Abusive/Screaming Coach

[Guest gunrunner]

Hello quick question for the guys/gals on here...I had an incident where 2 of the coaches were screaming/berating players (this was an girls 8u softball game...) after an inning while in the dugout....A few parents came up after the game and asked "wasn't there something i could do"....First off i have never seen this in any games i have umpired (boys/girls tball-18u), 2nd Parents should be stepping in and confronting coaches or pulling girls off team when subjected to that imo,..putting aside the human decency to call them out on their behavior as just a fan of the game...as the umpire should i have   confronted/warned them on it for "unsportsmanlike conduct",  these same coaches have a history of antics unbecoming to the sport and know i don't put up with their usual behavior on the field that some other umpires are to intimated to call them on...as a girls coach myself i find this deplorable but I need some insight/help for when i am wearing the "blue" on this one thanks in advance.

[johnpatrick 95]

Yes you should have.  "Skip, I expect you to behave in a sportsmanlike manner".  

Years ago I ejected a manager for giving a kid a little shove in the dugout after a base running gaff.  If course, it was his kid.  To this day he tells me it was the best thing that ever happened.  He never realized how hard he was on his own kid.  It improved their relationship.

[beerguy55 728]

49 minutes ago, Guest gunrunner said:

A few parents came up after the game and asked "wasn't there something i could do"

I have a problem with this.

Yes, OK, you're the authority figure on the field, to a degree, but still, my question back to them would be "you're adults, why didn't you do anything about it?"...report it to the league...Hell, everyone has a phone...record it.   Put it on Twitter.  I don't care.   If you truly think 8 year old girls are being verbally abused by their bully coach your response is to wait until the game is over and talk to the umpire?!?!?!

Likely - they don't want to get their hands dirty (or, they don't want to risk getting their children benched)...they'd rather the umpire be the face of their complaint.

You're gonna have a line about abuse - manage coaches and players to your line.    If you think it's abusive, then yes, do something about it - warn, eject, report, etc.  Just don't set a precedent that part of your $50 fee is easing the social conscience of all the parents.   

[Dotteump 6]

This is a perfect time to bait and eject. 

We have a coach who is like this in our league. 10U and below we use younger umps so for 4 years he has pushed umps around that were scared to eject. So far 2 weeks into 12U and he has been ejected twice. 

[Lou B 101]

Not sure about "bait and eject"?

Why was he allowed to push around the younger umps?  Why wasn't anything done about it then? Sounds like the youth umps were hung out to dry, I sure hope not.

 As for this season, ejected twice in two weeks, what has the Board done about it?

As I said previously, around here, the first ejection is a minimum of 1 game (more if a serious offense).  Second is a Board hearing and probably a 3-4 game suspension.  Third and it's done for the season and future seasons too!

[Aging_Arbiter 1,589]

Coach, you're here to be a role model for these children.  If you continue to act in this manner and FAIL TO BE that role model, there is no need for you to be here at all.

[Dotteump 6]

11 minutes ago, Lou B said:

Not sure about "bait and eject"?

Why was he allowed to push around the younger umps?  Why wasn't anything done about it then? Sounds like the youth umps were hung out to dry, I sure hope not.

 As for this season, ejected twice in two weeks, what has the Board done about it?

As I said previously, around here, the first ejection is a minimum of 1 game (more if a serious offense).  Second is a Board hearing and probably a 3-4 game suspension.  Third and it's done for the season and future seasons too!

Younger umps as we all know are scared to eject. I had several talks with them and explained the 3 P’s. Talked to him and when I was standing there he was great but after I left he acted up. I am not going on the field to eject. 

We have a board but they are never there and can’t tell you the last time they were together. One of them comes by on Friday to sign the checks that’s it. 

Any actions are handled by me and the GM. Right now the coach in question is serving a one week suspension and has been told the next ejection is going to be for the rest of the season. 

We do not use the ladder scale for ejections because too many things can be factored in.

[Guest beerguy55]

1 hour ago, beerguy55 said:

I have a problem with this.

Yes, OK, you're the authority figure on the field, to a degree, but still, my question back to them would be "you're adults, why didn't you do anything about it?"...report it to the league...Hell, everyone has a phone...record it.   Put it on Twitter.  I don't care.   If you truly think 8 year old girls are being verbally abused by their bully coach your response is to wait until the game is over and talk to the umpire?!?!?!

Likely - they don't want to get their hands dirty (or, they don't want to risk getting their children benched)...they'd rather the umpire be the face of their complaint. 

You're gonna have a line about abuse - manage coaches and players to your line.    If you think it's abusive, then yes, do something about it - warn, eject, report, etc.  Just don't set a .yes pretty much wanting me to "take care of it"  i gave them the league presidents contact # and told them its above my paygrade to take care of an issue with their childs coach...and i did report it to our association president and league president....

I wanted to go grab them by their necks and explain to them we don't talk to anyone let alone kids like this but never having seen this behavior in the last 7 years of umpiring/coaching i think i was more in awe...when you think they are maybe joking around then realize oh damn they are joking they are screaming in that girls face.....

Thanks all who responded and I know what i need to do in this situation if it happens again (hopefully never)

[Lou B 101]

In Little League when youths are umpiring the game it is required that an adult Game Coordinator be at the field to make sure the managers/coaches behave.  The Game Coordinator has the authority to eject. 

I've been the GC and I always have a pregame discussion with the umps and tell them it's their game but I am there to protect them and help if/when things get out of hand.  I also give them a post game critique.

Never ejected anyone as a GC but I have been a GC where the youth umps have ejected managers/coaches.

As a GC I have sent a couple of parents/fans to the parking lot!

[The Man in Blue 437]

I struggled with this my first few years.  I would offer this: Sportsmanship applies to ALL participants, even those on your team.

When I came to this “comfort level” was a 12u softball game on Day 2 and it was already approaching 100 degrees by the 10:30 game.  Coach Dad screams for time, stomps out on the field, and lays into his pitcher/daughter.  “Do you even want to be here?!”

I quickly walked out to the circle and said “Coach, NONE of us want to be here under these conditions.  Continue on this path and one of us gets to leave early.  Conference is over.”

I do not recommend using that verbiage or that attitude ... but that was the moment that I realized sportsmanship extends to the coaches’ treatment of their own players and CAN fall under the umpire’s jurisdiction.

[yawetag 807]

39 minutes ago, The Man in Blue said:

I quickly walked out to the circle and said “Coach, NONE of us want to be here under these conditions.  Continue on this path and one of us gets to leave early.  Conference is over.”

As a coach, I'd take that bait and go home.

If he were that smart and said something, hand him your mask and indicator and say "Told you one of us was leaving early. Enjoy the sun!" 

[The Man in Blue 437]

Or I could have saved the girl and ejected her.