Lessons Learned from Softball #2

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I must admit coaching my daughter's softball team was not the sweet, wholesome experience I thought it would be. I thought if I went in there, treating all the girls equally, making sure cliques did not develop, investing in each of them, then we would have the perfect team. My eyes were opened quickly. First, there has been constant complaining about the position they play being too hard are not right for them. Then there has been complaining from one of the parents about her child being mistreated, when the whole group is reprimanded. I refrain from calling names, so as not to single anyone out. We play as a team, we make mistakes as a team, we get reprimanded as a team. Then there are the parents who want their child to be always showcased, even if that means benching others. Secondly, there are a few with ungrateful attitudes. I wanted to be a fun coach who rewards my girls for their hard work. The other day, after practice, I wanted to get pizza for the team to celebrate their commitment and hard work. Did I hear a "yay" or "thanks coach"? No! I heard: "well it better not be Papa John's cause I ain't eating no Papa Johns" or "well I won't eat it unless you get it from Dominos" or "No- no Dominos for me, Pizza Hut is the best, so get mine from there". Really? Are we really raising a generation of unthankful, entitled brats that are completely self-absorbed? Guess What? They got nothing from me! No pizza or chips or sodas from this coach. The sad thing is, this is only a handful of the girls. The rest had to suffer the consequences because of the few.