I'll be interested in comments from Skyboxers, esp Corey and I wish Larry was still around to comment, he used to be pretty close to the local baseball scene in Houston. Terry Unhappy Dad
Short version: Dad thought son was best pitcher on the team, coach didn't think so, Dad fumes and finally explodes his mind on the internet.
Yeah the kid endured it for 4 years, if it was that bad you have to wonder why he didn't transfer...unless of course other coaches didn't see his talent either.
I don't know anything about coach Noble personally, but this reads like the rantings of a psycho-dad. I am going to bet that this isn't the first vent this guy has launched on someone. He's probably been working the parents in the stands for a few years. True UMD story (for those who care to read). When I got to UMD, we had some great kids but not a lot of depth in talent. My #1 goal for that team was to turn around the public perception of the program and to get kids to Duluth. When I got there the kids basically just showed up to play and some alums would steer the occasional good local player who was getting overlooked their way.. but that was it. I think I did a damned good job there. The proof was in the pudding. While I coached there we won a conference title and the kids I recruited wound up winning another. Those 2 classes I recruited also produced the school's first 2 All-Americans . 6 in one class made All-NCAA Central Region. Prior to my arrival, the school had never had an All-NCAA-Central Region selection.. In my 2.5 years there and the recruiting classes I compiled, the Bulldogs had 12 All-Region selections including the NCAA Central Region player of the year. They haven't had one since those classes graduated, just as they never had one before. I tell you this not to honk my horn, but to say there are a good many folks up there who didn't like the 'outside guy' doing this. In his online coaching bio, their current HC in fact takes credit for it.. He had never been on an off-campus recruiting trip until 2002 (which means he couldn't have recruited any of the kids who graduated in 05 or before).. But still, locals hold sway.. they print what they want and live with themselves. I know the truth though. Hell, I still have the recruiting files. The guy I coached for retired and he left the program to a guy who wrote his resume based upon my achievements... but as time goes on, you can't ignore the lack of talent (and wins) that have gone on up there. That being said.. I recruited one kid who I saw as the 2b of the future. He was part of that class that eventually would enjoy so much national level success and I assure you, he could have been among the very best of them. His arm was weak, he had average speed but good instinct.. You can't teach that on the bases. He had a long, since action swing and really didn't throw the handle very well but he made great contact.. He had really good power, a switch hitter and a steady glove. This is DII we're talking about so a 2 tool guy can go a long way, they just have to be nurtured. The 2b that was in place at the time had been in the program, had a ton of heart and was a straight A student. He wasn't a kid we were going to throw under the bus. We were going to let him get beat out.. We shall call him CK. I liked CK a lot but he didn't have the talent that the new kid had. It was clear (to me) that it was only a matter of time until the younger kid replaced him. The younger kid was a child actor.. (seriously, you've seen him in movies) and I had been warned about his dad and the kid.. I got to know them both personally and took a long time measuring them up. The kid was solid. He had a shaky home life going on (you could tell mom and dad were headed for the splits) and Dad was a bit of a talker.. very much like this guy who posted this blog. Before offering the kid I had a talk with the dad and told him frankly that the reason his son wasn't being recruited by bigger schools wasn't the boy... it was HIM. The Dad assured me he'd be no trouble. I warned him again that neither I or Scott Hanna (the HC) were coaches you wanted to cross. Scott would blow a gasket and get in your face... Me, I'd just be done with you. I'd simply replace your kid in the next recruiting class. He vowed this would never be an issue. About 14 games into the kid's freshman year, Dad blew up. I had known from other parents that he'd been running his mouth since the opener about how his kid was so much better and how he deserved to be the starter. He got in Coach Hanna's face and Scott told him to pack his sh*t, his kid and GTFO of Duluth. The kid wound up transferring to a high profile DIII program. I think he played for a year or two before washing out. But I'm here to tell you, he could have been great (at that level)... but it was Dad who got in the way. Loving your kid isn't a crime. Not letting him be his own man when the time comes should be though.
Good story, Corey. This kind of parental interference likely goes on everywhere with great frequency. IMO, you handled it well and really didn't lose anything when the kid left. Too bad for the kid, though. A more subtle kind of dad control happens in all sports at the elementary school level. I've observed it with teams that my two older grandsons play for. Sometimes they (my grandsons) are affected by it, sometimes not. A dad will coach a team because he wants to control his son's development. Hence the son plays ahead of kids who might have more talent. My son-in-law, who was an excellent D-2 college pitcher (once offered a free agent contract by the White Sox but turned it down), has a good attitude about it. He always says that the cream eventually will rise to the top.....when the kids leave dad coaching (about 7th grade) and have pre-high school coaches who don't have personal agendas.
Interesting you mention that Sid. I'm in that position now with my son. Due to the divorce, I live in a city an hour away. That position simply is not going to change unless something drastic happens and/or changes. I spend a lot of time with Carson doing all sorts of things, but we still get out to play ball from time to time. One thing I have noticed is exactly what you are talking about. What has given me cause is that these dads basically are forming the high school teams when these kids are 9 and 10 years old. Nothing, and I mean nothing, could be more damaging to that local HS program that this but they seem to be a part of it as well. Every other season Carson plays for the guy who coached his team this year. I have no issue with this as I see him as being very good for the kids and he cares for them genuinely. That being said... His son (who is a year older than Carson, thus the every other year thing) was our 'star' pitcher this year.. He was terrible. Nothing against the kid and he is one HELL of a SS, but he simply is not a pitcher. Carson's team had 4 coaches, and 5 pitchers... all coach's sons sans one who simply chucked strikes. Their 1st practice of the year took nearly 2 hours because the kids they kept pitching couldn't throw strikes. As I have every year, I called the exact reason they would lose the area championship tournament as they do every year.. They get there. The coach does a good job... but against the better teams, one of the glaring weaknesses based upon reliance on coach's kids comes back to haunt them. I was, sadly, right once again. Carson is 5'2 125 and left handed. He throws HARD to the extent that I'm actually jealous. When I was 9, I was a teenie tiny runt although I played in the Major Division as a 9 year old (against the 12 and 11s). I threw hard and had flawless mechanics (JOCO really knows his stuff). Throughout my entire life, every coach I played for would use me to show the other pitchers exactly what proper mechanics should look like. I modeled my mechanics based upon what my father told me and what I saw from the pitcher my dad told me to copy, Tom Seaver. I've had pitching and pitching mechanics hammered into my head from the time I can walk. Carson has some mechanical balance issues (remember, not all the DNA is mine ) but he has a live arm and he's huge. His coaches will not pitch him under any circumstances. They won't even look at him. Normally I'd have no worries except that here, it appears they are weeding them out young. Beyond my son, and even more troubling, is the local practice that called for the closure of the Dixie Youth League in the 'poor' part of Decatur. They divided the city into just 2 youth leagues.. One goes to Austin HS and the other goes to Decatur HS... and they are already weeding out those 'without a future'. It is awful.
You and my son-in-law would make a dynamite coaching duo for young kids. You both would focus on fundamentals and fairness. FWIW, and I don't need to tell you this, but I will anyway. :wink: Just keep working with Carson and be patient. With your knowledge (second generation solid teaching of fundamentals) and his ability, you will enable him to someday be the cream that rises to the top. It may not come as soon as you'd like, but you know from experience that today's "can't miss" 8-9-10 yr. olds often become tomorrow's has-beens for reasons of burnout, lack of growth, loss of dad as a coach, etc..
I watched this when my nephew was playing baseball, there was one dad who always coached his sons team, his son was always the pitcher. He was ok, bigger than the other kids for his age, but when he went to HS the HS coach watched him pitch and moved him to catcher. He had a decent HS career as a catcher and played a little college ball. But his high point was when his dad was his coach making sure he got his turn at pitcher.