Worst parents?
- Thread starter MS4EVER
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Travel anything but especially softball
Lincoln Way East!!!!
Oh… you want a specific sport
Give me a minute to think about this
Oh… you want a specific sport
Give me a minute to think about this
Not in mine, I’ve been a parent and a coach for travel baseball and basketball, as well as, youth football. Based on my experience baseball was by far the worst.
Wrestling! It provides too much time between matches for parents to sit with their thoughts and convince themselves that everyone is out to get them and their kid. Soccer is a dark horse candidate here.
Bad sports parents are bad sports parents no matter what sport, sad reality we live in.
As a whole I don’t think wrestling is terrible but there are certain clubs that are the absolute worst. The jerk parents all end up together, it’s a sight to see. As a whole I think travel baseball has the worst parents but the worst incidents I’ve seen have always been at youth football games.
The most cut throat youth travel sport is cheerleading and it’s not even close. The mom drama is on another level.
I don’t even understand what wrestling parents can be mad about. I would think everything plays itself out on the mat.
You would think but people often have a tough time with their kid getting mauled on the mat. The other thing people go crazy about is when you have 1200 kids at a tourney there are a lot of ways you can do the brackets and there is alway a group of people that think the tourney is out to get them.
Never really thought about the bracketing. I can see how that could lead to some issues.. also a baseball issue
Usually they’re mad at their kid. Hahaha
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Hockey and it is not particularly close. In hockey culture, it is 100% acceptable to berate the officials, coaches and players regardless of their age. As someone who ran an ice rink but all the users were rental groups, it was difficult to step on the rink because of the behavior of everyone involved. At other sports issues seemed to be isolated events. At hockey it was standard operating procedures
So far I've learned that Hockey, Wrestling, Football, Baseball and Cheerleading parents are the absolute worst and it's not even close.
I'm gonna say it's the parent and not the sport. Any parent who feels the need to berate another parent or an official, who is either a volunteer, very poorly compensated, or a minor is just a terrible person and the sport is irrelevant.
Sorry to tell you sir, but odds are little Jimmy is not going to end up being your meal ticket some day.
Sorry to tell you sir, but odds are little Jimmy is not going to end up being your meal ticket some day.
I wonder if there is a direct relationship between those sports where parents pay big money for their kids to participate, like any travel sport or HS hockey, and their bad behavior. Does it get worse the more they pay? Do they feel more engaged because they are literally more invested? Do they feel as though their financial investment buys them the right to be d-bags?
IMHO, bad behavior by hoops parents can often take a back seat to that of the coach against the officials.
The interesting part about having a daughter who runs cross country is I realized how out of shape I am. I mean, I knew I was out of shape, But trying to run to see her a couple times is ridiculous. I think I prefer watching track!😂
My kid did travel baseball for a bit. He wasn’t great and got burned out, and along with COVID, he was done with it by age 16.
With that said, I ran into some obnoxious people, but I never saw anything noteworthy happen at any of the tournaments. I have heard stories from coworkers about travel hockey tournaments though.
A lot of times the high school coaches end up having to deal with it. "Johnny's travel coach said he's great and should be on varsity his freshman year and you think he should be on B team?!"
I could tell you stories all day long about wrestling parents. Besides berating their kid for losing or even getting physical with their child this is one story I will never forget.
Once a kid gets past 10 years old and if you haven't already, the object is to hold a kid back so he will be older when he faces competition at 12 years and older(when puberty kicks in). Parents experienced in kids wrestling will hold a kid back in kindergarten or first grade. If you haven't done that there aren't many ways around it.
There was a kid who was 13 in 8th grade and broke his leg in February. His dad had the kid taken out of school so he would have to repeat 8th grade so that he would be 14 and most of the competition would be 13. That is being devoted to getting your kid some wins.
Once a kid gets past 10 years old and if you haven't already, the object is to hold a kid back so he will be older when he faces competition at 12 years and older(when puberty kicks in). Parents experienced in kids wrestling will hold a kid back in kindergarten or first grade. If you haven't done that there aren't many ways around it.
There was a kid who was 13 in 8th grade and broke his leg in February. His dad had the kid taken out of school so he would have to repeat 8th grade so that he would be 14 and most of the competition would be 13. That is being devoted to getting your kid some wins.
The holdback is becoming more and more common in wrestling. A year more of experience does a lot for kids who aren’t going to be at 106/113 as freshman. I know quite a few who have done this and most of the time their kid is a multiple time ihsa state champ and they end up at a d1 school. My kid, who is a pretty good wrestler, asked me about this and I said if you’re 18 and you’re getting recruited and you want an extra year then you can take it at 18. Not as a 13 year old. Too much lost socially imo. But I don’t judge those that do it. To each his own.
Umpired for 15 years and a sense of
Humor and communication skills goes a long way. A lazy, outta shape umpire with no people skills = you’re in for a wild 7 inns of youth baseball.
From my experience, hockey is the worst and not close. At least in baseball when you scream at the umpire like an idiot, the umpire can actually hear you.
Ive seen my brother’s father in law leave the game to go face to face with a mom of the other team out in the hallway. However, the father in law can’t hold the jockstrap of his wife. She’s a doozy.
Humor and communication skills goes a long way. A lazy, outta shape umpire with no people skills = you’re in for a wild 7 inns of youth baseball.
From my experience, hockey is the worst and not close. At least in baseball when you scream at the umpire like an idiot, the umpire can actually hear you.
Ive seen my brother’s father in law leave the game to go face to face with a mom of the other team out in the hallway. However, the father in law can’t hold the jockstrap of his wife. She’s a doozy.
Everything you are seeing play out in HS and College football today was developed 25 years ago in the stands at travel softball games!
Having been involved with the scene for 25 plus years and dealing with poachers and promises prepared me for today’s world of NIL. Edgy is correct yet again.
The best part MS4 EVER is plotting your viewing chances to maximize exposure so you can yell at your athletes to….run faster! The courses usually provide 3 to 4 chances for this privilege and yes involve a degree of suffering as a devout spectator. But…they are doing an activity that is all of the other sport’s punishment.
I umpire HS baseball. For the most part now real issue with parents especially at the Varsity level. Most head coaches will not allow it.
Now travel baseball is different story. In the summers I prefer to stay on the 90 foot diamond but do get some games at the younger levels.
10 year old travel baseball games have the absolutely the worst behaved parents and coaches. Here are few reasons:
Now travel baseball is different story. In the summers I prefer to stay on the 90 foot diamond but do get some games at the younger levels.
10 year old travel baseball games have the absolutely the worst behaved parents and coaches. Here are few reasons:
- Way too many coaches - not uncommon to see 6 or 7 dads in the dugout. Each one must loudly argue with the umpires at least once a game to show their worth
- Parents have an immense lack of rule knowledge. Often extends to the coaches
- Most parents think their player (Claxon, Saxon, Jaxon, Jackson, Jacks, Kyle, Kyler, Payton, Layton - pick one) is in the top 1% of all players at that level
- Parents way to close to the batters box. Need screens directly behind home plate
- Want a major league strike zone when their team is batting. Nose to toes, dugout to dugout when pitching
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