Fair... Or too far?

[James Walker]

Got this today from one of the local leagues I do...

To All Coaches,

XXXX has reached its limit!

Zero tolerance for any misconduct.

DO NOT MAKE ANY NEGATIVE COMMENTS OR "DIGS" TO ANYONE.

Assistant coaches will let the head coach do all the talking to the umpires.

Cuss words are not allowed, even the "small" ones like SH*#, ass, damn etc.

Head coaches are responsible for parents who are out of control.

Umpires are being instructed to crack down and start ejecting coaches and parents from the game.

All umpires, commissioners and board members need to start reporting and submitting violations that you witness in writing to only the league secretary, XXXX.

Our parents have asked us to clean it up, so we are. This program is for kids.

There will be no more warnings.

Thank you,

XXXXXX

XXXX - President

Clearly, this is to the coaches, not the umpires. At first glance, it seems fair. Maybe a little harsh, but fair. These coaches signed a code of conduct and know what will happen with an EJ. Thoughts???

[grayhawk]

Do the parents and coaches sign a document acknowledging a zero tolerance policy that describes the penalties associated with violating it?

[James Walker]

Coaches, yes. Parents, I don't know. But I'm assuming yes.

[grayhawk]

So then it sounds like someone needs to be the "example" so the rest behave properly.

[LRZ]

If things have gotten so bad that the parents are complaining (to me, the most encouraging thing about the statement) and such a policy is necessary, I don't think it's too far. Since we always bemoan the lack of support from TDs, commissioners and other league officials, it's good to see an official lay down the law. But let's see if the league backs up the umpires if they enforce this policy strictly.

[tjwoelfel13]

I think that it hit the nail on the head for youth leagues but for HS maybe a little too far.

[Mark Pepper]

I f-ing hate policing parent behavior (as the letter states umpires are being asked to do).

[JaxRolo]

I like it!

[jjb]

It may mean the survival of the League: if the parents are asking for this, their only other recourse is to leave. We did it a long time ago: for a while we were throwing people out like poker chips. The result was a nice, quiet organization without the nonsense. We eject about 4 people a season (mostly for MC).

[James Walker]

Worked a game last night and found out the back story to this email... In a 10u game Monday night, a pitch hit the bat then the players hand. The umpire called foul and the kids parent didn't like it. She walked up to the fence and started cursing at the umpire, who did nothing about it.

I talked to the umpire. He said he didn't do anything cause he didn't want to get into the drama or cause a problem. Had to explain to him that it's part of the job. While we teach ignore the fans and don't talk to the fence ( which he did), when it gets to the point that it effects the players on the field we have to do something about it. Hopefully he understands and next time this wont happen.

Got clarification on fan behavior as well. It's not up to us to police it, but up to the coaches. They appointed 2 "commissioners" to every age group so that there will be some one with authority at every game. If we feel as though fan behavior starts to affect the game, we can either go to the coach or the commish and get them to handle it.

[Rich Ives]

So the league officers and BoD aren't doing their jobs and they're shoving it downhill to the manager and umpires?  Guess that indicates where the real responsibility for the situation lies.

[Rich Ives]

Worked a game last night and found out the back story to this email... In a 10u game Monday night, a pitch hit the bat then the players hand. The umpire called foul and the kids parent didn't like it. She walked up to the fence and started cursing at the umpire, who did nothing about it.

I talked to the umpire. He said he didn't do anything cause he didn't want to get into the drama or cause a problem. Had to explain to him that it's part of the job. While we teach ignore the fans and don't talk to the fence ( which he did), when it gets to the point that it effects the players on the field we have to do something about it. Hopefully he understands and next time this wont happen.

Got clarification on fan behavior as well. It's not up to us to police it, but up to the coaches. They appointed 2 "commissioners" to every age group so that there will be some one with authority at every game. If we feel as though fan behavior starts to affect the game, we can either go to the coach or the commish and get them to handle it.

 

The umpire's option is to suspend play until the OD fixes the situation. The league is passing the buck downhill.

 

FYI in Little League rules the manager/coach is specifically NOT responsible for the fans.

[MAE247]

Why don't they make it the coach's responsibility to control the parents? They get one warning to get the parents quiet and then the coach is ejected. Wouldn't you eventually run out of coaches and have to forfeit the game? It wouldn't take long for the parents to figure that out at least where I work.

[bluejerred]

The joys of plate umpiring 10u.....sounds pretty par for the course.  I had a 10u game yesterday.  Pitchers who could throw hard enough, catchers that couldn't catch, and parents that bitched.  If there is anything I absolutely hate when behind the plate, it's people bitching about the strike zone when I'm getting nailed by balls in the groin every other pitch. 

 

At 10u, if parents are out of line, I'll ask the coaches to keep it in check as best they can but it's hard to blame the coach for the actions of parents.  He's trying to coach a team and herd enough cats in the dugout as it is.  Making contractual obligations for player/coach/parent conduct is paramount.  Mark the boundaries early, hold everyone accountable (including league management), and deal with issues with firmness and fairness.  I like getting games just like everyone else but I'm not walking into a hell hole just so I can call a game - that is no fun at all and I don't do this for the money.

[SoCal Lurker]

Why don't they make it the coach's responsibility to control the parents? They get one warning to get the parents quiet and then the coach is ejected. Wouldn't you eventually run out of coaches and have to forfeit the game? It wouldn't take long for the parents to figure that out at least where I work.

 

Rich may explain this better than I, but LL more or less tries to get the players and coaches to pretend the parents aren't there at all.  Communication from the players/caoches to the stands is prohibited (albeit not always taken seriously in league play).  So it's tough to both tell the coach he can't talk to a parent and tell the coach to control that parent's behavior. 

[James Walker]

It's Dixie not Little League... But I do agree with Rich. They are passing their responsibilities down. I've coached and I umpire, so I've seen this from both sides. As a coach, it's a pain to try and control fans. It could be another teams parent or just someone you can't control. As an umpire, I'm just doing as instructed. I'll have to look it up, but I'm fairly certain that Dixie provides no direction in handling fans. I've found that asking a coach to ask someone to get a board member works really well. Neither side gets their hands dirty and you have some one with at least a little authority and isn't involved in the game takes care of the problem. Now if the coach decide to side with the fan or just wants to be an a-hole, circumstances change. He's now in charge of the behavior of his fans and this option usually doesn't end well. I've had it happen exactly one time.