Daddy ball at a whole new level

[thenation]

So we had a preview of 2012

[softballrox]

Wow! I guess I need to come on here more often, sounds like I missed a juicy thread!

[Bdad73]

A good friend of mine said this to me and our DD's play on different TB teams..

There's A-Ball, B-Ball even C-Ball but nothing sucks worse than D-Ball(daddy ball!)

[Skarp]

Thank God for daddy-ball. Without it there would be tumbleweeds blowing through this site right now...and across every softball field our kids play at each week.

[Blind Squirrel]

Thank God for daddy-ball. Without it there would be tumbleweeds blowing through this site right now...and across every softball field our kids play at each week.

Exactly. I doubt very seriously that my daughter would have ever played organized softball if not for the Moms and Dads that coached in Rec and travel ball. I've said it before and I'll say it again: The person who taught my daughter the most about the game, out of ALL the coaches she has ever had, was a "Daddy Ball" coach who worked with her and countless other kids (for free) in rec, rec All Stars and then in travel. I don't believe he ever received a dime for the hundreds of hours he spent helping kids with their hitting and pitching.

Certainly a group of people deserving of scorn, particularly from the people whose kids directly benefit from their participation.

Incredulous Squirrel

[hit4thecycle]

I didn't see the first post, what was so bad about it? why was it taken down?

It takes something of Biblical proportions to get a thread removed.

Parents and coaches out of control. It got ugly. Real wrath-of-God type stuff! Fire and brimstone coming down from the sky! Rivers and seas boiling! Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes... The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria!

In other words, nothing you haven't seen in rec.

[ontheblack]

Squirrel - I dont believe most people's definition of Daddy Ball fits with the person you described. IMO Daddy Ball describes the selfish jack ass who is there for himself and his DD first. They are not the type who spend a lot of time trying to make others better. We have experienced dad coaches on opposite ends of the spectrum. Daddy Ball only applies to one end.

[Blind Squirrel]

Squirrel - I dont believe most people's definition of Daddy Ball fits with the person you described. IMO Daddy Ball describes the selfish jack ass who is there for himself and his DD first. They are not the type who spend a lot of time trying to make others better. We have experienced dad coaches on opposite ends of the spectrum. Daddy Ball only applies to one end.

Granted, my kid has only been playing organized softball for 12 years, but based upon my experiences I would estimate that the ratio of all parent coaches to the type you describe to be somewhere around 50 to 1. Personally, I can't think of any. If one lives in SoCal and my estimate is anywhere near reality, then it should be rather easy to avoid having a kid be subjected to a Daddy coach whose behavior is so utterly reprehensible and leaves the kid emotionally scarred for life.

BTW, how many parent coaches are NOT "there for himself and his DD first"? And it seems to me that part of coaching for yourself is likely to involve a desire for your team to perform well. How does one get a team to perform well without seeing to it that the members of that team are being provided with instruction/guidance/help/practice?

I'm obviously missing something. Again.

John

[ontheblack]

I agree with you. I guess the point I was trying to make was that since the term Daddy Ball is generally meant in a derogatory fashion, it shouldn't apply to all dads who coach, but to those 1 in 50, or whatever the number is.

[Momo's Dad]

Here in NorCal, the number is higher than 1 in 50, but certainly no higher than 25 in 50.