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nwgadad
137 Posts |
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CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
 Posted - 10/14/2013 : 15:57:35
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I agree that there is daddy ball going on in the world I think we have all seen the coach’s kid playing a position they had no business playing at some point in our kids baseball career. I can't agree though that by the time a kid gets into high school that they aren't FULLY aware of their lack of skills.
It has been my experience that the way to tell which kid is the coach’s kid is to focus on the kid who is getting ripped a new one by a normally even tempered coach. Where is that article...the article that shows how much it sucks to be a coach’s kid?
Is there daddy ball at ages 6, 7 & 8...yeah! And often times a child will make an all star team not because of skill but because their parent is willing to coach the all star team...but unless this child is left in A or AA baseball I can't believe they don't know their lack of skills by the time they get to high school.
I think this author had a bad fall ball experience this weekend, it’s as simple as that.
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AA17Dad
211 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2013 : 10:13:08
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Daddy Ball is a full blown epidemic and yes many of these kids go through the years thinking they are that good. It is Taboo to call out a coach on the subject as it will likely result in some retaliation against your ball player. In the lower levels of the game it really is not that big of a deal but when these coaches put together major teams and every player is fighting for his life to keep a position on the field or in the batting order, they get benched for making an error or 2 and get bumped in the batting order if they have an o-fer game, and yet the coaches kid trots out to 2nd base every inning with his chest poked out regardless of his play. Yeah, Ive seen the coaches that are very hard on their own kid but they still know they are starting in the line up and pitching in the games they want to.
My kid is in High School now but during his travel ball years ( playing on some of the most competitive teams in the state) every team he played on had major issues with daddy/mommy/buddy/GLM ball. With the exception of 1. Assistant coaches can be just as bad. 3 of the teams that we played on had asst. coaches that would go out of their way to make some players look good and others look bad. Throw meatballs to some kids during BP and start changing speeds and giving others very little to hit. Always praising certain players but never letting an oppertunity pass to jump down the throats of others. Hitting Sunday Hopes to some and scalding shots to others. My son was luckey in a sence that he could hold his own for the most part and rarely was effected by daddy balling. But we still saw it and it hurt the team and some of the other players. Mine was subject to a couple of asst coaches that must have seen him as a treat to their own players and did put him through some paces others did not have to face. The daddy balling does not necessarily stop in high school. Some of these dads/coaches/families/players are finding out for the first time in their lifes that their kid is not a super star and are completely besides themselves others have found ways to influence the game even in High School.
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GoodKid
14 Posts |
Posted - 10/17/2013 : 16:05:15
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| Agree 100% with AA17Dad. My son experienced the same thing and I never spoke up. Just kept wondering why my son can field any groundball hit to him except at practice when certain assistant dad coach is hitting groundballs. Then getting a mini lesson on fielding by the guy while everyone watches, as if he has never fielded a ball before. In the end it made him stronger, though. Now he realizes that he has to fight for his playing time no matter how well he is playing. He has learned to take it day to day and put forth 110%. But with that coach, he couldn't hit right, field right, or throw right. But his son, who played the same positions committed multiple errors per tournament with not one word spoken against him. Frustrating! |
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Tribe
82 Posts |
Posted - 10/18/2013 : 07:58:03
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We avoided the Daddy ball problems and only had one negative experience with coaching as my son rose through the ranks. A couple of suggestions I would make to younger families:
1) If you're considering playing for a dad-coached team and have a choice, choose one where Dad's kid is a strong player. It's not daddy ball if the kid earns his time/slot/position
2) Beware of first year teams
3) Roster turnover (when coupled with W/L record) is the single best indicator of a coach's effectiveness. If his roster turns over every year and he doesn't win, run away.
4) Seek out high profile, successful programs. Teams that win consistently are more likely to make PT decisions based on merit.
5) Ask questions. Do your homework. Chances are you know someone with direct knowledge of the coach/team that you are considering.
Frankly, I think the issue of daddy ball is overblown. Sure, it exists in some form, but if you feel that every team you've been associated with had "major issues" with daddy ball, you're doing something wrong.
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AA17Dad
211 Posts |
Posted - 10/18/2013 : 10:19:30
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Something else I learned in hind-sight. Teams that advertise " We have a strong Core " If you look up their roster and see that they have 5-6 that have been on the team for several years and 4 of them are coaches and are turning over the other have of the team. Expect that the " Core " will live and play with a completely different set of rules than the others they pick up every year.
Tribe, I stopped coaching my kid when he was 8. He played on some of the best teams in the state for many years. Not being a football player we played fall ball with many different teams. We also picked up with other teams at years end to finish out some of their seasons as well. We have spent the better part of 10 years eating, sleeping and breathing baseball in metro Atlanta. He has worked out, trained and played with facilities from HP- EC and just about everything in between. We have relationships with teams and families all over the state. literally hundreds of them.
Preferentail treatment exist on pretty much every team.....it is also part of life. It is less of a big deal if you are playing at a lessor competitive level. One of the biggest factors for kids that are playing " Major " tournament baseball is because the parent are competitive. Now the issue of daddy ball goes from being " overblown " as you put it to a Major Issue" as I put it.
Parents....not just coaches overwelmingly see more in their own child than others do. The same holds true for Parent/coaches. They are not necessarily bad people but when the coach is the only one on the team that thinks his kid is a starter......it is a " Major " issue on top tier teams....I could give dozens of examples but wont.
As far as what I'm doing wrong? well lets look at your list.
#1 Even a strong player can be out of position on the field and in the order.
#2 First year teams. Not since t-ball.
#3 Turn over. We have been here and it ain't pretty but when going to play for one of the top teams in the state. it is just the nature of the beast. Turnover that is.
#4 It still wont cure daddyball. Trust me.
#5 See above...and again trust me.
4 years at Homeplate, 2 years at EC and 1 at 6-4-3. all top tier major teams. The 6-4-3 progam was by far the best baseball experience we had. |
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AA17Dad
211 Posts |
Posted - 10/18/2013 : 10:28:22
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One other note on Daddyball........it works! I see kids playing high school ball today that are pretty good compaired to their level of play in years past. Look at the stats at how many more AB's a kid gets when he is batting in the 2 hole as opposed to the 7 hole and all those innings at second base do eventually pay-off even if he was leading the team in errors for 6 years straight.
So in the end.....can you really blame them???? |
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outlaweagle
27 Posts |
Posted - 10/18/2013 : 12:20:54
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| I've always said, if you don't like the situation you are in on a team, then quit complaining and go start your own team. |
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Tribe
82 Posts |
Posted - 10/18/2013 : 14:10:39
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I guess I'm a bit biased (positively) as a result of personal experience. Twelve years as a baseball parent, and I may have heard 4 or 5 complaints from a fellow parent about daddy ball, and frankly, these were from parents whose kids had not earned the playing time. In their cases, "daddy ball" was emotionally less hurtful than the truth: lack of talent and/or effort.
I still contend that if a team is consistently successful, it's very hard to accuse its coach of practicing daddy ball. I also don't believe that daddy ball is unavoidable, as we managed to steer clear of it for a dozen years.
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bballman
1432 Posts |
Posted - 10/21/2013 : 11:46:23
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quote:
Originally posted by Tribe
I guess I'm a bit biased (positively) as a result of personal experience. Twelve years as a baseball parent, and I may have heard 4 or 5 complaints from a fellow parent about daddy ball, and frankly, these were from parents whose kids had not earned the playing time. In their cases, "daddy ball" was emotionally less hurtful than the truth: lack of talent and/or effort.
I still contend that if a team is consistently successful, it's very hard to accuse its coach of practicing daddy ball. I also don't believe that daddy ball is unavoidable, as we managed to steer clear of it for a dozen years.
I'm with you on this Tribe. Same experience here. |
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Coaches Kid
