Our time has finally arrived. Today we notified the league and team that we can no longer continue.
You would think that when your record is 0-9 for the season and game 10 starts a coach may be thinking maybe we should move some people around and at the very least get some girls experience in this position or that position. That did not really happen. Okay, yes the last game he rotated 2 of the other girls who were also not given fair opportunities. I know that one of the dads talked to Coach Reese before game 8 asking about Kassidy and his daughter not getting chances in infield. So game 10 Two of these outcast/outfielder girls both got 2 innings each at shortstop. So he basically rotated his least preferred infielder to work these other two girls in to appease their parents who probably were a lot nicer with their interactions with him. It is a step in right direction but yet a very small step deep in a winless 9-lost season.
However, Kassidy started the game as the only player on the bench and batted last.
He did warn us this would happen if we "skipped his practices" even though she's literally getting more work in by playing in both leagues. It was a power/ego move for sure. This was right after he approached me to praise her two great plays in game 8. Then we had this communication thread. https://gygsa.blogspot.com/2023/04/i-wrote-complaint-to-gygsa-board-after.html
Dear MACAWS team,
We regret to inform you all that Kassidy will not be returning for anymore team activities this year. We wanted Kassidy to enjoy her 1st year at GYGSA and improve her skills but we now feel that it’s time to part ways due team leadership that falls short of the standards that we expect from a youth sports coach.
We initially believed that Coach Reese was treating Kassidy and others unfairly based on his skills development perception and ill fated rotation strategy to win games. I shared candid assessments during our exchanges with goal to improve the team's experience but I think his pride may have resulted in very poor responses. A fragile ego tends to be defensive and demeaning in response to protect said ego. Thats the only conclusion I can come up with from the pattern of events including his suspension for "responding too harshly to poor sportsmanship criticism." Our personality differences appear to make us incompatible to continue any coach/player/parent relationship and the value add is not there for either party. Impact on the team should be minimal due to low utilization and it’s one less girl who has to rotate from bench to outfield every other inning.
I know these girls have so much more potential than what we got to witness this year and I recognize their value. I’ve rooted for each and everyone at every turn.
Last game was 1st time that I saw a sadness in Kassidy but at the same time she’s also confused. When we were leaving the fields she told her mom that she just wanted to play baseball and for me to hear that come from her mouth knowing her competitive nature and spirit made it a sad day.
We do feel that every child still deserves to be treated with respect and dignity regardless if there is distaste due to parents comments/concerns. I know that each game that directly followed one of these "candid exchanges" Kassidy would start game on bench.
We are deeply disappointed that key ethical standards were not upheld. I hope Coach Reese can set the pride aside to considers this feedback and I encourage him to work towards cultivating a more equitable environment with future coaching endeavors. The overall culture and experience for the team should be enjoyable and healthy.
We look forward to seeing you all around should we come back to GYGSA in the future and wish you all the best of luck. We have communicated with GYGSA board and they encourage all parents to share both positive and negative coach reviews with them so they can consider feedback when they vote on coaches next season.
Link to complaint I sent to board- http://gygsa.blogspot.com/Link to complaint I sent to board- http://gygsa.blogspot.com/
