Practices: opened or closed?

the minority

i guess i may be the minority here but i actually invite parents to practice. in fact i tell them at the parent meeting each spring, if you don't think your kid is playing enough come to practice a few days. see what we see. now granted some parents look through the ole "rose colored glasses" but for many it is an eye opening experience to see little johnny boot three straight ground balls, or get blown away during bp by coaches 45 foot "heat."

just the way i do it. and as long as we don't start getting distractions probably how i'll continue doing it

 

Not in all cases

All parents do not show up to see if "Lil Johnny" is being treated fairly. I like to once in awhile go watch, on a warm nice day. Some may even go to make sure that "Lil Johnny" isnt loafing from time to time....By the way Coach, is "Lil Johnny" always being treated as equal and always given the same chance as say....."You're Son"? ("You're Son" is only figuritively speaking as I'm sure "Lil Johnny" was, and is not meant for any one in particular.)

 

i agree roadking. i don't invite parents so they can see if their kid is getting treated fairly because they are. every kid is treated equal. i'm not of the jimmy johnson type where the special players get the special treatment.

also part of the inviting of parents helps me. in my younger days my language was often a little too colorful. now i'm not going to say i don't slip occasionally, but i feel like i'm much more aware of the effect of my words. and having parents come by helps keep that in the forefront of my mind.

i invite them to see how their kid compares to their peers. lets say for instance your kid is the back up middle infielder. well you go to the game and you see your kid sit, but the kid playing boots a ground ball and strikes out twice or something. does that mean we played the wrong kid?

but you bring up an interesting point. we just our first child and my wife asked if i'd coach him. that has got to be the hardest thing. my dad coached me and was way harder on me than other kids. i think because he had to justify playing me in his own mind or something. becareful to speculate a coach is playing his kid only because he's his kid.

 

Understood

Understood Coach and I agree with you for sure. I like your coaching style for sure. Coach's are special people for sure, and have to do it for the love of the game. I feel communication goes a long way in coaching. If a kid isn't getting the playing time he feels he deserves, he does need to know what he needs to do better in order to get it. Too many times kids are put on the shelf and not told why, or what he can do to help his situation. That's when practice becomes frustrating for some. It doesn't hurt to pull the star or drop him in the order from time to time. I've seen some that it does not matter how he plays, the kid knows he's not coming out or not getting dropped in the order for a few games...no matter what. As for you coaching your son, I say heck yes. I can tell you are one that knows the proper way to do so, and I'm sure that comes from your Dad doing it the proper way. Good luck Coach.