Select commitments before July 1?

Perhaps this is another case of a parent hearing what he/she wants to hear...
COACH: "I'm not sure Sally fits in well on this team and I can't guarantee her any playing time."
PARENT INTERPRETATION: "Sally has a TON of potential and works hard. I'm sure I can coach her to a starting position in no time."

Just an Observer wrote:Perhaps this is another case of a parent hearing what he/she wants to hear...
COACH: "I'm not sure Sally fits in well on this team and I can't guarantee her any playing time."
PARENT INTERPRETATION: "Sally has a TON of potential and works hard. I'm sure I can coach her to a starting position in no time."

coach: uh you aren't going to tryout with another team are you?

parent: uh, well we want to do what is best for suzy

coach's interpretation: she's in the bag, she's committed 100%

silentparent wrote:

Just an Observer wrote:The fact that so many think "verbal commitments are a farce" is one of the (many) reasons for our current downfall. Where is the "gentleman's handshake" of days gone by?

you missed the point. i would say a verbal commitment in mid june is something to be honored. in may? before you have any opportunities? also who knows coach may have put people on the spot and tried to strongarm them who knows?

It was late May and these were players who had been with the team for over a year. Coach is not lazy, as evidenced by the fact that we had 5 - 7 players out at practices within 2 weeks of the parents bailing. He also didn't strongarm anyone, he actually told 1 player to find another team during the May discussions because he knew the team wasn't a good fit for the player & vice versa. Agree with Observer, he relied on the "gentleman's handshake" and the team got hosed.

copa44 wrote:

silentparent wrote:

Just an Observer wrote:The fact that so many think "verbal commitments are a farce" is one of the (many) reasons for our current downfall. Where is the "gentleman's handshake" of days gone by?

you missed the point. i would say a verbal commitment in mid june is something to be honored. in may? before you have any opportunities? also who knows coach may have put people on the spot and tried to strongarm them who knows?

It was late May and these were players who had been with the team for over a year. Coach is not lazy, as evidenced by the fact that we had 5 - 7 players out at practices within 2 weeks of the parents bailing. He also didn't strongarm anyone, he actually told 1 player to find another team during the May discussions because he knew the team wasn't a good fit for the player & vice versa. Agree with Observer, he relied on the "gentleman's handshake" and the team got hosed.

sorry once again asking for commitments in may is silly. coaches often think everything is rosy and are clueless about how people are really feeling about the team,coach, their kid, the parents or what others are planning. no one has tried out and no one has had the the opportunity to try out. he should for the sake of your team not made commitments or asked for them until june....

silentparent wrote:

copa44 wrote:

silentparent wrote:

Just an Observer wrote:The fact that so many think "verbal commitments are a farce" is one of the (many) reasons for our current downfall. Where is the "gentleman's handshake" of days gone by?

you missed the point. i would say a verbal commitment in mid june is something to be honored. in may? before you have any opportunities? also who knows coach may have put people on the spot and tried to strongarm them who knows?

It was late May and these were players who had been with the team for over a year. Coach is not lazy, as evidenced by the fact that we had 5 - 7 players out at practices within 2 weeks of the parents bailing. He also didn't strongarm anyone, he actually told 1 player to find another team during the May discussions because he knew the team wasn't a good fit for the player & vice versa. Agree with Observer, he relied on the "gentleman's handshake" and the team got hosed.

sorry once again asking for commitments in may is silly. coaches often think everything is rosy and are clueless about how people are really feeling about the team,coach, their kid, the parents or what others are planning. no one has tried out and no one has had the the opportunity to try out. he should for the sake of your team not made commitments or asked for them until june....

You are clueless.

A coach who waits until June to commit to players is putting themselves in a very precarious position. If a coach hasn't committed to my kid by mid-May, then that's a sign to me she is, at best, on the bubble.

The coaches that are making May commitments are being up front and not stringing players along to put warm bodies on the roster. They tell players that yes you will be offered a contract, no you won't or you are on the bubble. Makes perfect sense to me. It gives everyone time to look around if necessary or make your choice early and be done with the madness. It is usually the parents that are not up front about their intent to look around and why.

Gunners wrote:

silentparent wrote:

copa44 wrote:

silentparent wrote:

Just an Observer wrote:The fact that so many think "verbal commitments are a farce" is one of the (many) reasons for our current downfall. Where is the "gentleman's handshake" of days gone by?

you missed the point. i would say a verbal commitment in mid june is something to be honored. in may? before you have any opportunities? also who knows coach may have put people on the spot and tried to strongarm them who knows?

It was late May and these were players who had been with the team for over a year. Coach is not lazy, as evidenced by the fact that we had 5 - 7 players out at practices within 2 weeks of the parents bailing. He also didn't strongarm anyone, he actually told 1 player to find another team during the May discussions because he knew the team wasn't a good fit for the player & vice versa. Agree with Observer, he relied on the "gentleman's handshake" and the team got hosed.

sorry once again asking for commitments in may is silly. coaches often think everything is rosy and are clueless about how people are really feeling about the team,coach, their kid, the parents or what others are planning. no one has tried out and no one has had the the opportunity to try out. he should for the sake of your team not made commitments or asked for them until june....

You are clueless.

A coach who waits until June to commit to players is putting themselves in a very precarious position. If a coach hasn't committed to my kid by mid-May, then that's a sign to me she is, at best, on the bubble.

lol, good luck with that. but we had a deal coach, you said my kid had a spot, we talked about it 6 weeks ago, wahhhhhhh!!!!

In May we had verbal commitments from 17 players, accepted by coach


the whole team made a commitment before june. common sense should tell you that is fishy. checking out new players is part of building your team even if you are a state cup champ. i suspect that was done to head off anyone trying out for another team. the nature of this system requires that everyone keep their optons open. of course in may people will make a commitment. they want to play somewhere and letting a coach know you may tryout could kill your spot with that team so people lie until the picture becomes more clear. pretty obvious

silentparent wrote: In May we had verbal commitments from 17 players, accepted by coach


the whole team made a commitment before june. common sense should tell you that is fishy. checking out new players is part of building your team even if you are a state cup champ. i suspect that was done to head off anyone trying out for another team. the nature of this system requires that everyone keep their optons open. of course in may people will make a commitment. they want to play somewhere and letting a coach know you may tryout could kill your spot with that team so people lie until the picture becomes more clear. pretty obvious

The only thing that's pretty obvious is that you really don't know what you're talking about.

While there are examples of what you're alluding to, they are absolutely the exception and not the norm.

lol, yep my several years of having kids in select was just a fantasy of mine. good luck with those may commitments

Speaking as a coach and a parent, the attitudes prevalent in this thread are disappointing. The approach of "if I better my situation or my team, then all is permissable" is what I don't like.

If the players and the coach agreed to be on the team together, each side should expect that the team was what it was, and there was no need for change. Now, if those players were not comfortable, they should have never given their word that they were staying. But I suppose they would rather burn the coach and teammates in an effort to improve their situation. Again, who cares about the fallout as long as I am in a better position when the dust settles.

If the players and the coach agreed to be on the team together, each side should expect that the team was what "it was, and there was no need for change. Now, if those players were not comfortable, they should have never given their word that they were staying."

what utter naivete! yes let's tell the truth:

coach :so everyone is staying right?

naive parent: i don't know, my kid is not playing enough for us and i am not sure if i want to stay here for another year. we may try another team.

coach (in public) well ok but i still want her on the team

coach (in car on way home) I need to replace suzy, i can't just wait around to see what they decide. if they don't want to be on my team well screw them!




this is the REAL world

silentparent wrote:If the players and the coach agreed to be on the team together, each side should expect that the team was what "it was, and there was no need for change. Now, if those players were not comfortable, they should have never given their word that they were staying."

what utter naivete! yes let's tell the truth:

coach :so everyone is staying right?

naive parent: i don't know, my kid is not playing enough for us and i am not sure if i want to stay here for another year. we may try another team.

coach (in public) well ok but i still want her on the team

coach (in car on way home) I need to replace suzy, i can't just wait around to see what they decide. if they don't want to be on my team well screw them!




this is the REAL world

Must be mighty unpleasant in your cynical world. FWIW, my son had been with the team 1 1/2 years as a starter but was talking about wanting to try out for another team to see what it was like. Really he meant he wanted to know if he could hang with the bigger dogs. We had no intention of leaving. We told coach we were thinking about trying out with another team and why, he knows bb very well and thought the experience would be good for him, just told us to let him know asap if we were going to move. He didn't try to replace my kid, no new players started showing up, no nefarious 'screw them' attitudes, just mutual respect between adults. We ended up not trying out anywhere else, in large part because we like and respect our coach and don't want to end up somewhere with a coach and parents who think like you do - that scares the crud out of me.

copa44 wrote:

silentparent wrote:If the players and the coach agreed to be on the team together, each side should expect that the team was what "it was, and there was no need for change. Now, if those players were not comfortable, they should have never given their word that they were staying."

what utter naivete! yes let's tell the truth:

coach :so everyone is staying right?

naive parent: i don't know, my kid is not playing enough for us and i am not sure if i want to stay here for another year. we may try another team.

coach (in public) well ok but i still want her on the team

coach (in car on way home) I need to replace suzy, i can't just wait around to see what they decide. if they don't want to be on my team well screw them!




this is the REAL world

Must be mighty unpleasant in your cynical world. FWIW, my son had been with the team 1 1/2 years as a starter but was talking about wanting to try out for another team to see what it was like. Really he meant he wanted to know if he could hang with the bigger dogs. We had no intention of leaving. We told coach we were thinking about trying out with another team and why, he knows bb very well and thought the experience would be good for him, just told us to let him know asap if we were going to move. He didn't try to replace my kid, no new players started showing up, no nefarious 'screw them' attitudes, just mutual respect between adults. We ended up not trying out anywhere else, in large part because we like and respect our coach and don't want to end up somewhere with a coach and parents who think like you do - that scares the crud out of me.

Thanks for the story, copa44. I am glad to see some that model for their children what it means to say something and back it up. That's the real world I would like to live in.

CoachPhil wrote:

copa44 wrote:

silentparent wrote:If the players and the coach agreed to be on the team together, each side should expect that the team was what "it was, and there was no need for change. Now, if those players were not comfortable, they should have never given their word that they were staying."

what utter naivete! yes let's tell the truth:

coach :so everyone is staying right?

naive parent: i don't know, my kid is not playing enough for us and i am not sure if i want to stay here for another year. we may try another team.

coach (in public) well ok but i still want her on the team

coach (in car on way home) I need to replace suzy, i can't just wait around to see what they decide. if they don't want to be on my team well screw them!




this is the REAL world

Must be mighty unpleasant in your cynical world. FWIW, my son had been with the team 1 1/2 years as a starter but was talking about wanting to try out for another team to see what it was like. Really he meant he wanted to know if he could hang with the bigger dogs. We had no intention of leaving. We told coach we were thinking about trying out with another team and why, he knows bb very well and thought the experience would be good for him, just told us to let him know asap if we were going to move. He didn't try to replace my kid, no new players started showing up, no nefarious 'screw them' attitudes, just mutual respect between adults. We ended up not trying out anywhere else, in large part because we like and respect our coach and don't want to end up somewhere with a coach and parents who think like you do - that scares the crud out of me.

Thanks for the story, copa44. I am glad to see some that model for their children what it means to say something and back it up. That's the real world I would like to live in.

Lol, you probably believe your boss too when he says management is planning no layoffs after they are bought by another company. people like you are always so surprised when reality bites them in the butt. Too funny!

Hmmm, 3 kids, 6 different clubs, countless coaches and we never had an issue. Then again I was always objective about my kids and knew exactly where we stood on any given team. We also had coaches who were honest and open when asked. Verbal commitments mid-May were the norm and if given, not broken by either party. Guess we just got lucky.

Gunner9 wrote:Hmmm, 3 kids, 6 different clubs, countless coaches and we never had an issue. Then again I was always objective about my kids and knew exactly where we stood on any given team. We also had coaches who were honest and open when asked. Verbal commitments mid-May were the norm and if given, not broken by either party. Guess we just got lucky.

No, that's the norm. Silentparent looks to be a "know-it-all" parent of a U11 or younger kid, so his depth of knowledge is very suspect.

Gunners wrote:

Gunner9 wrote:Hmmm, 3 kids, 6 different clubs, countless coaches and we never had an issue. Then again I was always objective about my kids and knew exactly where we stood on any given team. We also had coaches who were honest and open when asked. Verbal commitments mid-May were the norm and if given, not broken by either party. Guess we just got lucky.

No, that's the norm. Silentparent looks to be a "know-it-all" parent of a U11 or younger kid, so his depth of knowledge is very suspect.

funny, i was going to say the same about you. we all bow before Gunners all knowing knowledge.....

silentparent wrote:

CoachPhil wrote:

copa44 wrote:

silentparent wrote:If the players and the coach agreed to be on the team together, each side should expect that the team was what "it was, and there was no need for change. Now, if those players were not comfortable, they should have never given their word that they were staying."

what utter naivete! yes let's tell the truth:

coach :so everyone is staying right?

naive parent: i don't know, my kid is not playing enough for us and i am not sure if i want to stay here for another year. we may try another team.

coach (in public) well ok but i still want her on the team

coach (in car on way home) I need to replace suzy, i can't just wait around to see what they decide. if they don't want to be on my team well screw them!




this is the REAL world

Must be mighty unpleasant in your cynical world. FWIW, my son had been with the team 1 1/2 years as a starter but was talking about wanting to try out for another team to see what it was like. Really he meant he wanted to know if he could hang with the bigger dogs. We had no intention of leaving. We told coach we were thinking about trying out with another team and why, he knows bb very well and thought the experience would be good for him, just told us to let him know asap if we were going to move. He didn't try to replace my kid, no new players started showing up, no nefarious 'screw them' attitudes, just mutual respect between adults. We ended up not trying out anywhere else, in large part because we like and respect our coach and don't want to end up somewhere with a coach and parents who think like you do - that scares the crud out of me.

Thanks for the story, copa44. I am glad to see some that model for their children what it means to say something and back it up. That's the real world I would like to live in.

Lol, you probably believe your boss too when he says management is planning no layoffs after they are bought by another company. people like you are always so surprised when reality bites them in the butt. Too funny!

LOL... I find that in both your soccer and business examples, those people that have the most realistic and objective assessment of their own, or their own DD's abilities, and have open, honest, and objective communication with their boss/coach, never have to worry about being caught off guard.

Those people tend to be able to see the writing on the wall pretty easily and accurately assess how it will affect their personal situation and will be prepared to act accordingly, whether it's to stay the course or to move on.

Those people tend to be the most even-keel, create the least amount of drama, have the least amount of stress in their lives, and usually, they are on the correct bus when it departs...

bwgophers wrote:

silentparent wrote:

CoachPhil wrote:

copa44 wrote:

silentparent wrote:If the players and the coach agreed to be on the team together, each side should expect that the team was what "it was, and there was no need for change. Now, if those players were not comfortable, they should have never given their word that they were staying."

what utter naivete! yes let's tell the truth:

coach :so everyone is staying right?

naive parent: i don't know, my kid is not playing enough for us and i am not sure if i want to stay here for another year. we may try another team.

coach (in public) well ok but i still want her on the team

coach (in car on way home) I need to replace suzy, i can't just wait around to see what they decide. if they don't want to be on my team well screw them!




this is the REAL world

Must be mighty unpleasant in your cynical world. FWIW, my son had been with the team 1 1/2 years as a starter but was talking about wanting to try out for another team to see what it was like. Really he meant he wanted to know if he could hang with the bigger dogs. We had no intention of leaving. We told coach we were thinking about trying out with another team and why, he knows bb very well and thought the experience would be good for him, just told us to let him know asap if we were going to move. He didn't try to replace my kid, no new players started showing up, no nefarious 'screw them' attitudes, just mutual respect between adults. We ended up not trying out anywhere else, in large part because we like and respect our coach and don't want to end up somewhere with a coach and parents who think like you do - that scares the crud out of me.

Thanks for the story, copa44. I am glad to see some that model for their children what it means to say something and back it up. That's the real world I would like to live in.

Lol, you probably believe your boss too when he says management is planning no layoffs after they are bought by another company. people like you are always so surprised when reality bites them in the butt. Too funny!

LOL... I find that in both your soccer and business examples, those people that have the most realistic and objective assessment of their own, or their own DD's abilities, and have open, honest, and objective communication with their boss/coach, never have to worry about being caught off guard.

Those people tend to be able to see the writing on the wall pretty easily and accurately assess how it will affect their personal situation and will be prepared to act accordingly, whether it's to stay the course or to move on.

Those people tend to be the most even-keel, create the least amount of drama, have the least amount of stress in their lives, and usually, they are on the correct bus when it departs...

Great thoughts Gophers, but I guess your point begs the question: Are there any soccer parents that actually fit that description or are the terms "soccer parent" and "even-keel" mutually exclusive terms?

Sent to the Stands wrote:

bwgophers wrote:

silentparent wrote:

CoachPhil wrote:

copa44 wrote:

silentparent wrote:If the players and the coach agreed to be on the team together, each side should expect that the team was what "it was, and there was no need for change. Now, if those players were not comfortable, they should have never given their word that they were staying."

what utter naivete! yes let's tell the truth:

coach :so everyone is staying right?

naive parent: i don't know, my kid is not playing enough for us and i am not sure if i want to stay here for another year. we may try another team.

coach (in public) well ok but i still want her on the team

coach (in car on way home) I need to replace suzy, i can't just wait around to see what they decide. if they don't want to be on my team well screw them!




this is the REAL world

Must be mighty unpleasant in your cynical world. FWIW, my son had been with the team 1 1/2 years as a starter but was talking about wanting to try out for another team to see what it was like. Really he meant he wanted to know if he could hang with the bigger dogs. We had no intention of leaving. We told coach we were thinking about trying out with another team and why, he knows bb very well and thought the experience would be good for him, just told us to let him know asap if we were going to move. He didn't try to replace my kid, no new players started showing up, no nefarious 'screw them' attitudes, just mutual respect between adults. We ended up not trying out anywhere else, in large part because we like and respect our coach and don't want to end up somewhere with a coach and parents who think like you do - that scares the crud out of me.

Thanks for the story, copa44. I am glad to see some that model for their children what it means to say something and back it up. That's the real world I would like to live in.

Lol, you probably believe your boss too when he says management is planning no layoffs after they are bought by another company. people like you are always so surprised when reality bites them in the butt. Too funny!

LOL... I find that in both your soccer and business examples, those people that have the most realistic and objective assessment of their own, or their own DD's abilities, and have open, honest, and objective communication with their boss/coach, never have to worry about being caught off guard.

Those people tend to be able to see the writing on the wall pretty easily and accurately assess how it will affect their personal situation and will be prepared to act accordingly, whether it's to stay the course or to move on.

Those people tend to be the most even-keel, create the least amount of drama, have the least amount of stress in their lives, and usually, they are on the correct bus when it departs...

Great thoughts Gophers, but I guess you points beg the question: Are there any soccer parents that actually fit that description or are the terms "soccer parent" and "even-keel" mutually exclusive terms?

Ahhh, yes... The the "evenous-keelios" class of the "selectivus" family of the "North Texius" genus of the "Soccer Patentus" species is by far the rarest class of the "selectivus" family. The "cluelessious", "neroticalious", "irrationalious", and "winningobsessivous" classes are far more prevalent.

Known by their common name of even-keel NTX select soccer parents, even though rare, it is possible to locate groups of 25-32 of them congregating in common locations. Thankfully, my dd has been able to locate such a group.

Also know that there is a general biophysics phenomenon known as the "Lake Highlands Effect" that states that the percentage of evenous-keelious selevtivus North Texious Soccer Parentus in a given population is inversely proportional to the square of the proximity to Lake Highlands D1...

bwgophers wrote:

Sent to the Stands wrote:

bwgophers wrote:

silentparent wrote:

CoachPhil wrote:

copa44 wrote:

Must be mighty unpleasant in your cynical world. FWIW, my son had been with the team 1 1/2 years as a starter but was talking about wanting to try out for another team to see what it was like. Really he meant he wanted to know if he could hang with the bigger dogs. We had no intention of leaving. We told coach we were thinking about trying out with another team and why, he knows bb very well and thought the experience would be good for him, just told us to let him know asap if we were going to move. He didn't try to replace my kid, no new players started showing up, no nefarious 'screw them' attitudes, just mutual respect between adults. We ended up not trying out anywhere else, in large part because we like and respect our coach and don't want to end up somewhere with a coach and parents who think like you do - that scares the crud out of me.

Thanks for the story, copa44. I am glad to see some that model for their children what it means to say something and back it up. That's the real world I would like to live in.

Lol, you probably believe your boss too when he says management is planning no layoffs after they are bought by another company. people like you are always so surprised when reality bites them in the butt. Too funny!

LOL... I find that in both your soccer and business examples, those people that have the most realistic and objective assessment of their own, or their own DD's abilities, and have open, honest, and objective communication with their boss/coach, never have to worry about being caught off guard.

Those people tend to be able to see the writing on the wall pretty easily and accurately assess how it will affect their personal situation and will be prepared to act accordingly, whether it's to stay the course or to move on.

Those people tend to be the most even-keel, create the least amount of drama, have the least amount of stress in their lives, and usually, they are on the correct bus when it departs...

Great thoughts Gophers, but I guess you points beg the question: Are there any soccer parents that actually fit that description or are the terms "soccer parent" and "even-keel" mutually exclusive terms?

Ahhh, yes... The the "evenous-keelios" class of the "selectivus" family of the "North Texius" genus of the "Soccer Patentus" species is by far the rarest class of the "selectivus" family. The "cluelessious", "neroticalious", "irrationalious", and "winningobsessivous" classes are far more prevalent.

Known by their common name of even-keel NTX select soccer parents, even though rare, it is possible to locate groups of 25-32 of them congregating in common locations. Thankfully, my dd has been able to locate such a group.

Also know that there is a general biophysics phenomenon known as the "Lake Highlands Effect" that states that the percentage of evenous-keelious selevtivus North Texious Soccer Parentus in a given population is inversely proportional to the square of the proximity to Lake Highlands D1...

Very Funny!

bwgophers wrote:

Sent to the Stands wrote:

bwgophers wrote:

silentparent wrote:

CoachPhil wrote:

copa44 wrote:

Must be mighty unpleasant in your cynical world. FWIW, my son had been with the team 1 1/2 years as a starter but was talking about wanting to try out for another team to see what it was like. Really he meant he wanted to know if he could hang with the bigger dogs. We had no intention of leaving. We told coach we were thinking about trying out with another team and why, he knows bb very well and thought the experience would be good for him, just told us to let him know asap if we were going to move. He didn't try to replace my kid, no new players started showing up, no nefarious 'screw them' attitudes, just mutual respect between adults. We ended up not trying out anywhere else, in large part because we like and respect our coach and don't want to end up somewhere with a coach and parents who think like you do - that scares the crud out of me.

Thanks for the story, copa44. I am glad to see some that model for their children what it means to say something and back it up. That's the real world I would like to live in.

Lol, you probably believe your boss too when he says management is planning no layoffs after they are bought by another company. people like you are always so surprised when reality bites them in the butt. Too funny!

LOL... I find that in both your soccer and business examples, those people that have the most realistic and objective assessment of their own, or their own DD's abilities, and have open, honest, and objective communication with their boss/coach, never have to worry about being caught off guard.

Those people tend to be able to see the writing on the wall pretty easily and accurately assess how it will affect their personal situation and will be prepared to act accordingly, whether it's to stay the course or to move on.

Those people tend to be the most even-keel, create the least amount of drama, have the least amount of stress in their lives, and usually, they are on the correct bus when it departs...

Great thoughts Gophers, but I guess you points beg the question: Are there any soccer parents that actually fit that description or are the terms "soccer parent" and "even-keel" mutually exclusive terms?

Ahhh, yes... The the "evenous-keelios" class of the "selectivus" family of the "North Texius" genus of the "Soccer Patentus" species is by far the rarest class of the "selectivus" family. The "cluelessious", "neroticalious", "irrationalious", and "winningobsessivous" classes are far more prevalent.

Known by their common name of even-keel NTX select soccer parents, even though rare, it is possible to locate groups of 25-32 of them congregating in common locations. Thankfully, my dd has been able to locate such a group.

Also know that there is a general biophysics phenomenon known as the "Lake Highlands Effect" that states that the percentage of evenous-keelious selevtivus North Texious Soccer Parentus in a given population is inversely proportional to the square of the proximity to Lake Highlands D1...

As usual, thanks for your scholarly insight into another of life's most perplexing questions. I've read that there is a lot of debate in the scientific community whether the "D1 Syndrome" to which you are refering is viral or genetic. Just to be safe, I plan to wear a respirator mask during the Qualifying Tournament.

Sent to the Stands wrote:

bwgophers wrote:

Sent to the Stands wrote:

bwgophers wrote:

silentparent wrote:

CoachPhil wrote:

Thanks for the story, copa44. I am glad to see some that model for their children what it means to say something and back it up. That's the real world I would like to live in.

Lol, you probably believe your boss too when he says management is planning no layoffs after they are bought by another company. people like you are always so surprised when reality bites them in the butt. Too funny!

LOL... I find that in both your soccer and business examples, those people that have the most realistic and objective assessment of their own, or their own DD's abilities, and have open, honest, and objective communication with their boss/coach, never have to worry about being caught off guard.

Those people tend to be able to see the writing on the wall pretty easily and accurately assess how it will affect their personal situation and will be prepared to act accordingly, whether it's to stay the course or to move on.

Those people tend to be the most even-keel, create the least amount of drama, have the least amount of stress in their lives, and usually, they are on the correct bus when it departs...

Great thoughts Gophers, but I guess you points beg the question: Are there any soccer parents that actually fit that description or are the terms "soccer parent" and "even-keel" mutually exclusive terms?

Ahhh, yes... The the "evenous-keelios" class of the "selectivus" family of the "North Texius" genus of the "Soccer Patentus" species is by far the rarest class of the "selectivus" family. The "cluelessious", "neroticalious", "irrationalious", and "winningobsessivous" classes are far more prevalent.

Known by their common name of even-keel NTX select soccer parents, even though rare, it is possible to locate groups of 25-32 of them congregating in common locations. Thankfully, my dd has been able to locate such a group.

Also know that there is a general biophysics phenomenon known as the "Lake Highlands Effect" that states that the percentage of evenous-keelious selevtivus North Texious Soccer Parentus in a given population is inversely proportional to the square of the proximity to Lake Highlands D1...

As usual, thanks for your scholarly insight into another of life's most perplexing questions. I've read that there is a lot of debate in the scientific community whether the "D1 Syndrome" to which you are refering is viral or genetic. Just to be safe, I plan to wear a respirator mask during the Qualifying Tournament.

My studies suggest that it is a virus that can result in a genetic mutation, altering the clasification. Some are actually born with the mutated gene, but many appear to have a genetic pre-disposition that prevents them from generating the proper anti-bodies to ward off infection and resulting mutation later in life...

The are a few documented cases of genetic reversal, but alas, they are rare...

Uncle Numanga wrote:Verbal commitments from a coach are only a farce when your kid isn't very good.

+1

silentparent wrote:

Just an Observer wrote:The fact that so many think "verbal commitments are a farce" is one of the (many) reasons for our current downfall. Where is the "gentleman's handshake" of days gone by?

you missed the point. i would say a verbal commitment in mid june is something to be honored. in may? before you have any opportunities? also who knows coach may have put people on the spot and tried to strongarm them who knows?

Sounds like your idea of integrity is variable depending on month. If you don't want to commit, don't. Strong armed onto a youth soccer team? Really?