Today, I’m diving into a topic that every youth baseball coach can relate to – handling parental expectations about their kid’s playing time and positions. Managing these expectations is often one of the more grueling parts of a job that I never really wanted and wouldn’t mind losing.
Just this past week, I had an excruciating educational conversation with a set of parents about their son’s “role on the team.” The moment I saw the text requesting this meeting, I physically sigh. The concerns were the usual suspects: not enough innings in the field, not playing their preferred position, and not enough time on the mound – typical issues but no less frustrating to address.
I laid out my rationale, backed by my coaching philosophy, team expectations provided at the beginning of the season, game stats and practice anecdotes. All of these were unsatisfactory to these parents.
This meeting came on the heels of our team having a disappointing tournament performance, so my mood was already soured. But nothing quite prepares you for a parent asking you: “if you’re going to put out a pitcher that’s just going to get lit up, why cant my kid be the one that gets lit up?” How can you possibly respond to that. AYFKM? Of course, I shared that if I had known that the pitcher was going to get shelled that I, obviously, would not have put him out there.
Aside from our poor performance in the tournament, this conversation highlighted a persistent issue: despite clear, merit-based policies (this is travel baseball after all) complaints still surface. I think it may just be another thankless part of a thankless job.
As much as I try to be quantitative in my approach to lineup building, I think any coach can attest that lineups and playing time are much more art than science.
To my team’s parents, I’d like to say: nobody signed a contract, if you think you can do a better job, start your own team and have at it.
I’m eager to hear from you all. How do you handle these types of situations? Drop your stories, advice, or even a few words of encouragement in the comments below.