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re: Anyone experience douchey coaches in youth rec leagues?
Posted on 1/20/26 at 1:37 pm to burger bearcat
Posted on 1/20/26 at 1:37 pm to burger bearcat
Had similar situation in Littke League for 7 & 8 year olds.
Our coach rotated kids fairly. Regardless of score or position. 2 teams in particular always had the same first baseman and shortstop. All they did was switch them back and forth but neither ever left the game.
It’s kind of humorous watching coaches take winning to this extreme. How pathetic can you get?
Our coach rotated kids fairly. Regardless of score or position. 2 teams in particular always had the same first baseman and shortstop. All they did was switch them back and forth but neither ever left the game.
It’s kind of humorous watching coaches take winning to this extreme. How pathetic can you get?
2
Posted on 1/20/26 at 4:10 pm to burger bearcat
quote:
Next move is go to the athletic Director to complain.
Let it go and get your kid some lessons.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 4:14 pm to GeauxGutsy
My oldest will get to play every inning. My middle kid will sit every other inning as hes the youngest on the team. Just the way it is.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 7:11 pm to Tridentds
quote:
Our coach rotated kids fairly. Regardless of score or position. 2 teams in particular always had the same first baseman and shortstop. All they did was switch them back and forth but neither ever left the game.
I’ll disagree with you on first base. I coached my son in rec ball for several seasons before he started playing select which he does now. If you have kids who are capable of throwing to first, they deserve to have someone there who can catch it, assuming you have someone who can.
Additionally, it’s not fair to a kid who isn’t capable of playing first to put him in that position. He can get hurt and the other kids are resentful. I always played a good player at first. I rotated folks elsewhere. I always had great feedback from parents and kids who had a ball. There would be an optional interleague post season tournament. We were the only team to have every kid come to it and that happened multiple times. You don’t have to be the best team to create a very fun environment, but you do need to be fair and realistic.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 7:29 pm to burger bearcat
If you truly want your kid to learn the fundamentals, buy him this. I have a VCR laying around somewhere if you need to borrow it.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 8:02 pm to arseinclarse
Where's Tom Emansky when you need him?
Posted on 1/20/26 at 10:30 pm to burger bearcat
Bow up and brace him and demand he explain why he plays the best players. I’m certain he will shrink back and be contrite.
Posted on 1/20/26 at 10:35 pm to burger bearcat
I coached thru Bossier Parks and Rec while my kids were growing up. My daughter played basketball and soccer and my son played basketball and football. I coached my son in football but let someone else coach his basketball because I coached my daughter’s basketball. I let someone else coach her soccer mainly because I had never played and didn’t feel I had the proper knowledge.
My philosophy was ages 5-8 to pretty much play everyone equally. I was more focused on them learning fundamentals and having enough fun to want to come back and play the next season. We prepared and made effort to win but wasn’t as concerned about the W/L record. And honestly at this age, the kids really don’t even care that much if they win or lose as long as they got to play, have fun, and there are snacks after the game.
By age 9, you can tell who is going to be average to excellent based on their athletic ability. As long as a kid has some naturally athletic ability then how good they actually end up being depends on how much time and effort they put into developing. By age 9 kids that have no athletic ability whatsoever probably will never get any better regardless of effort.
This is usually the age where I started putting more emphasis on winning. This is the age where the kids that do have some ability start not having fun unless you are winning. This is when I would shift my playing time more towards the better kids. If the kids with no talent didn’t like it, then they didn’t come back the next year. Some still did because even though they didn’t play much, they still had friends on team and just enjoyed being a part of it. And that was fine with me and I was glad to have them. I wasn’t going to ruin the experience for 90% of team because it was apparent that 10% shouldn’t even be playing.
Bottom line is I let the kids dictate how I geared playing time based on how much fun they were having and when they started hating losing.
I never showed favors towards my own kids. If anything I was harder on them. My son was a hell of an athlete. Was he my QB or running back? Nope. Now while he was always one of the fasted kids on the team, he was a bit undersized but also fearless and a tackling machine. I played him at safety because that is where I thought his size, speed, and skillset best fit the teams needs.
My daughter was very average athletically but was tall. Did I play her at point guard. Nope. Wasn’t where she fit. She didn’t have the quick twitch or lateral agility for that position. She did however have a tremendous work ethic, even better than my sons, and worked relentlessly on fundamentals. I played her Power Forward. She was a hell of a rebounder and could drain 3’s. Very average ball handler though.
My philosophy was ages 5-8 to pretty much play everyone equally. I was more focused on them learning fundamentals and having enough fun to want to come back and play the next season. We prepared and made effort to win but wasn’t as concerned about the W/L record. And honestly at this age, the kids really don’t even care that much if they win or lose as long as they got to play, have fun, and there are snacks after the game.
By age 9, you can tell who is going to be average to excellent based on their athletic ability. As long as a kid has some naturally athletic ability then how good they actually end up being depends on how much time and effort they put into developing. By age 9 kids that have no athletic ability whatsoever probably will never get any better regardless of effort.
This is usually the age where I started putting more emphasis on winning. This is the age where the kids that do have some ability start not having fun unless you are winning. This is when I would shift my playing time more towards the better kids. If the kids with no talent didn’t like it, then they didn’t come back the next year. Some still did because even though they didn’t play much, they still had friends on team and just enjoyed being a part of it. And that was fine with me and I was glad to have them. I wasn’t going to ruin the experience for 90% of team because it was apparent that 10% shouldn’t even be playing.
Bottom line is I let the kids dictate how I geared playing time based on how much fun they were having and when they started hating losing.
I never showed favors towards my own kids. If anything I was harder on them. My son was a hell of an athlete. Was he my QB or running back? Nope. Now while he was always one of the fasted kids on the team, he was a bit undersized but also fearless and a tackling machine. I played him at safety because that is where I thought his size, speed, and skillset best fit the teams needs.
My daughter was very average athletically but was tall. Did I play her at point guard. Nope. Wasn’t where she fit. She didn’t have the quick twitch or lateral agility for that position. She did however have a tremendous work ethic, even better than my sons, and worked relentlessly on fundamentals. I played her Power Forward. She was a hell of a rebounder and could drain 3’s. Very average ball handler though.
Posted on 1/21/26 at 8:14 am to burger bearcat
Hate to break it to you, this is nothing new...
Been going on since I played rec ball over 50 years ago...
Been going on since I played rec ball over 50 years ago...
Posted on 1/21/26 at 8:46 am to moneyg
quote:
Coach’s kids never come out during games. Maybe a one minute breather at most.
If the kid is actually the best and there is no other kid capable of playing PG, this is reasonable.
I coach 7-8 yr old boys biddy. This is the biggest issue about “even playing time”. I don’t have a backup PG that can run the plays. If I take my son out, none of the offense works. Then all the other boys on the floor get frustrated and discouraged.
I leave my PG and my best shooter in all 4 quarters and try to rotate some of the lesser talented players. If we are getting wide open shots, moving the ball and winning, kids 6-9 are happy.
Posted on 1/21/26 at 8:52 am to burger bearcat
quote:Maybe, but they are spending their precious and limited free time volunteering and providing a service for your kid. How much of your free time do you spend helping their kids?
still feel like the coaches are douches and should focus more on the developmental part of it
Posted on 1/21/26 at 9:02 am to MelGibsonPatriotGif
quote:
If we are getting wide open shots, moving the ball and winning, kids 6-9 are happy.
It's hard for some people to understand this.
If you only have one kid who can be the PG, then he has to stay in the game. Without him you get your arse kicked, no one gets shots off, and no one has fun.
I had a mom complain that my kid rarely ever would come out of games in 5th grade. Of all the coaches in that league, it was widely known that I played the lesser talented kids more than anyone else. And i would take my kid out if we had a nice lead.
Not long after she bitched about this we had a day where we were going to play 3 maybe 4 games on a Saturday, and the first game wasn't a tourney game so it wasn't important, and it was against a team we had already beat by 20.
So I did not play my son at all in the first half. We were down 10-4, and two of the kids were literally crying that they didn't want to play PG again.
Put my kid in for the 3rd quarter and we went into the 4th up 20-12. Didn't play him in the 4th quarter but when the game was 22-20 and i called a timeout with about a minute left the kids were begging me to put my kid back in, and i had to explain to them they need to suck it up and learn how to play without him b/c what happens if he gets hurt or fouls out at the end of a game. All we need to do is take care of the ball and make some free throws, and we did, and won 25-20.
After the game several parents came up to me and said let's not do that again, we need your kid on the court or none of this works. And i told a few of them that i know well, "well you can thank so and so's mom for complaining that my kid never comes out. Hope she understands why now."
and my kid passes the ball. We'll win a game 30-20 and he could have 8 points or 22 points. The other kids recognize he's the leader, and know he'll get them shots, and we talk all the time about being in the right spot and being ready to shoot. I will literally get upset with kids when they receive a pass and don't get a shot up b/c they weren't ready, and conversely, ill get mad at my kid when he drives and makes a pass out to one of those kids and throws it at their feet, or throws a week pass that takes two bounces to get to them and they can't get the shot off.
Posted on 1/21/26 at 9:09 am to burger bearcat
quote:
Anyone experience douchey coaches in youth rec leagues?
I umpired for about 10 years in several different leagues. First half of that was mostly little league and adult softball. The last half was mostly junior high and high school with the random all star tournament thrown in. The amount of a-hole coaches I met is in the 100s
Posted on 1/21/26 at 11:18 am to Bert Macklin FBI
Sure, but leagues oriented towards developing players have different objectives. Even on the professional level. See minor league baseball or reserve/youth teams in professional soccer.
Rec league/developmental leagues for kids are supposed to introduce kids to the sport and have a positive experience. Most kids don't play beyond rec league level. The sport itself is less important than the lessons the kids are supposed to take away: show up, work hard, show good sportsmanship, be part of a team focusing on a team goal (i.e. don't be selfish).
There are abundant opportunities out there for motivated kids/families who seek more intense competition where the baseline skill level among the players is higher. Plenty of life lessons to be learned here too, but the focus is on attaining victory, etc.
Rec league/developmental leagues for kids are supposed to introduce kids to the sport and have a positive experience. Most kids don't play beyond rec league level. The sport itself is less important than the lessons the kids are supposed to take away: show up, work hard, show good sportsmanship, be part of a team focusing on a team goal (i.e. don't be selfish).
There are abundant opportunities out there for motivated kids/families who seek more intense competition where the baseline skill level among the players is higher. Plenty of life lessons to be learned here too, but the focus is on attaining victory, etc.
Posted on 1/21/26 at 1:46 pm to Tridentds
quote:
Had similar situation in Littke League for 7 & 8 year olds.
Our coach rotated kids fairly. Regardless of score or position. 2 teams in particular always had the same first baseman and shortstop. All they did was switch them back and forth but neither ever left the game.
It’s kind of humorous watching coaches take winning to this extreme. How pathetic can you get?
this is stupid.....yea lets put the kid who doesnt pay attention at first so he can get smoked in the face by the ball
lets take our best players off the field because "fairness" and douche bags like tridentds who want everything fair
or
how about you work with your kid better so he is one of the best kids on the team and he can be trusted
you know....its called being a father. 15-30 min at a time 3-4 times a week a couple months before the season then throughout the season. not that hard
Posted on 1/21/26 at 1:50 pm to SHPMustang
quote:
Sure, but leagues oriented towards developing players have different objectives. Even on the professional level. See minor league baseball or reserve/youth teams in professional soccer.
Rec league/developmental leagues for kids are supposed to introduce kids to the sport and have a positive experience. Most kids don't play beyond rec league level. The sport itself is less important than the lessons the kids are supposed to take away: show up, work hard, show good sportsmanship, be part of a team focusing on a team goal (i.e. don't be selfish).
There are abundant opportunities out there for motivated kids/families who seek more intense competition where the baseline skill level among the players is higher. Plenty of life lessons to be learned here too, but the focus is on attaining victory, etc.
since when did little league turn into baby sitting?
and how about we teach the lesson that out working and out performing others is rewarded...you know the real things that matter in life.
sorry but your boss isnt going to say...oh well he showed up, showed good teamwork but he doesnt produce...lets give him a raise anyways
no...they are going to give the raise and promotion to those that produce...you know winners.
winning is a lesson in and of itself and show is learning to compete your arse off.
losers whine about fairness...the kids that will be successful ones are the kids that compete their asses off and are pissed when they lose and learn to channel the anger into action.
when yall talk like this....it makes you sound like liberal pussies who so many on this board claim to despise.
"oh my poor baby isnt as good and doesnt work as hard but he should get to play just as much and the positions he wants because that is only fair!"
Posted on 1/21/26 at 1:59 pm to danilo
quote:
Don’t we also complain youth sports have become too much about club/travel teams?
yep....this board bitches about fairness in LL and rec leagues and claiming everything is developmental then turns around and bitches when parents of good athletes pull their kids and go to more competitive leagues
cant have it both ways.
Posted on 1/21/26 at 2:15 pm to burger bearcat
most rec leagues at that age have playing time requirements. Our league requires 1.5 quarters for everyone, so a 10 person team splits the first 3 quarters, then the 4th quarter you can play your best 5 the whole time. I think its a good balance.
Posted on 1/21/26 at 2:33 pm to burger bearcat
Hijacking. Thoughts on the opposite below:
School is small and doesn't have enough players to field a JV and Varsity basketball team. Since this is the case, the players that would either make a JV team or no team at all are required to play 1 quarter.
Varsity team is playing other schools' Varsity teams and when players 7-11 come in, are getting severely outmatched. Teams the school is playing have 1 varsity and at least 1 JV team, some 2 or 3 so those varsity teams are much more talented overall.
School is small and doesn't have enough players to field a JV and Varsity basketball team. Since this is the case, the players that would either make a JV team or no team at all are required to play 1 quarter.
Varsity team is playing other schools' Varsity teams and when players 7-11 come in, are getting severely outmatched. Teams the school is playing have 1 varsity and at least 1 JV team, some 2 or 3 so those varsity teams are much more talented overall.
This post was edited on 1/21/26 at 3:04 pm
Posted on 1/21/26 at 4:35 pm to lsu777
lsu777:
Focusing on basketball here:
(1) What is the appropriate age or age range for there to be a league with the express purpose of being a "development and instructional league" where a kid can learn how to make a lay up, how to get into a defense stance, and how to play within rudimentary offensive and defensive schemes?
(2) What is the appropriate age or age-range for an "development and instructional league" to have playing time guidelines and/or requirements?
(3) Is it possible that ensuring all athletes have an opportunity to play in a game scenario is part of the sports pedagogy that underlies a "development and instructional league"?
(4) At what age or age-range do you think children have the capacity for discernment? In other words, when would a child be able to figure out whether by themselves or by receiving advice from a coach/parent that extra work outside of practice is necessary in order to improve and potentially get more playing time?
(5) At what age or age-range should the focus of youth sports shift from a fun/positive introduction to a sport to a more competitive environment?
Focusing on basketball here:
(1) What is the appropriate age or age range for there to be a league with the express purpose of being a "development and instructional league" where a kid can learn how to make a lay up, how to get into a defense stance, and how to play within rudimentary offensive and defensive schemes?
(2) What is the appropriate age or age-range for an "development and instructional league" to have playing time guidelines and/or requirements?
(3) Is it possible that ensuring all athletes have an opportunity to play in a game scenario is part of the sports pedagogy that underlies a "development and instructional league"?
(4) At what age or age-range do you think children have the capacity for discernment? In other words, when would a child be able to figure out whether by themselves or by receiving advice from a coach/parent that extra work outside of practice is necessary in order to improve and potentially get more playing time?
(5) At what age or age-range should the focus of youth sports shift from a fun/positive introduction to a sport to a more competitive environment?
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