My son plays rec league baseball. Rec. League.
His coach screamed at him for missing a ball and made him sit out the rest of practice. He is nine.
In the car my kid tried not to cry and kept saying he was sorry. Sorry for what? Not being a professional athlete before he has all his adult teeth?
I emailed the coach and said the yelling was too much. He replied that kids need discipline and parents today are too soft.
I am not asking him to hand out trophies for breathing. I am asking a grown man not to humiliate a child over a ground ball.
Do I pull my son from the team or go above the coach’s head?
Finishing a commitment should not mean enduring an adult’s ego.
Actual teacher here. Shame does not create skill.
Rec league is not the Olympics and that coach needs to remember he is volunteering around children.
Pulling your kid may protect him, but the league also needs to know what happened.
Kids learn resilience from support, not public embarrassment.
A coach can correct a child without making him cry in the car.
The coach needs boundaries more than the child needs discipline.
Go above him. Facts, dates and exact words.
Letting kids quit everything is one thing. Letting them leave a bad environment is another.
Nine year olds do not need humiliation disguised as discipline.