Parent’s Guide to being a Team Player

Good sportsmanship is not just for the players, coaches and umpires on the field. Good sportsmanship extends to the fans in attendance as well. When it comes to a fastpitch game, the fans in attendance typically include parents, grandparents, siblings and close friends of the players until you reach the college level. At the college level you will begin to see students in attendance at a higher rate.

No matter what level your daughter plays at for fastpitch, it is in your best interest and your daughter’s best interest that you practice good sportsmanship when at practices and games. For the most part, parents should stay away from attending practices if at all possible. This is where a lot of parents get into trouble because they feel the obligation to interject a coach’s lesson or how a coach disciplines the team for misbehaving.

Parents, just like players, need to be team players as well if they wish to see their daughters enjoy the season. Parents can be team players for their daughter’s softball teams by staying out of the coach’s hair during practice and during games, not jumping all over the umpires’ cases when calls are made and by offering help when it is asked for by the coach.

Parents looking to be team players should also volunteer their time appropriately. Coaches of little league fastpitch teams might need help running practices five days a week but do not feel comfortable asking for help. Parents could lend a helping hand by offering to come hit ground balls, fly balls, throw batting practice and offer pitching tips if they feel the coach needs help because he or she does not have an assistant coach. Parents looking to be team players can also provide the team with rewards after big wins such as pizza parties, slushes, a trip to the movies and much more.