A disturbing trend

Good examples. Parents do play a lot in it.

 

Administration with no stomach!!!

I doubt you see much of this at schools with solid AD's and Principal's. If parent's are allowed to run the show then it's just Daddy ball all over again.

 

I see this as pretty simple.

Money, time, investment, and even peer pressure.

Over the last 20 years our society has changed. We are a generation that wants 'it' now, is used to conveniences and instant gratification. Let me be more specific.

Baseball is becoming more of an elitiest sport. We talked about this weeks ago. Look at the money, time and investment being spent. Not only does equipment cost substantially more but look at the investment in money and time in the game that many of us make, my family included. Look at the cost today being spent on training. Just in Greensboro we have Greensboro Batting Center, carolina Acceleration, Baseball Academy, Velocity, Proehlific park being built, and many more smaller businesses. All built to feed on training young athletes. The stakes are higher because the investment is higher. The cost of travel ball, the time invested. Yes Showcase does contribute to this but its only an extension of AAU and Showcase is not the only reason. Far from it. It starts at younger ages.

People (especially parents) expect more for their time, money and investment that have put in over the years. With us being part of the 'instant gratification' generation we expect results immediately for the effort put forward. This is part of what drives the heavier parental involvement. Every parent/child is looking for that 'edge' they can gain over another child. And for many, there's nothing they will not spend. I know I have personally dropped a few dollars.

The last comment is on peer pressure. Nobody likes to admit this but no one wants to see their kid get left behind. Many parents continue to live vicariously through there children. Soccer parents love to brag that their kid is on the best Classic travel team, baseball parents love to brag that their team won Nationals or is on an Impact team or whatever. You can see where some people's sense of self-worth goes up depending on where their kid is.

As parents we have to let our kids go play the game they choose (if they choose one at all), let them have fun and let them figure out who they are and what path they want to take. This doesn't mean we don't stop helping them by making opportunities available to them. I feel if a child wants to pursue something we should help them as much as possible. I know I do and will continue to support my kids in whatever they choose. But we have to realize that our child or ourselves is no less of a person just because our child does not achieve the same level of success as others on the field of play or in the classroom.

God put us all here with a specific purpose in mind. We weren't all put here to play Major League Baseball.

 

Agree

 

Beyond Reasoning!

This was an "all too real scenario" at our high school. Fortunately our AD, Principal and Superintendant backed up our coach. We even had a parent to attack the coach. This same person later tried to get a seat on the school board so that he could get this teacher/coach fired. It has been three years since his son graduated and he still is harboring ill feelings and bends anyone’s ear that will listen to him.

My worst fear is that one day I will turn on the TV and the 10:00 news will have some story of a parent gone postal that came to a game and opened fire.

This is a problem that we had better take care of now, before it’s too late!

 

Excellent comments and insight here, all of which have happened in athletics...

 

I think everyone is got the idea of what the causes are. Does anyone have solution ideas? I think having each school system following their own agendas is a place to start. The state has it's standards for teachers. Let's say you do this for AD's, Assitant AD's and coaches. These would at least hold adminasrations to fill these positions with persons who can at least do the job. It would not mean that outside coaches would not be able to fill these positions. Just they would have to meet some type of standard.

 

There may not be a solution. Or the solution may be to learn to deal with it. Sometimes you can't change the market in business. Same thing here. The dynamics have changed in youth sports. I feel very strongly that the coach's job just got harder. Like it or not, coaches are going to have to learn to communicate with parents and players more than in the past. I know many will hate that. And I'll be the first to say it should not be that way. However times have changed and the HS coach is not going to change it. Coaches will have to learn to adapt. I realize many coaches here will disagree with this opinion. And if they happen to agree, they still won't like it. Unfortunately, this is where we are right now. Parents and kids believe there is more at stake with the investment being made.

 

I guess every school has its own story like the ones here. Here's ours:

About six years ago we had a decent catcher who looked like a million bucks. About 6 ft and 220. Good behind the plate with an average arm. Problem was he couldn't hit his way out of a wet paper bag. Got tons of chances and our coach finally gave up his senior year and started DHing for him. Well, his dad got the idea that State was about to offer him except for the fact that he was not getting to hit. Put the kid up to DEMANDING right before a game to be in the batting order or he was quitting. Coach stuck to his guns and the kid peeled off the uni and walked out.
Dad decides soon after to run for the school board AND WINS. For about four years he made life completely miserable for our coach. Luckily the guy finally gave up and didn't run for reelection. It was a bad situation and perfect example of a parent letting his ego get out of control. And all he really accomplished was ruining his own child's senior year.

 

What a sad, sad story.

It was late last night and I didn't do a very good job in explaining myself. In 2003, there were 2 players in Charlotte that received a D1 scholarship. In 2005, there were 7 players, alone, on my son's HS team that received athletic scholarships. In 2003, Mike Shildt, at On Deck, deciding that he wanted to get the players in Charlotte noticed. So he formed the 1st "Showcase" team from NC to compete at the PG WWB World Series. Every single player from Daniel Bard to Robert Woodard received a D1 scholarship that played on that team. The bar had been set and others wanted to match. Showcase baseball in Charlotte had taken off. Everybody wanted an invitation to play for On Deck.

The point I am trying to make is there is a side effect to this success. Prior to 2003, parents/players did not have expectations to play beyond HS...at least not in Charlotte. Sure there were always a few studs that you knew were going to play at the next level, but not very many that would raise people's expectations. They would go to a game cheering on the team because HS baseball represented the community and school pride...nothing else. It was an event to play against one's rival. Now, there are very few rivalries left.

I am not advocating the concept of Showcase baseball is faulty. It is great! It has provided 100's of players across our state an opportunity that they never had before. The oportunity to play at the next level. And if you don't believe that, all you have to do is look at the numbers. The players recruited pre-2003 and players recruited in NC in 2007. Those numbers are startling.

I believe that Putt was right on the money. I appreciate his candor and honesty. The parents have invested $1,000's and they are looking for a return. Unfortunately, their agendas and a HS coach's agenda may not match.

I hate to lose good coaches; they don't grow on trees. But I am afraid that the trend of losing more quality coaches may have just started.

People say, "But coaches don't do this for the money. They do it for the love of the game" True...but there must be a balance. And when the balance is heavily weighted to the frustrations of dealing with poor backing of administrators, dealing with irate parents and having to coddle a spoiled child. Well, it won't be surprising to see more leave the HS ranks.