I coached girls softball for one year. Never again. Some parents were miserable and relentless in their screaming.
Every game.
If I had a sizable lead, I would hold back base runners at certain bases. I would try and teach these girls what they should do in certain situations. I would have every other batter to bunt. Kids need to learn and the parents didn't like it. Do I really need to crush every team?
I realized some of the parents understood what I was teaching but some were frustrated ex-athletes that never made it anywhere so they took it out on the kids and coaches.

My son quit hockey because of high school politics. He wasn’t going to the NHL so it didn’t kill me. I did miss watching him play.

When the team captain has the roster before tryouts you know it’s not always about skill.

I don't disagree with you guys, adults have contributed to the demise of youth sports. I think the major contributing factor is the money.

Travel teams, club teams, elite "sports academies", generate a metric fuckton of cash that magnifies and exacerbates all of the bullshit that surrounds youth sports.

High School sports are nothing compared to the private "club" and "travel" teams of today. A close friend of mine has two girls in club volleyball teams and he spends tens of thousands of dollars each year traveling to tournaments...the hope is all this exposure will pay off in college scholarships. Let me tell you, those parents are intense. (My friend is remarkably dedicated and not an asshole and his girls are lovely people but he does complain about his lack of "free time")

In my opinion it is the monetization of youth sports that has steepened the slope of the decline.

I had a stupid coach say something awful about one of my players last year. It ended up costing him his coaching position on his team and put me at odds with a few parents. I was focusing on trying to beat his team on the field and not seeking to cancel him which was the focus of my assistant coach (no longer affiliated with my team).

Looking back on it now I don’t think I would have done anything differently.

There are good coaches out there and bad ones. The parents are equally difficult at times. I just focus on trying to be a good coach and do my best to share my love and enthusiasm of the sport of soccer with my team. It’s not always smiles and sunshine but there are some great moments along the way.

I’ve seen a little of it myself already.

My 6 year old was in soccer last year and all the parents are very friendly with each other and we banter back and forth on the sidelines EXCEPT this one set of parents. They set up their chairs almost on the goal line to watch their little darling play, and watch INTENTLY like he’s the next Pele and if we get too loud with our banter and conversations near them, the are staring murder daggers at us.

Relax, your child is 6 and just learning how this all works. He ain’t the new world star just yet

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
Fuck that. My daughters are not doing any team sports.

It's gonna be individual track and field, fencing, archery, kendo, or jujitsu or something else that is entirely based on single person performance.

My son used to be a judo competitor in his youth for 6 years, regional and state tournaments, starting at the age of 7. The majority of parents at these things were fairly normal adults, but maybe 25% of them ranged from annoying parental units to psycho pricks and cunts, a percentage I suspect at many team competitions. And maybe half the coaches were at the least, overly aggressive types, some of them with fucked up ideas about youth competition. Parent vs. referee confrontations were only semi-occasional, I think because many realized that the black belt refs could wipe the floor with these asshole parents.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
I’ve seen a little of it myself already.

My 6 year old was in soccer last year and all the parents are very friendly with each other and we banter back and forth on the sidelines EXCEPT this one set of parents. They set up their chairs almost on the goal line to watch their little darling play, and watch INTENTLY like he’s the next Pele and if we get too loud with our banter and conversations near them, the are staring murder daggers at us.

Relax, your child is 6 and just learning how this all works. He ain’t the new world star just yet

I am a bit confused by this post. You have a “set of parents” who prefer to intently watch their child play the game rather than participate in the “parental banter” and they are the assholes? It sounds like they are already setting up as far away from the “banter” as possible, maybe give them some space to watch the game in peace?

About 11 years ago I was coach for an under 8 football team and actually a "friend" of one of the kids on my team offer me money if I would put in his "friends" kid. The kid was a great athlete, but couldn't remember the snap count about 90% of the time.

There were always bad parents in the stands since forever…same with coaches…

But the politics surrounding certain sports…especially high school and such…is frustrating as hell. When the coach’s son is 1 out of 27 and still lead off batter..

In Texas, football is a religion, especially in small towns. One of my former coworkers confided in me that when he was a teenager he didn't want to play football. His father, owner of a drug store, insisted, telling the son that there were 2 drug stores in the town and if the kid didn't play football everyone in town would go to the other store. He played. There are places in Texas where one's life is in danger if one says he doesn't like football (I don't).

flashguy

Don't forget this guy:

https://www.foxnews.com/us/man...of-fellow-hockey-dad

Janice, Tony Sopranos sister gets arrested.

I have a much younger brother who has two sons ... a few years back I was down home visiting some high school friends and my brother who lives on the farm invited me to his two sons soccer game one saturday morning... the two sons were 7 & 5 I messed up a few days later and made a comment in an email about all the 'stupid' parents on the side lines screaming directions at their children.... one of which the loudest was his wife....

I coached 6th, 7th & 8th grade girls basketball and softball for 6 years. It was a great experience, except for the parents.

It's the adult humans...they suck. Actual kids sports is a beautiful thing.

quote:

Originally posted by frayedends:
My son quit hockey because of high school politics. He wasn’t going to the NHL so it didn’t kill me. I did miss watching him play.

When the team captain has the roster before tryouts you know it’s not always about skill.

This is the sort of thing I’m talking about. And we’re in grade school.

Several years ago at the division S (small) state soccer championship our public high school's team was playing a very affluent private school (also small based on enrollment). Our team lost 1-0. Apparently the trash talking was brutal but at the end players on the two teams shook hands. In the middle of that, the winning team's parents were repeatedly chanting

"Hey, hey, it's okay, maybe we'll give you a job someday."

That school got moved up a division and are now getting their asses kicked.

There was an altercation at a rink my son played at years ago, One parent ended up dead and the other one went to jail for manslaughter.

That was the worst, but I have seen and watched lots of other stupid stuff.

You can't fix stupid.

My son played hockey and tennis.

For every Wilson or woods, there are a thousand kids with no childhoods with their parents chasing the money ball train of fame and fortune.

And !
AND !
Whom ! In this day and age.

Takes their children to total stranger(s) and leaves them there for an hour or two
With out watching them every second ?

I know , I know,
A dozen serial pedophiles does not mean all of them are that way.

Why use your kids as chum for
the sickest form of life form ?

It's easy for me to say as Iam not a parent.

Remember it’s for fun. Your kid isn’t going to be a pro. They most likely aren’t going to be a D1 scholarship athlete. If they’re having fun then sit back and relax. If they aren’t then sadly they need to find another activity.