found the butt hurt parent who thinks their 10U player is Jennie Finch.

My teams had 11 or 12 girls. Some had more talent and ability than others. And some worked harder than others. And sometimes hard work beats talent that doesn’t work hard.

My policies were transparent and parents and kids explicitly agreed to them. What I learned through the years is some kids progress more quickly than others and those are the ones who get the opportunities in elimination game situations. And the kids who don’t progress who sit more — their parents tended to be the most aggressive and whiny.

I would cut this pp’s kid so fast their head would spin if they spoke to me IRL. Don’t come at me like that. You literally signed up for this.

You must feel like a big man putting 10 year old girls in their place

The kids aren't the problem. I can talk to a 10 yo girl and explain what she needs to do to earn more playing time on Sunday. It's the parents I have zero tolerance for. The parents I absolutely will put in their place. And share what I know with other coaches when they come calling.

Anonymous wrote:Sorry the coach lied. Many coaches are really terrible at this age - any coach who thinks winning is important at age 11 (select team or not) has a screw loose and is getting some sort of weird validation from being a winning coach instead of developing athletes and setting a good example for kids.

My only advice is to find a more casual, local-only travel team that’s not trying to be “competitive” (I take it that’s what you were trying to do, but don’t give up because of one crappy coach!). We have always sought out teams like this for our son, and I think it has only helped his development as a player, teammate, and quite frankly as a person. He is in high school now and nobody knows or cares who was on the “elite” team three or four years ago.

My experience is that the better the team, the better the players and the more everyone plays. One of our kids was just a very natural athlete from elementary through high school and they tended to play for very competitive teams. Our younger is just not their sibling and they've played on a wider range of teams. YMMMV, but it's the worst teams that have the biggest skill disparity that leads to kids not playing the ultra competitive teams tended to play every kid because they were all really good

Anonymous wrote:Sorry the coach lied. Many coaches are really terrible at this age - any coach who thinks winning is important at age 11 (select team or not) has a screw loose and is getting some sort of weird validation from being a winning coach instead of developing athletes and setting a good example for kids.

My only advice is to find a more casual, local-only travel team that’s not trying to be “competitive” (I take it that’s what you were trying to do, but don’t give up because of one crappy coach!). We have always sought out teams like this for our son, and I think it has only helped his development as a player, teammate, and quite frankly as a person. He is in high school now and nobody knows or cares who was on the “elite” team three or four years ago.

Very true. Any parent of a high school baseball player could tell some stories and give examples….performance at the younger ages has little correlation to performance later on at the high school level +. Many of the youth “stars” never even make the HS baseball team, and many youth “weak players” do. I’ve seen this over and over again. Lots of surprises.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I coached softball. Here’s what I found and what I told parents:

This is travel ball. It is a select team. Yes, we are developmental, but playing time is neither even nor guaranteed.

In doubleheaders and pool play on Saturdays I bat the roster and rotate the defense evenly. Everyone gets an opportunity. That doesn’t mean your kid starts at their preferred position if there are other players better in that spot, but I will look for opportunities to put them there to give them a chance to prove themselves.

On elimination Sunday, however, only the best 9 are starting. And that “best 9” is situational — who worked hardest in practice that week, who produced on Saturday, who hits fast pitching better versus slow pitching (and vice versa). A lot of variables. And that “best 9” might change game-to-game if we advance, depending on the opponent. If your kid is on the bench, I will try to get them into the game, either as a courtesy runner or as a pinch hitter, but it’s entirely situational.

One time we lost our first game and were out of the tournament early. One kid didn’t play in that game. Parents start screaming at me. I looked at them evenly, told them they signed up for this and reminded them of the player contract they signed that, among other things, had a 24-hour rule.

I cut the kid the next day.

So you're an a**hole who is incapable of properly assessing kids at tryouts and then gives offers to kids who don't play?

I think we found the butt hurt parent who thinks their 10U player is Jennie Finch.

My teams had 11 or 12 girls. Some had more talent and ability than others. And some worked harder than others. And sometimes hard work beats talent that doesn’t work hard.

My policies were transparent and parents and kids explicitly agreed to them. What I learned through the years is some kids progress more quickly than others and those are the ones who get the opportunities in elimination game situations. And the kids who don’t progress who sit more — their parents tended to be the most aggressive and whiny.

I would cut this pp’s kid so fast their head would spin if they spoke to me IRL. Don’t come at me like that. You literally signed up for this.

You must feel like a big man putting 10 year old girls in their place

+1

10u?! Absolutely crazy. I’d agree with the post if she was talking about 14U but 10 year olds?!?! The only problem here is the coach.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I coached softball. Here’s what I found and what I told parents:

This is travel ball. It is a select team. Yes, we are developmental, but playing time is neither even nor guaranteed.

In doubleheaders and pool play on Saturdays I bat the roster and rotate the defense evenly. Everyone gets an opportunity. That doesn’t mean your kid starts at their preferred position if there are other players better in that spot, but I will look for opportunities to put them there to give them a chance to prove themselves.

On elimination Sunday, however, only the best 9 are starting. And that “best 9” is situational — who worked hardest in practice that week, who produced on Saturday, who hits fast pitching better versus slow pitching (and vice versa). A lot of variables. And that “best 9” might change game-to-game if we advance, depending on the opponent. If your kid is on the bench, I will try to get them into the game, either as a courtesy runner or as a pinch hitter, but it’s entirely situational.

One time we lost our first game and were out of the tournament early. One kid didn’t play in that game. Parents start screaming at me. I looked at them evenly, told them they signed up for this and reminded them of the player contract they signed that, among other things, had a 24-hour rule.

I cut the kid the next day.

This is hilarious. It is NEVER about who worked hardest in practice. It is annoying that coaches say this. They give false hope to parents and kids that if they were amazingly hard at practice they are going to get to start.

It is a catch-22 for bench players. They don't play much so don't get the opportunity to demonstrate if they have progressed. When you only get one shot to bat, players have more stress on them. The kid that knows they are going to bat three times every game doesn't have to worry about striking out one of those plate appearances. They can be more aggressive and take chances. The bench player might not get a good pitch, might have to sacrifice bunt, might be told to take pitches to try and walk.

Let's be honest -unless a bench player has a pretty big growth spurt or their parents starts coaching chances are they are NEVER going to play much.They are there to be filler players and help subsidize the team financially. Most coaches don't care and like this obnoxious coach will cut the player if the parent complaints. It doesn't matter because they can string another bench player on for a year or two.

+1 generally agree with this

At 11U and below (maybe even through 12U) it is developmentally inappropriate to have “bench players” or kids who get only “token playing time” or sit full games. At that age, this is completely absurd, and I have never seen this on even the most elite baseball teams. That doesn’t mean playing time will be equal- not at all- but typically they will bat the roster in all games through at least 11U and every kid will get some defensive innings in all games. If a kid is being benched at 11U, you have a bad coach. Period. Finish the season, thank the coach sincerely for his time, don’t badmouth, and find a new team.

For older kids 12U/13U/14U- yes things get more competitive and rosters expand. Usually lineups will be shortened to 9 or 10 on Sundays/bracket play. But weaker players should be getting quality playing time on Saturdays at minimum- and good coaches usually find a way to work them in situationally on Sundays too. If at these ages, your kid is getting only token playing time- he is on the wrong team. Period. It isn’t going to change based on “who has a good practice” etc. Hilariously unrealistic.. Barring a roster change, injury, or crazy growth spurt- your kid’s role as “token player” is NOT going to change. A kid’s role is his role, and that role is usually pretty obvious after 2-3 tournaments or 10ish games. Heck, it is usually obvious after watching a few practices. Also playing in such a role at this age level is not good for development - for so many reasons. Finish the season, thank the coach sincerely for his time, don’t badmouth, and find a new team.

And make sure to follow the “don’t badmouth” advice. Never speak negatively to anyone about the situation no matter how unfair you feel it may be. Coaches all talk. And with new teams- asking about your player’s expected role is a good idea. Especially at the younger ages. Most coaches will tell you honestly.

Sorry the coach lied. Many coaches are really terrible at this age - any coach who thinks winning is important at age 11 (select team or not) has a screw loose and is getting some sort of weird validation from being a winning coach instead of developing athletes and setting a good example for kids.

My only advice is to find a more casual, local-only travel team that’s not trying to be “competitive” (I take it that’s what you were trying to do, but don’t give up because of one crappy coach!). We have always sought out teams like this for our son, and I think it has only helped his development as a player, teammate, and quite frankly as a person. He is in high school now and nobody knows or cares who was on the “elite” team three or four years ago.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I coached softball. Here’s what I found and what I told parents:

This is travel ball. It is a select team. Yes, we are developmental, but playing time is neither even nor guaranteed.

In doubleheaders and pool play on Saturdays I bat the roster and rotate the defense evenly. Everyone gets an opportunity. That doesn’t mean your kid starts at their preferred position if there are other players better in that spot, but I will look for opportunities to put them there to give them a chance to prove themselves.

On elimination Sunday, however, only the best 9 are starting. And that “best 9” is situational — who worked hardest in practice that week, who produced on Saturday, who hits fast pitching better versus slow pitching (and vice versa). A lot of variables. And that “best 9” might change game-to-game if we advance, depending on the opponent. If your kid is on the bench, I will try to get them into the game, either as a courtesy runner or as a pinch hitter, but it’s entirely situational.

One time we lost our first game and were out of the tournament early. One kid didn’t play in that game. Parents start screaming at me. I looked at them evenly, told them they signed up for this and reminded them of the player contract they signed that, among other things, had a 24-hour rule.

I cut the kid the next day.

So you're an a**hole who is incapable of properly assessing kids at tryouts and then gives offers to kids who don't play?

I think we found the butt hurt parent who thinks their 10U player is Jennie Finch.

My teams had 11 or 12 girls. Some had more talent and ability than others. And some worked harder than others. And sometimes hard work beats talent that doesn’t work hard.

My policies were transparent and parents and kids explicitly agreed to them. What I learned through the years is some kids progress more quickly than others and those are the ones who get the opportunities in elimination game situations. And the kids who don’t progress who sit more — their parents tended to be the most aggressive and whiny.

I would cut this pp’s kid so fast their head would spin if they spoke to me IRL. Don’t come at me like that. You literally signed up for this.

You must feel like a big man putting 10 year old girls in their place

And also, it’s a small community. Coaches talk. I get calls still about players and most of the questions concern how are the parents.

I always answer questions honestly. And I will share stories about parent behavior with explicit examples.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I coached softball. Here’s what I found and what I told parents:

This is travel ball. It is a select team. Yes, we are developmental, but playing time is neither even nor guaranteed.

In doubleheaders and pool play on Saturdays I bat the roster and rotate the defense evenly. Everyone gets an opportunity. That doesn’t mean your kid starts at their preferred position if there are other players better in that spot, but I will look for opportunities to put them there to give them a chance to prove themselves.

On elimination Sunday, however, only the best 9 are starting. And that “best 9” is situational — who worked hardest in practice that week, who produced on Saturday, who hits fast pitching better versus slow pitching (and vice versa). A lot of variables. And that “best 9” might change game-to-game if we advance, depending on the opponent. If your kid is on the bench, I will try to get them into the game, either as a courtesy runner or as a pinch hitter, but it’s entirely situational.

One time we lost our first game and were out of the tournament early. One kid didn’t play in that game. Parents start screaming at me. I looked at them evenly, told them they signed up for this and reminded them of the player contract they signed that, among other things, had a 24-hour rule.

I cut the kid the next day.

So you're an a**hole who is incapable of properly assessing kids at tryouts and then gives offers to kids who don't play?

I think we found the butt hurt parent who thinks their 10U player is Jennie Finch.

My teams had 11 or 12 girls. Some had more talent and ability than others. And some worked harder than others. And sometimes hard work beats talent that doesn’t work hard.

My policies were transparent and parents and kids explicitly agreed to them. What I learned through the years is some kids progress more quickly than others and those are the ones who get the opportunities in elimination game situations. And the kids who don’t progress who sit more — their parents tended to be the most aggressive and whiny.

I would cut this pp’s kid so fast their head would spin if they spoke to me IRL. Don’t come at me like that. You literally signed up for this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I coached softball. Here’s what I found and what I told parents:

This is travel ball. It is a select team. Yes, we are developmental, but playing time is neither even nor guaranteed.

In doubleheaders and pool play on Saturdays I bat the roster and rotate the defense evenly. Everyone gets an opportunity. That doesn’t mean your kid starts at their preferred position if there are other players better in that spot, but I will look for opportunities to put them there to give them a chance to prove themselves.

On elimination Sunday, however, only the best 9 are starting. And that “best 9” is situational — who worked hardest in practice that week, who produced on Saturday, who hits fast pitching better versus slow pitching (and vice versa). A lot of variables. And that “best 9” might change game-to-game if we advance, depending on the opponent. If your kid is on the bench, I will try to get them into the game, either as a courtesy runner or as a pinch hitter, but it’s entirely situational.

One time we lost our first game and were out of the tournament early. One kid didn’t play in that game. Parents start screaming at me. I looked at them evenly, told them they signed up for this and reminded them of the player contract they signed that, among other things, had a 24-hour rule.

I cut the kid the next day.

So you're an a**hole who is incapable of properly assessing kids at tryouts and then gives offers to kids who don't play?

If this was communicated up front, I would have no issue with it for older kids, but I think 11u might be a bit too young for this. Might be different for an "elite" 11u team, but I would not have signed up for that type of team in the first place. DS's 14u team plays to win in tournaments and typically bats the full roster the first game, but then the batting bench shortens. Everyone has an opportunity to contribute, but the best kids in their positions are out there. It's a team sport and boys know they need to earn it. Coaches are not parents so maybe that helps. Regular season games are a little different with everyone batting, but there are definitely kids who play less--specifically kids who can really only play one position well. If you are versatile and can contribute at multiple positions, you will play multiple positions and sit less, but if not, you will get less playing time. Again, I think this is a reasonable strategy for 14u, but I think at 11u kids should still be rotating through positions and no one should be on the bench for more than an inning or two.

I'm of the opinion that at 11U, if the coach thinks the kid is good enough to roster, then the coach should play the kid. That's an age where you can make a kid hate a sport by just letting them sit on the end of the bench. Parents have no clue if their 10 year old is good enough or not, all they have to go by is the coach extending an offer. The kid doesn't know, again, they got the offer. At older ages, the family knows if a kid will be on the bench on a team vs starting for another, but everyone is clueless when kids are that young

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I coached softball. Here’s what I found and what I told parents:

This is travel ball. It is a select team. Yes, we are developmental, but playing time is neither even nor guaranteed.

In doubleheaders and pool play on Saturdays I bat the roster and rotate the defense evenly. Everyone gets an opportunity. That doesn’t mean your kid starts at their preferred position if there are other players better in that spot, but I will look for opportunities to put them there to give them a chance to prove themselves.

On elimination Sunday, however, only the best 9 are starting. And that “best 9” is situational — who worked hardest in practice that week, who produced on Saturday, who hits fast pitching better versus slow pitching (and vice versa). A lot of variables. And that “best 9” might change game-to-game if we advance, depending on the opponent. If your kid is on the bench, I will try to get them into the game, either as a courtesy runner or as a pinch hitter, but it’s entirely situational.

One time we lost our first game and were out of the tournament early. One kid didn’t play in that game. Parents start screaming at me. I looked at them evenly, told them they signed up for this and reminded them of the player contract they signed that, among other things, had a 24-hour rule.

I cut the kid the next day.

This is hilarious. It is NEVER about who worked hardest in practice. It is annoying that coaches say this. They give false hope to parents and kids that if they were amazingly hard at practice they are going to get to start.

It is a catch-22 for bench players. They don't play much so don't get the opportunity to demonstrate if they have progressed. When you only get one shot to bat, players have more stress on them. The kid that knows they are going to bat three times every game doesn't have to worry about striking out one of those plate appearances. They can be more aggressive and take chances. The bench player might not get a good pitch, might have to sacrifice bunt, might be told to take pitches to try and walk.

Let's be honest -unless a bench player has a pretty big growth spurt or their parents starts coaching chances are they are NEVER going to play much.They are there to be filler players and help subsidize the team financially. Most coaches don't care and like this obnoxious coach will cut the player if the parent complaints. It doesn't matter because they can string another bench player on for a year or two.

The "I cut the kid the next day" struck me as a bit harsh, but our team has very strict up front rules around parent behavior so it's possible that these parents crossed the line. I've coached for over 30 years and have seen many parents behave so badly, I have to give this coach the benefit of the doubt.

Regarding the "it's never about practice performance" comment--This is coach/club dependent. I agree that this gives a lot of coaches an out for not playing a kid they weren't going to play anyway, but if you have a good coach/club, this can be effectively managed and, in the case of DS's team, the boys saw a strong player not start because he was being a total PITA at practice--and they all took note. A good coach will figure out a way to rotate kids in the batting line up so that the weaker hitters aren't always stuck at the very bottom because that destroys confidence and puts more pressure on kids who are already struggling. Our coach keeps the top five hitters in the top five-ish and then moves the other guys around a bit depending on what's going on. Obviously, this is something that must be carefully managed and a lot of coaches are not good at doing that.

A PP who switched my kid from team to team over coaching - when you find a coach like described in the last comment (and we did), hold onto that club for dear life. It's so good for kids to feel that confidence through struggle, learn to fail and still get another chance, see the value of hard work, all of it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I coached softball. Here’s what I found and what I told parents:

This is travel ball. It is a select team. Yes, we are developmental, but playing time is neither even nor guaranteed.

In doubleheaders and pool play on Saturdays I bat the roster and rotate the defense evenly. Everyone gets an opportunity. That doesn’t mean your kid starts at their preferred position if there are other players better in that spot, but I will look for opportunities to put them there to give them a chance to prove themselves.

On elimination Sunday, however, only the best 9 are starting. And that “best 9” is situational — who worked hardest in practice that week, who produced on Saturday, who hits fast pitching better versus slow pitching (and vice versa). A lot of variables. And that “best 9” might change game-to-game if we advance, depending on the opponent. If your kid is on the bench, I will try to get them into the game, either as a courtesy runner or as a pinch hitter, but it’s entirely situational.

One time we lost our first game and were out of the tournament early. One kid didn’t play in that game. Parents start screaming at me. I looked at them evenly, told them they signed up for this and reminded them of the player contract they signed that, among other things, had a 24-hour rule.

I cut the kid the next day.

This is hilarious. It is NEVER about who worked hardest in practice. It is annoying that coaches say this. They give false hope to parents and kids that if they were amazingly hard at practice they are going to get to start.

It is a catch-22 for bench players. They don't play much so don't get the opportunity to demonstrate if they have progressed. When you only get one shot to bat, players have more stress on them. The kid that knows they are going to bat three times every game doesn't have to worry about striking out one of those plate appearances. They can be more aggressive and take chances. The bench player might not get a good pitch, might have to sacrifice bunt, might be told to take pitches to try and walk.

Let's be honest -unless a bench player has a pretty big growth spurt or their parents starts coaching chances are they are NEVER going to play much.They are there to be filler players and help subsidize the team financially. Most coaches don't care and like this obnoxious coach will cut the player if the parent complaints. It doesn't matter because they can string another bench player on for a year or two.

The "I cut the kid the next day" struck me as a bit harsh, but our team has very strict up front rules around parent behavior so it's possible that these parents crossed the line. I've coached for over 30 years and have seen many parents behave so badly, I have to give this coach the benefit of the doubt.

Regarding the "it's never about practice performance" comment--This is coach/club dependent. I agree that this gives a lot of coaches an out for not playing a kid they weren't going to play anyway, but if you have a good coach/club, this can be effectively managed and, in the case of DS's team, the boys saw a strong player not start because he was being a total PITA at practice--and they all took note. A good coach will figure out a way to rotate kids in the batting line up so that the weaker hitters aren't always stuck at the very bottom because that destroys confidence and puts more pressure on kids who are already struggling. Our coach keeps the top five hitters in the top five-ish and then moves the other guys around a bit depending on what's going on. Obviously, this is something that must be carefully managed and a lot of coaches are not good at doing that.

Anonymous wrote:I coached softball. Here’s what I found and what I told parents:

This is travel ball. It is a select team. Yes, we are developmental, but playing time is neither even nor guaranteed.

In doubleheaders and pool play on Saturdays I bat the roster and rotate the defense evenly. Everyone gets an opportunity. That doesn’t mean your kid starts at their preferred position if there are other players better in that spot, but I will look for opportunities to put them there to give them a chance to prove themselves.

On elimination Sunday, however, only the best 9 are starting. And that “best 9” is situational — who worked hardest in practice that week, who produced on Saturday, who hits fast pitching better versus slow pitching (and vice versa). A lot of variables. And that “best 9” might change game-to-game if we advance, depending on the opponent. If your kid is on the bench, I will try to get them into the game, either as a courtesy runner or as a pinch hitter, but it’s entirely situational.

One time we lost our first game and were out of the tournament early. One kid didn’t play in that game. Parents start screaming at me. I looked at them evenly, told them they signed up for this and reminded them of the player contract they signed that, among other things, had a 24-hour rule.

I cut the kid the next day.

This is hilarious. It is NEVER about who worked hardest in practice. It is annoying that coaches say this. They give false hope to parents and kids that if they were amazingly hard at practice they are going to get to start.

It is a catch-22 for bench players. They don't play much so don't get the opportunity to demonstrate if they have progressed. When you only get one shot to bat, players have more stress on them. The kid that knows they are going to bat three times every game doesn't have to worry about striking out one of those plate appearances. They can be more aggressive and take chances. The bench player might not get a good pitch, might have to sacrifice bunt, might be told to take pitches to try and walk.

Let's be honest -unless a bench player has a pretty big growth spurt or their parents starts coaching chances are they are NEVER going to play much.They are there to be filler players and help subsidize the team financially. Most coaches don't care and like this obnoxious coach will cut the player if the parent complaints. It doesn't matter because they can string another bench player on for a year or two.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I coached softball. Here’s what I found and what I told parents:

This is travel ball. It is a select team. Yes, we are developmental, but playing time is neither even nor guaranteed.

In doubleheaders and pool play on Saturdays I bat the roster and rotate the defense evenly. Everyone gets an opportunity. That doesn’t mean your kid starts at their preferred position if there are other players better in that spot, but I will look for opportunities to put them there to give them a chance to prove themselves.

On elimination Sunday, however, only the best 9 are starting. And that “best 9” is situational — who worked hardest in practice that week, who produced on Saturday, who hits fast pitching better versus slow pitching (and vice versa). A lot of variables. And that “best 9” might change game-to-game if we advance, depending on the opponent. If your kid is on the bench, I will try to get them into the game, either as a courtesy runner or as a pinch hitter, but it’s entirely situational.

One time we lost our first game and were out of the tournament early. One kid didn’t play in that game. Parents start screaming at me. I looked at them evenly, told them they signed up for this and reminded them of the player contract they signed that, among other things, had a 24-hour rule.

I cut the kid the next day.

So you're an a**hole who is incapable of properly assessing kids at tryouts and then gives offers to kids who don't play?

It depends.

DP. You never know how a kid is going to develop.
If you are there for the games then play on a less competitive team.
If you are stretching to get on the best possible team, you are probably more interested in the practices.