I have a difficult situation. I took the head coaching job at a 12U girls softball rec league this spring. I really took the job to help a another man because he did not have the time to coach, but could be asst coach. You see he is a head coach of a high school varsity softball girls fast pitch team. Here is my problem - the man knows more about softball than I will ever know and is actually a great teacher for the girls. Problem is, he expects too much out of the girls (being used to his varsity girls) and two or more girls wind up crying at every game because he literally yells at them on the field. One girl makes a mistake and he calls time and pulls her from the game. Another doesn't swing at a strike and he pulls her aside and threatens to put her at the bottom of the lineup, right there on the field. His defense is that there must be consequences for making errors. I disagree, how do you learn without making errors? The man is great at practice most of the time, but he still is militaristic. If a girl misses a throw, 10 pushups. Misses a ball, run. I mean, aren't these girls supposed to be learning the game? They are going to make mistakes. Maybe I am just too nice. But, making 11-12 year olds cry at a game just seems wrong to me. How do I approach this guy? What is my backup? Is it just my opinion, or is there some published guidelines on how little league coaches should behave? I am not a wimp, I will stand up to this guy, but I need to have my ducks in a row, and that is where I need some help...something to backup what I am thinking. Ok, help me. Am I wrong here? What is my backup/reference on coach behavior? Thanks in advance for your help.
