The Most Toxic Part of the Game
Apr 17, 2026
The Parents!
I said it. It’s the parents. You might have thought I was going to say the coaches. Yes, there are some bad coaches out there but the parents… they’re a different breed nowadays.
I’ll list some reasons why with #4 being my biggest pet peeve!
- Disrespect. Parents think it’s a free for all and that they and their kid can act however they want with zero consequences. They disrespect the coach, umpires, other parents, and even other kids. They cuss at umpires and scold the coaches. They spout something off to the other parents. For what reason?! There is a lack of self control and maturity. You are truly embarrassing your kid.
- Gossip. WHY?! BE AN ADULT. If you have an issue with the coach or someone on the team, have a respectful conversation with them during an appropriate time. It’s not a reality tv show. Stop bad mouthing everyone and let’s have some conflict resolution now.
- Doing too much. Kids are being burnt out. They are exhausted and have been held to such high standards at a young age. At this point they don’t know who they are outside of the sport. Parents measure their worth based on their game performance. Kids are 11/12 years old (and even younger) and mom and dad are talking about recruitment.
- Lack of accountability. They aren’t holding their kids accountable. They are making every excuse for them and putting the blame on someone else. It’s never the kid’s fault, it’s the coach or the instructor or the weather or umpire. I’ve heard numerous excuses! Parents: wake up and realize maybe she’s not working hard enough. Maybe your daughter doesn’t have a very good attitude. She might not be a team player. Is she coachable? That’s a big one. It’s just a big ole blame game instead of taking off the blinders and seeing that your daughter has a lot of work to do. “Our coach is terrible. She’s the reason we’re losing.” Or maybe just maybe it’s because that coach has been given a team full of kids that still need to be developed with a group of hateful parents to go along with it. “My daughter should be playing. She works hard all of the time.” But does she go all out during practices? Is she being respectful to her teammates and coaches? Is she hustling on and off the field? Is she making eye contact? She can be the best pitcher by far, but if I’m the coach, and she isn’t being coachable, she’s on the bench. Period.
I’ll let you in on a little secret: Your daughter might not be making teams or getting playing time because of the way YOU act.
I KNOW that most parents are great. I have always been surrounded by great parents in this game. There is just always a bad egg or two that really ruins it for everyone. I’ve seen several girls be stripped away of their love for the game because their parents just couldn’t keep it together. I’ve seen coaches step away because of parents being so cruel.
These girls won’t remember 90% of the games they played but they’ll remember all of the times that you got kicked out of the game, made them cry on and off the field, and made them feel like a failure. It’s not that complicated. Learn to be a decent human being and do better for your kids.
