Differing Opinions

During J's years in baseball, we've encountered many different coaches, players, and parents.  Naturally, there have been some we've liked and some we haven't.  I'll go so far as to say there have been a few I absolutely could not stand.  One of the challenges of being a baseball parent is trying to find the right team and coach.  Not all players will be suited to every team or every coach.  This can be for a variety of reasons, personality differences, coaching styles, playing styles, etc.  The trick is to find the right balance for your son and help him make the best decisions he can for his future in baseball.  While trying to find that balance, many times we've run up against other players and parents with differing opinions on particular teams or coaches.  This first happened when J was still playing Little League, around age 10.  My dad was still his coach back then.  He and J loved it, and at the time, it was the best possible situation for J.  My dad was the type of coach whose main focus was teaching the fundamentals of the game and the kids having fun.  He truly didn't care if they won or lost as long as the kids came away with knowledge and love of the game of baseball.  Some parents didn't care for that philosophy and made their feelings known.  Loudly and often rudely.  There were times my mother and I would be sitting in the stands during games  having to listen to someone beside us say unkind things about my dad.  It hurt us, it hurt J, and it hurt my dad.  I had some people be so bold as to tell me to my face I was making a mistake letting J continue to be coached by my dad.  I learned to just ignore it and continue to do what I felt was best for my son.  Once J hit age 13, my dad stopped coaching.  He still helped out but he didn't want to have the responsibility of managing a team anymore.  The next few years were okay.  Then J got to high school and the coaches there were nice enough, but not tough enough in my opinion.  There were times it was very frustrating and we spent a lot of time discussing it in our own home.   I refrained from sharing my opinion with other parents at the field because I fully realized that many of them likely had a different viewpoint than I did.  This season, too, there have been many discussions between hubby and I about the less than savory aspects of high school baseball.   J also has  TP, and well, regular readers of this blog know how we feel about Coach C.  Yet a few times recently, hubby and I have found ourselves in the position of realizing that other parents don't  have the same respect and admiration for Coach C as we do.  And since I love Coach C like one of my own kids, I tend to get fired up, just like I used to when people put down my dad.  Hubby always stays calm and reasonable and never lets his irritation show.  He recently stood calmly listening to another dad tell him why he shouldn't think Coach C is a good coach, all the while thinking to himself, "This will be a funny story to share the next time Coach C is at the house for dinner."  I get a lot more upset when things like this occur, though I've managed to remain diplomatic and bite my tongue during these conversations, while at the same time making my position very clear.  Don't hate on my kid or his coach! I guess the point to this post is that it's normal and okay for us all to have different opinions.  We also all are trying to make the best choices for our son's baseball future.  While doing so, it's important not to put down the choices others are making.  I strive hard not to do that and would hope that all parents would extend the same courtesy.