| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| metsFan |
Posted - 01/17/2015 : 11:35:48
I had a conversation with another parent regarding parent attendance at the HS tryout. I'm in the camp that believes it should be a drop off and pick up. He seems to feel that watching from the bleachers is ok. Obviously we both agree that there should be no communication during (get your glove down, your elbow up, etc) the process.
For those that have gone through the HS tryouts, what is your opinion on this? |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| AllStar |
Posted - 01/26/2015 : 11:51:32
Well the practices were open, so there was room for all kind of approaches, from going to every practice to going occasionally, to my approach.
My other son was in the Orchestra. I didn't go to their practices either. |
| BaseballMom6 |
Posted - 01/26/2015 : 10:26:03
Bballman- well said. Watching and supporting your kids is something that I don't think should ever stop. My son is a freshman this year, and I have been lucky enough to see a bit of the scrimmaging at their tryouts last week. I was pleasantly surprised to see just how many parents were out there just watching their sons, most of them parents of upperclassmen. I only heard one parent yell at his son while he was at the plate, and all the parents looked at him and distanced themselves from that parent. All the rest were just there enjoying the opportunity to show support to their player and watch. That doesn't mean we as parents couldn't "let go".
Hitandrun - I couldn't agree more that a coach that doesn't want any parents around watching has something to hide.
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| bballman |
Posted - 01/26/2015 : 09:50:29
I said it before and I'll say it again. There is a difference between letting go and wanting to watch your son play baseball. I still don't think there is anything wrong with watching. I say soak it ALL in because before you know it, you will be sitting there on senior night wondering where all the time went. I still can picture and feel the emotions of my son getting ready for HS tryouts as a freshman. Seems like yesterday to me and he is now a junior in college. I am now saying that about his college career. I can't believe he's a junior already and next year will be his last.
Letting go means not getting involved in his HS team. Letting go means not yelling at him when he's at the plate to do something mechanical or giving him instructions when he's on the mound. Letting go means not second guessing the coach's decisions and telling your son coach should have done something different. It basically means to stop trying to be his coach and start just being his dad or mom. That's not to say you can't still work with your son on his mechanics or throw with him or throw BP to him or hit him ground balls away from the team. But it means you are not his coach. It's not your business whether he gets on the field. It's not your business where he hits in the lineup. Being his dad or mom means that you just want to watch him play. I say soak up every minute of that you can.
If you are the kind of parent that cannot stay quiet and just HAVE to say something, then by all means stay away. If you just want to be a parent and soak up all of your son's baseball that you can - I say do it. It won't last forever. |
| AllStar |
Posted - 01/26/2015 : 08:25:41
quote:
Originally posted by GeorgiaBaseball
Stay away, far, far away. It's time to let go and allow little Johnny to grow up. You will look silly, maybe even a little creepy lurking from the parking lot. Some teams have a scrimmage to wrap up their try out week. Sometime parents are invited. Sometimes they are not.
This right here. I didn't and the first event after the final cut was a scrimmage, so that was the first I saw.I probably said 50 words to the coach in the 4 years of HS Ball. Mostly "good luck" and "thanks for a great year".
After coaching my son from 7-14 YO and attending a lot of his 15U practices and all of the local games, I felt like it was time for him to fly on his own. I actually tried to step back at 14, but the paid coaches didn't work out and I ended up having to run practices and coach third for the last half of the season. I never did a lineup that year except when the paid coaches showed up late for the last game of the year.
Worked out just fine. If you've done your job it's amazing how well they do when you let go. |
| Critical Mass |
Posted - 01/24/2015 : 09:55:37
Hi my name is Critical Mass and I'm a baseball junkie. A few days ago my wife prompted me to escort her to the practice where our Senior boys were scrimmaging Juniors. I respectfully declined and she gave me the "look". I might add , my son threw an inning or to 5 batters and there was a Padres scout there, so that is how I reconciled my presence there. I hope you can forgive me and thank me for sharing. :) |
| HITANDRUN |
Posted - 01/23/2015 : 14:12:26
I went and watched the local high school tryout for my district and guess what I don't even have a son playing. I love the game love watching tryouts and like to see what the coach is like.
I think if a coach doesn't want parents there he is hiding something. He is either embarrassed about his skills as a coach or can't hold back the F bombs. I don't know if a coach can ban parents from practice in the state of Georgia but I would bet money if a coach is doing that he is doing something he shouldn't be doing. |
| Mad1 |
Posted - 01/22/2015 : 14:34:30
quote:
Originally posted by DecaturDad
quote:
Originally posted by Mad1
Heard today, first two eight graders on our 13u team made their JV teams, 4 More to hear from.
Congrats on them making the team. It is a big accomplishment.
One question: Is the 8th grade housed on the same property as the high school? if not, I would think the kids could really feel like outsiders. (My son was the only freshman to make varsity last year, so he got to carry the ball bucket to practice, etc. I thought it was a fine practice as a way to get the younger kids to earn their stripes. But as an eight grader, they may feel more intimidated.)
Yes, their schools are housed together with the with middle school and high school on opposite sides of the athletic playing fields. Most the schools in this county are set up that way which makes it a great convenience. Had our third player make it today, All 6 we have trying out at different schools and different tryout schedules. If they have enough players, they field a 9th grade team, JV and Varsity, otherwise just JV and Varsity. |
| DecaturDad |
Posted - 01/22/2015 : 09:52:15
quote:
Originally posted by Mad1
Heard today, first two eight graders on our 13u team made their JV teams, 4 More to hear from.
Congrats on them making the team. It is a big accomplishment.
One question: Is the 8th grade housed on the same property as the high school? if not, I would think the kids could really feel like outsiders. (My son was the only freshman to make varsity last year, so he got to carry the ball bucket to practice, etc. I thought it was a fine practice as a way to get the younger kids to earn their stripes. But as an eight grader, they may feel more intimidated.)
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| Mad1 |
Posted - 01/21/2015 : 20:08:48
Heard today, first two eight graders on our 13u team made their JV teams, 4 More to hear from. |
| ItsGodGiven |
Posted - 01/21/2015 : 18:56:55
I'm pretty sure I made the "spooky" list a long time ago. Oh well, we all can't be perfect parents.... |
| turntwo |
Posted - 01/21/2015 : 18:22:59
quote:
Originally posted by CaCO3Girl
Yeah, I feel bad for the kids...but what kind of parent blows up over a 12u game or their kid's performance (or lack thereof) in that 12u game? What is going on in their head? Do they think they are helping?
The same parent that thinks their son is the next Chipper or Jeter. And feels their draft status slipping on every error. |
| CaCO3Girl |
Posted - 01/21/2015 : 16:19:07
quote:
Originally posted by Newbie BB Mom
quote:
Originally posted by rippit
Anyway, we once had a coach at 12u??? that used to tell us to just avoid certain parents and eventually they would go away. That's turning out to be pretty true. Already noticed that for the most part "Mr. or Mrs. Negative's kids" have been cut or didn't show up for tryouts this week.
While there are toxic "couples", we find that it's usually just the dad or just the mom. And the other funny thing is you find couples starting to take separate cars to games or tourneys because of this. Makes you feel bad for the parent who behaves themselves iin this scenario right?
Makes me feel bad for the kid, who can't pick his parents and may have no say in the matter, especially at the younger ages.
Yeah, I feel bad for the kids...but what kind of parent blows up over a 12u game or their kid's performance (or lack thereof) in that 12u game? What is going on in their head? Do they think they are helping? |
| Newbie BB Mom |
Posted - 01/21/2015 : 15:34:22
quote:
Originally posted by rippit
Anyway, we once had a coach at 12u??? that used to tell us to just avoid certain parents and eventually they would go away. That's turning out to be pretty true. Already noticed that for the most part "Mr. or Mrs. Negative's kids" have been cut or didn't show up for tryouts this week.
While there are toxic "couples", we find that it's usually just the dad or just the mom. And the other funny thing is you find couples starting to take separate cars to games or tourneys because of this. Makes you feel bad for the parent who behaves themselves iin this scenario right?
Makes me feel bad for the kid, who can't pick his parents and may have no say in the matter, especially at the younger ages. |
| Critical Mass |
Posted - 01/21/2015 : 13:02:27
Around these parts, the crazy parents tend to be well known well before tryouts. I like the idea of freshman parents getting a whiff of reality by sizing up the performances of those kids vs Varsity players...but a still against watching the practices in general. |
| rippit |
Posted - 01/21/2015 : 12:31:47
Hahahahaha. I'm sure the HS coach has already heard a LOT and is well aware. But to tack on to the idea, this is one of those things where the parents need to police each other. I've seen it too.
In 13u, we picked up with a player with a dad that freaked this kid out so bad that we threatened to tie him up in the woods and duct tape his mouth shut if he didn't stay out of the kid's sight line. The kid was a pretty good pitcher too. When he reached about 15u and played weekdays in the PG tourneys, Daddy wasn't there because of work. Kid made All Tournament.
He admitted his dad made him ultra nervous and he'd blow games when big daddy showed up. Never made it past freshman ball at his HS. Hmmmmmm.....
I think your reputation precedes you.
Anyway, we once had a coach at 12u??? that used to tell us to just avoid certain parents and eventually they would go away. That's turning out to be pretty true. Already noticed that for the most part "Mr. or Mrs. Negative's kids" have been cut or didn't show up for tryouts this week.
While there are toxic "couples", we find that it's usually just the dad or just the mom. And the other funny thing is you find couples starting to take separate cars to games or tourneys because of this. Makes you feel bad for the parent who behaves themselves iin this scenario right? |
| CaCO3Girl |
Posted - 01/21/2015 : 12:03:52
quote:
Originally posted by ItsGodGiven
So let me get this straight, you want the High School coach to study his players reaction to the presence of a specific parent and then subsequently ban the "spooky" parents from all baseball functions? Girl you crazy....
LOL! No, I don't want the high school coach to study the parents, I would hope they have better things to do. But I do imagine that the HC would be disappointed that he picked Kid X over Kid Y because he was the better player, only to find out in the first game that Kid X can't function when his parent is there.
If a kid is going to get spooked and play like crud due to a parents presence I would hope the coach would want that info BEFORE picking the team. |
| ItsGodGiven |
Posted - 01/21/2015 : 11:43:52
So let me get this straight, you want the High School coach to study his players reaction to the presence of a specific parent and then subsequently ban the "spooky" parents from all baseball functions? Girl you crazy.... |
| CaCO3Girl |
Posted - 01/21/2015 : 09:09:11
ItsGodGiven....okay confession time, my kid actually isn't in High School yet, he's in 7th grade. BUT, I have seen high school and higher travel ball games where a normally stable kid all of a sudden has errors galore when one parent or the other is there.
I have seen it from both a mom and a dad, there kid is in the zone, they yell one thing and poof the kid can't catch the ball or throw it to save his life. I was at one game where the dad handed the mom the keys and said "Just go home, you are bringing everyone down."...so yeah I am serious. I can't see this "spooking" going away in the next 2 years. |
| ItsGodGiven |
Posted - 01/20/2015 : 21:33:56
CaCo...what the heck are you talking about??? Make it mandatory for parents to show up to HS tryouts so the coach can see which DAD "spooks" his son into making errors...??? WHAT??? Man, your son must play with the most dysfunctional team of all time. That's some funny stuff....are you serious? |
| billbclk |
Posted - 01/20/2015 : 21:08:30
bballman we echo your sentiment about wanting to watch more baseball. Because we can readily go to Connecticut to watch our son play we have adopted GGC baseball to get our fix (about 4 miles from our house). |
| in_the_know |
Posted - 01/20/2015 : 20:41:56
Exactly. The atmosphere between travel and HS are completely different. If a coach sees a kid constantly being coached from the stands, the kid will be on the bench. It's a my way or the highway and it's clearly understood. The parents who are disgruntled with the HS coach tend to be the quietest. Complete 180 from what you've seen in travel ball.
That said, I don't disagree that parents, particularly freshmen parents, should come see how their kids compare to the upper classmen. Unbelievable size difference. The difference in hitting power is significant. Not that there aren't a few kids that stack up, but the overall size and strength difference is immediately obvious. My son told me that day one of tryouts had all the returning varsity as a group. When they hit, the underclassmen pitched to them and vice versa. The returning varsity squad was denting the OF walls while the underclassmen were getting K'd or hitting weak grounders at best. Afterward the coach told the underclassmen that this was varsity ball. That was the pitching level they'd have to face and if they were pitchers, those were the batters they'd have to get out. It was a big aha moment for the boys and probably a bigger aha moment for any freshman parents watching.
quote:
Originally posted by Critical Mass
I like the enthusiasm CaCO3Girl but most, if not ALL H.S. HCs could care less about the parents except from the standpoint of their participation in fundraising, & program including the booster club etc. Only a small percentage do the heavy lifting anyway so the majority are only there for their kids. This smacks a bit of rec ball all stars to me where parents think they are more important than they are in the game.
quote:
Originally posted by CaCO3Girl
I kind of wish every parent would show up to HS tryouts, in fact I think it should be mandatory!
1. You, as the parent, get to see what you will be dealing with in the stands! (Okay I know it's about the KIDS, but I think we would have passed on a few travel teams had I known what was waiting in the stands!)
2. The coach gets to see which parents will be a problem, and it could affect their kid's chance to get on the team! That or send around a contract stating coach has the power to ask ANY parent not to attend official baseball activities!
3. The coach can see which parent spooks the heck out of their kid, no point in having the perfect SS tryout and then when Daddy comes to the game the kid is fumbling over his own cleats for fear of getting yelled at by dad in front of everyone! (Again, that parents stay away contract is sounding good!)
MAKE IT MANDATORY, MAKE IT MANDATORY!!!
|
| Critical Mass |
Posted - 01/20/2015 : 16:39:27
I like the enthusiasm CaCO3Girl but most, if not ALL H.S. HCs could care less about the parents except from the standpoint of their participation in fundraising, & program including the booster club etc. Only a small percentage do the heavy lifting anyway so the majority are only there for their kids. This smacks a bit of rec ball all stars to me where parents think they are more important than they are in the game.
quote:
Originally posted by CaCO3Girl
I kind of wish every parent would show up to HS tryouts, in fact I think it should be mandatory!
1. You, as the parent, get to see what you will be dealing with in the stands! (Okay I know it's about the KIDS, but I think we would have passed on a few travel teams had I known what was waiting in the stands!)
2. The coach gets to see which parents will be a problem, and it could affect their kid's chance to get on the team! That or send around a contract stating coach has the power to ask ANY parent not to attend official baseball activities!
3. The coach can see which parent spooks the heck out of their kid, no point in having the perfect SS tryout and then when Daddy comes to the game the kid is fumbling over his own cleats for fear of getting yelled at by dad in front of everyone! (Again, that parents stay away contract is sounding good!)
MAKE IT MANDATORY, MAKE IT MANDATORY!!!
|
| CaCO3Girl |
Posted - 01/20/2015 : 15:35:16
I kind of wish every parent would show up to HS tryouts, in fact I think it should be mandatory!
1. You, as the parent, get to see what you will be dealing with in the stands! (Okay I know it's about the KIDS, but I think we would have passed on a few travel teams had I known what was waiting in the stands!)
2. The coach gets to see which parents will be a problem, and it could affect their kid's chance to get on the team! That or send around a contract stating coach has the power to ask ANY parent not to attend official baseball activities!
3. The coach can see which parent spooks the heck out of their kid, no point in having the perfect SS tryout and then when Daddy comes to the game the kid is fumbling over his own cleats for fear of getting yelled at by dad in front of everyone! (Again, that parents stay away contract is sounding good!)
MAKE IT MANDATORY, MAKE IT MANDATORY!!! |
| nastycurve |
Posted - 01/20/2015 : 13:18:32
Tell the tennis mom to email me, I have the proper etiquette for Tennis tryouts also... Starts with my John McEnroe handbook... |
| LittleDawg |
Posted - 01/20/2015 : 08:32:02
I attended the early tryout but stayed back. There may have been 35 freshman and sophomore boys but only 2-3 parents. I noticed a mom watching tucked back behind the concession stand and asked "Do you think we're far enough away" and she said "Oh yes, my son made it clear, 'you can come but stay back'" I laughed and told her that mine said the same. I than asked which kid was hers and she pointed to the Tennis Courts about 50 feet away and said "The tall one serving" LOL Apparently Tennis tryouts were yesterday too.
Nice to know that we (the baseball community) are not the only crazies out there |
