Oso planning to go pro
I coached youth sports forever (as well as reffed basketball and umpired baseball) and I used to give a letter to every parent before every season that basically said I don't want to hear anything out of your mouths during the games other than support for your kids. Because the leagues were pay to play, I told them that every kid was going to play roughly the same amount and that my goals were first to make sure the kids had fun, second that they learned the game and improved their skills, and thirdly that we win some games.The thing most youth coaches don't understand is that when you force the weaker kids to play important roles, and not just obviously bury them in spots where they can do the least damage, they feel more like part of them team and they get better at a much faster rate. I won a lot more than I lost with this philosophy, and always had less dead weight by the end of the season, as the weaker kids would not be stars, but at least would be passable. One of my favorite comments I got from a parent was "I used to have to drag my kid to the games and practices because he felt like the team really didn't need or want him, but on your team he feels like you really need him and he looks forward to playing." That attitude is always what I was trying to foster.As for umpires/refs, I would immediately admonish parents who said anything negative to them, and when I had my complaints I would quietly discuss with them between innings or during timeouts. With the kid umps, the only thing I would do after the game is offer advice on where to stand, what to look for or whatever, never complain about individual calls, no matter how much I wanted to.
My younger daughter plays water polo. Fortunately, my questionable swimming skills prevent me from even contemplating something like this. It's embarrassing if the kid you are confronting has to first save you from drowning.
The best thing about playing water polo is that you can't here any of the parents from the stands anyway
I was lucky. I coached youth soccer for my daughters (about six or seven seasons total), and never had a nasty parent experience in one of our games. Maybe their amusement saved us - me coaching soccer is like the blind leading the blind.
Same here. Between Little League, softball and soccer, I've coached (I think) 10 seasons of youth sports and never had a really bad experience with a parent. Some aren't as responsible as they should be picking up their kids from practice on time and some have complained a little too loudly about the officials, but nothing truly negative.My favorite story involves the parent who asked the league's policy concerning alcohol in the stands. Apparently he couldn't get through his kid's game without knocking back a few.
And most of the fouling occurs underwater in the private parts...
Thankfully she plays goalie, and they tend to get special protection rules akin to NFL QBs (including no longer getting that special protection if they move out of the pocket, i.e., the goal). She did, however, take a forearm shiver to the forehead this weekend but just laughed it off.But anything you can get away with underwater...I know one kid who has a track record of biting.
We would not have met with the three couples who we do things with the most (dinners, vacations, etc.,) if it weren't for youth basketball. That being said, I'm glad that era is behind me.
There is a reason players wear leather suits. My daughters both played and have "interesting" stories. Where she play?Might be the toughest sport, btw.
I was on my HS swim team one year. As a treat once or twice a month, the coach used to let us play water polo for the last hour of practice. It was absolutely brutal. Just about no rules. Blood in the water frequently.
Our swim team often played for an hour at the end of practice on Fridays. Added level of difficulty: jeans and long sleeve t-shirts for the first half hour; she viewed it as conditioning. But, when we stripped down to our Speedos, it felt like we were floating.
I'm worried. Somebody started "All-Saints-Academy-5th-Grade-Boys-Scoop" and now all of the parents are criticizing my coaching, my recruiting, the defense we are playing, rebounding, conditioning, player rotations. My wife is monitoring it closely and letting me know if anybody is posting negative things about me. Some people want me to run zone, some hate zone. Some want me to have them push the ball, some want me to have the kids control the pace. I've got 7 players and some think their kid is playing too much, some think their kid is playing too little, some think I am playing their kid at the wrong position. Just kidding. That would be maddening.
My daughter was at a tournament (not in this game) and one girl gave a titty twister so hard she ripped the opposing girl's nipple off. Ambulance had to be called so they could sew it back on in the ER. A year later at a camp at UCLA she told this story and they called over the head UCLA coach. He had never heard a story so wild. Turns out he became the Olympic Gold Medal coach and she had her water polo highlight.
We've had boys punch girls so hard in the stomach that they vomited, but never actually tore off body parts. Ouch.
Wow, I'm very concerned for Benny. Being able to mimic Myron Medcalf's writing so closely implies an oncoming case of dementia.