CHAPTER
18
When dealing with teams of very young players, dropouts need to be carefully monitored by the league.
The league needs to be very diligent in watching coaches who always have one or more kids drop out for no apparent reason. These coaches are probably the “win at all costs” type. Unfortunately, especially when the league has playing-time rules, it isn’t beneath those few coaches to find ways to drive off the low-talent kids. There are more ways than liver pills.
Absolutely the worst example of this kind of coach was once covered in a Sports Illustrated article. The baseball coach of a group of eight and nine-year-olds told the parents about the playoff schedule but suggested that no one tell the parents of the handicapped kid on the team. League rules called for every kid to play three innings. When the kid showed up anyway, the coach offered to pay one of his kids $25 to hit the handicapped kid during warm-ups. When a shot to the groin didn’t do the job, the coach told the pitcher to “go out there and hit him harder.” The next shot in the face and ear properly put the coach in court. Turns out the coach was also facing charges for assaulting his fiancée.
Certainly this is an extreme case. But minor versions of this story happen all the time, even though once is too often.
Coaches should be required to report every dropout promptly. The league should ask why the player dropped out and then check out the answer. Someone in the organization needs to call the parents, question them, and talk to the player if the parents agree. Would the kid play for another coach? If so, a swap of equally ranked players would be in order.
The league should also talk to one or two other parents from the team, asking some piercing questions. Was the player who dropped out treated differently than others? If the coach seems to have “driven off “ a low-skill player, league officials must talk to the coach and let him know, in no uncertain terms, that this is unacceptable. A First Strike Card for the coach is in order. The coach must understand that the league isn’t going to tolerate such action. This won’t have to be done often once word gets around.
Are children who move into the league during the season going to be put on a team? If so, they need to be ranked and placed on a team that had a dropout of the same rank.
The league should have a meaningful policy about dropouts, and it should be written and reviewed with the coaches before the season starts. This is the third step toward parity in the league.