Need Help

[TexasBall]

One of the teams that I help coach has a player on it that has a severe vision problem that is not correctable. This player plays the game to please her parents and doesnt really have alot of fun playing the game IMO. How do you convince the father of this kid that she does not have what it takes to compete at a high level due to her disability. It will become a safety factor for her very shortly as the level of ball the team is playing only gets tougher and tougher.

[Tucson]

How did she make the team? Is it rec? I would only give her the minimum amount of innings.

[Sam]

How do you know that she only plays because of her parents? How do you know she doesn't have much fun playing?

What level of ball is this?

[TexasBall]

It is 10U select Ball, I am sure that she has fun between games but not sure how much she really has during the games we have played. She is constantly getting berrated from her father for not catching the ball or striking out which are both due to the fact that she cannot see the ball very well if at all. Her father is one of the coaches who was on the team prior to us and I was made aware of her issue later on. He pushes her extrememly hard all the time which is not a bad thing for player who can handle the pressure and has the ability however this kid has severe issues even focusing on the ball while playing catch warming up before the games. I have a feeling that if he doesnt see the safety concern in having her play that she will get seriously injured before too long either by bat off of ball or getting hit by pitches that she cannot see.

[Hitmechanic]

This player plays the game to please her parents and doesnt really have alot of fun playing the game IMO.

BE VERY SURE (from her) that she doesn't want to play (for herself), then directly approach DWD with what you said here...then kick her off the team.

[anonlooker]

Why she plays is one story, but not very important if playing (for whatever reason) creates a dangerous situation due to her vision problems.

If you feel, as the coach of the team, that playing her puts her in harms way, then you can't play her. In the end, this is your team, not her dad's team, and her dad can't dictate where and how much she plays.

Rather than deal with this alone, if I were you I would bring in the league commissioner or park director to help you work things out with her monster... err, father.

The safety of the players has to be your primary concern, especially in these younger age groups.