Unfortunately, some folks are control freaks, so even a suggestion is an insult.Originally Posted by Chris O'Leary
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Unfortunately, some folks are control freaks, so even a suggestion is an insult.
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If this coach is a good guy, he's likely open to suggestions and not a control freak. Probably just unaware, potentially overwhelmed, and has trouble asking for help...
I'd continue to toe the line, but look for opportunities each practice. Take some of the lesser skilled players, and attention span problem kids off his hands..."Hey, would it help if I grab Joey, Johnny, James and Jeff and hit some fly balls in the outfield, while your doing infield?". He'll respond with a sigh of relief, thinking "man, I'm so sick of yelling at Joey to pay attention." This will quickly makes things easier and more managable for him.
Plus, it also will challenge your coaching skills at the same time. Also, as previously mentioned grab or talk with another parent before practice..."Hey, can I grab these three kids, and Sam (parent) grabs these three and hit some wiffles in the outfield while you are throwing batting practice? We might be able to rotate around pretty quickly"
If he say no, that won't work because of xyz, THEN he's a control freak.
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I've tactfully suggested this several times--this week several days before practice I even sent him a link to a 4 minute clip from Cal Ripken's defense video where he does a great drill with some kids, suggested we give it a try, and he pretty much just ignored me (didn't respond to the email and when I asked after practice tonight if he had a chance to view the clip he said he "didn't have time". . .guess he couldn't spare 4 minutes out of his busy week). Tonight's practice was this: an hour and a half of the team out in the field while coach hits fungoes, puts runners on base, and after every play he offers his critique of what should've happened.
Guess I just have to make the best of it. I'll keep trying to sneak in something more imaginative that keeps the kids busy, but I'm not sure this fella is going to even give me the opportunity.
Shame because a lot of these kids are eager to learn.
Arrrgggghhhh. Next year is going to be so different. . .
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I find this conversation interesting. Everyone needs to remember this is your opinion of how a practice should be ran.
We have just the reverse situation and it's creating a lot of tension between coaches. Head coach is a station man all the way. Assistant coaches are old school and create confussion during rotations. Constant conflict and chit chat between assistants about how it should be done. Seems crazy these guys have no idea how loud their body language is and they are constantly trying to change the WRITTEN practice plan.
As an assistant coach you need to be helping the head coach run HIS practice. You are there to support him not contradict him. Station to Station is good but has it's own issues as well. It's by no means the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Point being you are never going to find 3-5 baseball guys that agree with everything. Help out the HEAD coach by assisting him with HIS practice. Stop trying to change it. When your head coach you can run practice your way and remember your assistant coaches wont agree with everything you're doing. How would you want them to act?
A lot can be learned in an old school practice. Help the outfielders by coaching them they are involved in EVERY play. A bored outfielder is a lazy OF. This type of BP is a great time for fielders to learn details of observation. IE, anticipating where the ball will be hit. Getting good jumps off the bat. No pressure to make a diving catch or run through that line drive instead of taking the one hooper. As an assistant take on the job of keeping the BP fielders on their toes. A lot of great players developed in this scenario.
Good luck!
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That's an interesting position. What do you see as the problems with stations? I've always felt that stations are by far the best way to run practice efficiently, an environment that maximizes the number of repetitions that a player gets in practice. It's light years better than the head coach pitching BP while 12 kids shag balls from a teaching as well as a interesting practice point of view.
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1. Good repetitions are good bad repetitions are bad!
2. LL kids are kids. Grouping them up creates a lot of horse play that's not easily managed.
3. LL is a volunteer environment. Different days you will have different coaches at different stations coaching different mechanics.
I agree stations maximize the potential for improvement in the right environment.
I also feel quality touches of the ball is more important than mindless reps in a unmanaged station. The younger the age level the higher the likelyhood of a stations become mindless poor reps.
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I know this question wasn't directed at me, but I'll take a stab anyway. I feel stations are better suited for skill development, and the "old school" practices are better suited for teaching defensive situations. In an ideal world, you'd incorporate both with preferrably teaching skills on the front-end of practice and then drilling situations on the back-end while giving the players the opportunity to implement those skills in a pressure-free game situation.
Last edited by pcarnette; 05-04-2012 at 08:54 AM.
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It's not just my opinion, but I take your point.
Agreed 100%. I think I'm doing that now. I've made a couple gentle suggestions (not around the kids), but that's it. When he didn't pick up on it I dropped it.
Remember, this is a guy who shows up to practice with no plan, is basically winging it. I'm seeing the kids bored and seeing them hungry to learn fundamentals that they're not being taught very effectively.
These are 10-12 year old kids. They can't be expected to stand in right field for 45 minutes and get one or two balls hit to them in that time, and maintain full focus during that whole time. I don't think most adults could do it very well.
I don't object to spending some of the practice with everyone on the field in their positions and having the coach comment on plays as they happen. But if you do this for the entire practice, it simply isn't the best use of everyone's time.
What would be ideal is a mix of supervised, focussed stations with small groups, and also situations where everyone is on the field in their position. You can get the best of both worlds.
Don't get me wrong, I know my job is to support the coach and help him. I'm doing that. But when a guy shows up with no plan, doesn't communicate much at all with parents or his assistants, and has no real plan or strategy for teaching the kids baseball, it's kind of an unfortunate situation for everyone.
I guess I'm bellyaching a little here because there's no way I would ever show my concern or disappointment in front of the kids. But it's a little hard.
Last edited by Megunticook; 05-04-2012 at 10:57 AM.
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He has a plan it's just not the same as yours. You have never seen a kid bored in station work?
If they can't do it in practice how will they do it in the game?
My point was they shouldn't be standing around waiting for the ball. They have a responsibility on every ball put in play. Your OF should be dog tired becuase they should be running a lot.
I agree with you.
I find it hard to stomach when a guy who is volunteering his time to coach a LL rec team is judged harshly by others. Like the kids are getting a the raw end of the stick. Your words, he is a good guy in a laid back league. Change your prospective. Not every LL volunteer is going to have the skills to turn the kids into MLB players. He is not a paid coach. His job is to create a safe healthy environment for the kids to play baseball. If he is not meeting those needs than you have something to complain about.
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Could use some advice on a further development here.
By the way, we have yet to win a game and I just learned that there are no more practices scheduled, just games from now on. Too bad we squandered our practice time. Not that winning is the main priority, it's just that loss after loss after loss starts to get the kids discouraged.
Here's the new issue. The coach often seems kind of uptight and I've witnessed him "venting" his ambient frustration in unhealthy ways at some of the kids. The other day, for example, one of the kids asked if he could try catching sometime, and the coach replied in a somewhat nasty way, "if you ask me that one more time you're sitting the bench for the rest of the game."
Another time during a game a kid made a baserunning mistake, got thrown out, and the coach shook his head, put his hands on his hips, and paced back and forth in the 3rd base coach's box muttering about what dumb mistake it was. This went on for several minutes, even after the next batter came up. The kid already felt bad, no need to make an extended show of it.
He's a big fan of yelling things out from the dugout when our team's in the field, and he'll sometimes say things in a frustrated tone of voice, like "Jimmy, what are doing?" along with a roll of the eyes and more pacing back and forth muttering. If the kids screw up a play he shakes his head and cusses under his breath. I'm thinking to myself, "what did you expect? you never took the time to instruct the kids on the proper fundamentals and give them a chance to practice them....now you're going to roll your eyes and scold them when they do things wrong?"
I still think this guy's a decent person at heart, my sense is he'd just under work or life stress and is letting that affect his behavior with the kids. It's not pretty to see.
There are 2-3 kids on the team who he seems to have no use for, and they typically only play the last half of the game and always in the outfield. They are often the ones who get snapped at most in the dugout or in practice.
Should I say something to the coach in private? It's his team and I'm trying to be supportive, but I have absolutely no patience for treating the kids disrespectfully and feel it drags the team down, not to mention the individual kids. At one point I told him that a particular kid's confidence was down, and I was making a special effort to help and encourage the kid, and the coach said he was glad I told him that. 10 minutes later he snapped at the kid for doing something wrong.
What would you do?
I am trying to make the best of this experience and take careful notes for next year, but at some point I feel a responsibility to the kids to see that their experience isn't compromised to the point where they quit. I wouldn't be surprised if some of these kids don't come back next year.
Last game I overheard a parent of one of our kids complaining to another coach about how his kid never got to play (our coach only puts him in the outfield for the last half of the game). There was never any meeting or even communication with the parents at the start of the season, so nobody including the kids really knows what the policy is on playing time. Just a total set-up for conflict.
What should I say when parents start sharing their concerns with me? Or am I guilty by association?
I hate to admit it but I'm already starting to look forward to the season being over--not good!
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Meg, thanks for the update. And, it makes an valuable counterpoint to Realgreen's defense of bad head coaches. Sure, you should value the efforts of coaches who volunteer their time to coach youth ball, but - at the end of the day - they've taken on the job that (usually) others would have been willing to handle if they hadn't, and so they owe it to the kids to make it a good experience for all. And that's what you owe to every kid -- to "make it a good experience for all".
While there's not much time left, you can say to the HC, "I'm hearing third hand that there's some grumbling about playing time and negativity. While we should be developing kids for next year in any event, given our record there's no excuse for not letting some of the developing players try new positions - infielding and catching. And, while you may not have realized that anyone noticed, your cussing in the dugout and snapping at players [give an example if you have to] is the sort of thing that the league and parents will really jump on us about."
And, yeah, on the side, you need to deliver the praise and encouragement to kids that they're not getting from the HC. One thing you can do is to offer to set up a private practice with your kid and one of the chewed-out kids. If the HC is jumping on him for missing fly balls and he's getting frozen in practices because of fear of failure, maybe offering a chance to catch fly balls with just the three of you will help him and certainly will make him feel more special and appreciated. For the kid who wants to try catching, you can say you heard his request and perhaps asking in a game isn't the best timing -- and then offer to have your kid pitch to him on the side and to work with him on technique. Tell each such kid where you see his strength and potential is and give him suggestions as to how he should prepare for next year, and even talk to his parents about his off-season. A major reason kids don't stick with baseball is that they and their families get the feeling that the coaches don't care if the kid comes back the next season; that's criminal.
As far as talking with parents, you can mildly defend the coach by saying he's pretty devoted to the team and maybe a little down about the results but that, if they feel he's not doing a good job, they should let the league (commissioner/division prez/etc.) know their thoughts. This way, you're not actually 'talking behind his back' but appropriately helping the league to make a decision about the guy or even to get a counselor/experienced coach to improve him.
If you know one of the league officials well, you might ask him or her to attend a game and watch the guy's demeanor, so as to get their own read on him. Unless the guy has a complete change of heart in the off season, it sounds like he should be retired, and you need to give the league a chance to assess him. It's amazing how often bad coaches are retained simply because the league officials didn't realize that there were problems. Our rec league had a marginally abusive (and secretly alcoholic) guy continue on for a couple of years until the problem came to a head/crystallized when he showed up for a game blind drunk and started abusing everyone verbally. (He was immediately yanked from the field by parents and his assistants and never coached again.) Only afterwards did folks in hindsight realize that there'd been warning signs.
That rec league belongs to the Positive Coaching Alliance, and one of their procedures calls for the appointment of PCA coordinators at the division and even team level to monitor compliance with Positive Coaching standards. Again, it's probably too late for this season, but you might suggest that the league look into its programs if it hasn't done so already.
Finally, as you're doing, keep of list of what's going wrong and right and be ready for next year. If you want to shoot for the guy's job (if your kid would normally be assigned to his team) - and I think it's appropriate to do so - and you're being interviewed next fall, you can say, "It pains me to say this because Joe is a good guy and worked hard, but I saw a lot of painful things last year that I really wish could be repaired to make sure all kids have a good experience." Then, you can deliver your list, starting with the failure to communicate at the beginning of the season how playing time would be meted out, and going on from there.
Last edited by Ursa Major; 05-15-2012 at 10:37 AM.
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Nothing you have said sounds very extreme at all. Focus on the good. Does he ever compliment hustle, attitude, or performance. Has he ever picked up a player who was down. You are the assistant coach, match his attitude in the opposite direction. For every negative vibe he puts off find a positive. If the bottom players are playing half the game that's pretty generious compared to many other teams.
How many games are left? If you have a field, organize a couple year end FUN practices. A game of wiffle ball. Intersquad scrimmage. Kick ball. Finished off with some Ice Cream. Water ballon fight. Leave a good taste in their mouth. Don't drag out a bunch of burnt out kids to do station work in the final weeks of league thinking you are going to make a difference.
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This is rec league baseball right? The coach has volunteered his time for years if I remember correctly from previous posts. This is not travel ball or comp ball with paid coaching and a HS level program of coaching. Manage expectations. It's the parent and kids responsibilty to insure they are getting reps in outside of practice.
While station work is great, time is limited. You need situational practice to grow your players into a team. 2-3 hours a week of practice is not going to cut it. The reps need to be coming outside of practice.
Very very very few teams that I have ever watched had coaches that had zero emotions over errors and/or bad plays.
Baseball Dad
Your best role may be to be the "good cop" to his "bad cop". Make sure to give an "atta boy" any time a player makes a good play, even if it's just backing up a throw or hustling after a foul ball. If a player makes a mistake pull him aside and use it a chance to teach the player. During practice pull one or two of the struggling players at a time to the side and work on grounders, fly balls, hitting. The best assistants I've had are the ones that are willing to do this. As a head coach trying to work with a whole team at a time it's difficult to give all the boys the individual attention they need to improve.
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Its kind of funny that on another board I said a few much less “provocative” things about our coach, and was told I was throwing him under the bus and should be fired.Here’s the thing. Nobody’s getting paid for coaching a LL Majors team, and in fact its more likely to be costing the coaches money, and definitely a lot of time. But, the fact is, they call him the head coach or manager for a reason, and that should always be respected.
As long as you’re up front, honest, and respectful with the guy, PLUS keep whatever suggestions or differences you have away from the players and the parents, if he can’t deal with it, that’s his problem. The worst he can do is fire you, and from what you said, you’ll be the big hooha next year and you can run things the way you want.
While it might seem like it, this isn’t a big deal! No kid’s baseball career is gonna be ruined because this guy ran crappy practices, and there’s virtually nothing he’s gonna do in one LLI season good or bad that can’t/won’t be undone in a couple weeks of work with dad in the back yard
Like I said, to me everything hinges on not farting in the guy’s face. Unless he’s got the intelligence of a rock, he’ll realize you aren’t trying to cause problems, as long as you keep everything out of earshot of everyone else.
The pitcher who’s afraid to throw strikes, will soon be standing in the shower with the hitter who's afraid to swing.
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Good advice, I've been doing that some but will step up my efforts particularly with the kids that are catching most of the grief. I typically show up to games about an hour early, and my son along with any kids that show up then get extra cage time with me, or fielding practice, etc.
His boy will be too old for LL next season, so he's already told me this is it for him. He's looking to me to take over next year.[/QUOTE]
Good idea. I definitely think the League here could do a lot more to provide support, training, etc. to coaches. When I started coaching 2 years ago I took it upon myself to read, watch video, and educate myself prior to my first season, but that was all my initiative, the league here basically does a background check, hands you a roster, and says "good luck."
Definitely, this is all a learning experience and in the long run will probably make me a better coach. Just gets a little frustrating.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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A year-end celebration of some sort is definitely a good idea. I organized a team outing to a AA game in April, which was great, will definitely make sure something fun gets planned for the end of the year. Last year the HC (who was assistant last year) organized a bowling party with pizza, not exactly baseball-oriented but the kids enjoyed it.
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Good advice, thanks. I'm doing this now but will make an extra effort with the kids who seem most discouraged.
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I've done this, and the few times I've made suggestions he's ignored them. Which is certainly his prerogative, just doesn't make for the best working relationship or produce the best results.
My challenge at this point is to keep my attitude positive and remain enthusiastic and not let the negatives get me down. Yeah, the experience is not all it could be for the kids, and maybe some of them will not come back, but at the end of the day 12 kids are out there playing ball together, which is a wonderful thing.
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Respect for the man has to be earned. There's is a minimum level of respect for the title of "head coach". Respect is not permanent. It can be gained or lost.
As a head coach I expect it to be my duty to take care of all of the "logistics" regarding lineups, schedules, etc. I expect all coaches to coach their butts off with the the best of their ability. As a head, it's my job to communicate expectations and distribute information and strategies that i want the players to utilize. I expect coaches to continually increase their knowledge and add tools to their tool box. If I'm the only one thinking and making suggestions then the team is only going to be as strong as one man's ideas, and that's not ideal.
As an assistant coach, I expect to be directed and to bring all of my talents and passion to the table.
If I were assisting a coach that IMO wasn't doing much, then I'd simply say at some point, "While you're working with the batters,I'm gonna take these 5 kids over here and work fly balls, so we can get more done in the less time." Coaches don't argue with getting more done in less time.
Sometimes head coaches don't delegate responsibility because they don't know or don't trust the assistant (by trust I mean, they don't know that you can teach it as well as they can). Continue to offer to work with kids and to lead some activities. That's all you can do. If he continually refuses to differentiate the practices, then that's his decision, not yours. Don't give up and just concede.
I strongly believe that "a clear conscience is the softest pillow" and would encourage you to keep doing everything you can to do the right thing. Keep offering to help.
Scorekeeper
Very true indeed. But to be honest, we’re only getting one side of this discussion, and I don’t like being in that position, then offering advice that ASSUMES the other side of the discussion to be in error. That’s not to imply Meg is lying, but we are just getting his perception of what’s going on. If this fellow so many are saying is so wrong was as bad as all that, how long would he have lasted as a head coach, in even a rotten league?
I’m guessing he has to be doing something right, but that his ideas seem antiquated and therefore not in the best interests of the kids. I’ll tell ya, I don’t think its all that bad that kids at that age aren’t being expected to come out of the experience ready for a ML contract. Kids at that age don’t have to play like MLrs or even HS players in order to have fun and enjoy the experience, and that’s what I believe keeps them in the game.
If it’s a standard LLI season, isn’t it 20 games at the most? That’s not going to make or break a whole lot of kids. Should the manager and coaches do their best to make the practices fun and still accomplish making the kids better? Of course they should! I’m just sayin’ I don’t know that what’s happening there is so bad, or that the guy is such a clod that he can’t be reasoned with.
The pitcher who’s afraid to throw strikes, will soon be standing in the shower with the hitter who's afraid to swing.
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You say it so much better than me!
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This is his first and last year as head coach. He was assistant coach last year.
This isn't about trying to develop big leaguers, it's about creating a fun experience for the kids where they learn a few things about baseball and experience some success in their own personal accomplishments, and maybe in the team's also. Losing every game you play in a season is not the end of the world, but let's face it, baseball's a lot more fun when you get to experience some success on the field.
No it's not the end of the world, and just the fact that these kids are together playing ball is great.
Look, the coach is a nice guy. He asked me to help him out this year, I said "sure." I still think he's a nice guy (except when he vents his life frustrations at the kids), and I give him credit for stepping up to take on the head coach role.
At the same time, I think if you take on a role like that you should make a certain commitment to it: like putting a little thought and planning into each practice, communicating expectations and policies with the kids and their families, taking a little time to talk with your assistant coach to explain your philosophy and approach and what you want them doing for you. Heck, maybe even ask their opinion once in a while, or at least be open to their suggestions.
If it was just a matter of a guy who was giving it his all but just doesn't really know how to coach kids effectively, that'd be one thing. But the commitment doesn't appear to be 100% to me, so that makes me less sympathetic. I could give bunch of little examples, but I won't bore you with the details, so just trust me.
I will just try to make the best of it and look forward to next year.
Scorekeeper
WHOA! That’s certainly not the impression I got from your previous posts. But even though it really adds a lot to the conversation, what went on when he was the asst?
I won’t argue, but I will ask you to do something, and make a real effort when you do. Assume the team loses every game under that coach, and in losing they get pummeled every time. Are you saying that no kid on the team ever has a positive experience, has any fun what-so-ever, or has improved as a player? Or, are you saying it’s a matter of degree, where if they win half the games they have twice as much fun and improve twice as much, and if they’d win all the games, everyone would have nothing but fun and all the players would turn into superstuds?This isn't about trying to develop big leaguers, it's about creating a fun experience for the kids where they learn a few things about baseball and experience some success in their own personal accomplishments, and maybe in the team's also. Losing every game you play in a season is not the end of the world, but let's face it, baseball's a lot more fun when you get to experience some success on the field.
In the end, everything is more fun when you do better than your competition, that’s what competition means, and its measured in baseball by a “W” or an “L”. But IMHO too many people equate winning a baseball game at any level, on an equal basis with winning in the ML, and that’s not the way things are or how they should be.
Then why is it that that’s not enough for you. Here’s something that comes out of my 1996 rulebook, and is still the purpose of LLI as far as I know.No it's not the end of the world, and just the fact that these kids are together playing ball is great.
THE PURPOSE OF LITTLE LEAGUE
Little League Baseball is a program of service to the youth. It is geared to provide an outlet of healthy activity and training under good leadership in the atmosphere of wholesome community participation.
The purpose of amateur sports programs is basically to instill in our youngsters those attitudes and characteristics which will make them better adjusted adults in the years ahead. This can be accomplished by teaching them to prepare themselves physically and mentally before competition so they have every chance to succeed.
Do you even a hint about winning in that? Yes, winning is more fun than losing, but at the level we’re discussing, it should definitely be held in less esteem than so many people seem to hold it.
I don’t know where you get the idea that every volunteer is going to be the epitome of perfection, but that’s an idea you have to get out of your head. No matter what, there are gonna be things people don’t like about other people, and there’s gonna be a lot of “not invented here” when it comes to this kind of thing. And its not because the other guy is always wrong, but rather because we are all individuals with different things having shaped the way we act and think.Look, the coach is a nice guy. He asked me to help him out this year, I said "sure." I still think he's a nice guy (except when he vents his life frustrations at the kids), and I give him credit for stepping up to take on the head coach role.
Just give the guy what credit he deserves, then try to do a better job next year when you’re in charge.
That’s you. I happen to agree, but I also know its not always gonna happen, and I don’t expect it to.At the same time, I think if you take on a role like that you should make a certain commitment to it: like putting a little thought and planning into each practice, communicating expectations and policies with the kids and their families, taking a little time to talk with your assistant coach to explain your philosophy and approach and what you want them doing for you. Heck, maybe even ask their opinion once in a while, or at least be open to their suggestions.
That’s where you should have been at the very beginning. Not everyone takes on everything they do with the zeal and gusto you do, but that’s just the way it is. There aren’t enough great coaches who know how to plan practices and handle kids perfectly, while winning games. I wish there were and its heartbreaking to see when a coach isn’t very good, but that’s just the way it is.If it was just a matter of a guy who was giving it his all but just doesn't really know how to coach kids effectively, that'd be one thing. But the commitment doesn't appear to be 100% to me, so that makes me less sympathetic. I could give bunch of little examples, but I won't bore you with the details, so just trust me.
I will just try to make the best of it and look forward to next year.
Just be prepared next year for the 1st time some parent asks you why Billy isn’t starting, or why you don’t do such and such a drill to make the corner infielders get better. If there are 12 kids on the team, each with 2 parents and one sibling, and 1 coach and 3 assistants, that’s going to be over 100 different perspectives and 100 different opinions at every game.
The pitcher who’s afraid to throw strikes, will soon be standing in the shower with the hitter who's afraid to swing.
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There's probably not a lot more to be said here, since we can't fully assess what really went on during the season based on the Meg's conceded inability to describe everything that troubled him. Even RealGreen and I - who may be seen to be on opposite poles here - are probably drifting toward one another if we can avoid the need to 'win' any arguments. Most importantly, Meg seems to be a pretty smart cookie who's willing to accept criticism and new viewpoints, and I think he understands the limitations of what can be achieved in the remaining time left to him.
If there's anything new to take away from the extended discussion that has been inspired here is that the league may be partially at fault for letting the situation get to where it has gotten with this particular team. Yes, as RealG points out, coaches have real emotions and vent them during games, even if kids get the brunt of it. We've all seen that and discussed it, which is exactly why a league has to anticipate the problem and set up mechanisms for making sure that the culture and dynamic of playoffs doesn't exacerbate that tendency. Now that we know that this manager was a first-timer, the league should have had him on 'probationary' status and had someone looking over his shoulder both to help him manage parent expectations and set up practice plans, and then monitor how he was doing. And, yes, they can remind the manager that his "natural" negativilty is showing through so that he can catch himselfr while he's doing it and prevent (or reduce it from happening.
Where I do want to give props to RealGreen is in making a point that I overlooked - there's just so much baseball that a kid is going to get from his LL team and a lot of the drilling and overall experience should come from parents and anyone that the parents can hire or cajole to help their kid on the side. I'm not suggesting that only parents who can afford private coaching are entitled to have their kids turn into good players. But, parents should first realize that they shouldn't automatically turn to a stranger who the league has chosen as manager and assume he'll know what he's doing. Heck, my kid is on a high school varsity team and the prevailing wisdom of parents in the know is that they won't rely on the team's "hitting coach" to mentor their kids' batting.
But, heck, there are a jillion knowledgeable baseball junkies - like about 90 percent of us here - who will if politely asked spend a considerable amount of time with a kid for free if he's willing to put in some effort. I was approached a number of years ago by the mom (one of two in a two-mom relationship) of a moderately talented 8 y/o kid who, she felt, wasn't getting much attention from the coaches and was being overlooked at all-star selection time because neither she nor her partner could break into the league's 'old boy' network. Over the ensuing 4 years, my son and I spent about three practices a year working privately with the kid to help him step it up a bit, and he ended up being one of the top players at the 11-12 y/o level. It doesn't take much to help a kid -- sometimes it's enough to hear what they're being 'taught' by their amateur coaches and to help them filter the good stuff from the crapola, and then a focused and dedicated kid can go off and work with his parents or friends on improving those skills.
While Meg understandably is critical of the manager who's doing less than his best (heck, we all second-guess every manager we see, from the majors on down), he can also improve his response in the same manner that the manager must do when facing kids who do less than their best: let it slide off his back and work like crazy to improve the kids. A kid who gets a lot of criticism from the manager during the season can usually be picked up with a few 'atta boys' and a lot of encouragement along the lines of, "I know manager X jumped on you for not catching that ball last game, but that's because he knows that you've got some really good baseball skills and usually will get that ball. I see that you've got a lot of potential in you doo, so let's spend some time to make that catch as natural for you as taking a breath." One of the advantages I have is having made the journey with my son and his friends to and through high school ball, and I can go back and sincerely say to the current crop of young kids, "Hey, these guys made the same mistakes as you have, and they're stars now, 'cuz they didn't give up."
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