Shut your face, Dad.

Yep, we have a new player on the team as of Saturday. She is quite good, albeit the tiniest player we've got. Oh, and did I mention that we only have about three weeks left? Yeah, she's a little late to the team. This player has a dad who decided to come to the game last night.

Oh. No. My dad had warned me when I told him I was coaching that the worst thing about coaching was the parents. It hadn't been a problem for us because the most of our team's parents do not attend the games. Yes, it is sad, but it makes our job easier when there aren't 86 voices yelling at the girls. They listen to us. Well, they kind of listen to us.

Until last night.

According to the teacher who has organized the league, new parent is (was?) a high school baseball coach. So he (thinks he) knows what is up with the game. Unfortunately, this translates into yelling the entire game. He first positioned himself outside the fence along the third base line. I couldn't hear him over there, but C told me he was running his mouth the entire time. Sad for us, he moved right by our dugout. Sure enough, that man is incapable of shutting up.

While I appreciate parents that want to support our team, and I am certain he means well with his constant words, he is making our job terrible. The girls have a hard enough time staying focused and listening to US, their coaches. Now they have a third adult voice talking to them, sometimes telling them very unhelpful things. Come on, dude, I had to explain one of the girls that we only get a run when we cross home plate, not when we get strikes. We are still working on the basics. Furthermore, our main problem is there attitudes. And that problem is not cured by you screaming at a girl for not catching a ball that she made a valiant effort to catch, yet was just unreachable. That problem is not cured when you then shout at them repeatedly, "Have fun out there!" when they start freaking out from your previous words.

Did I mention that he has offered his services for practice on Fridays?

Ugh. Despite me being extraordinarily passive aggressive, I feel that words may be exchanged at some point. C and I have been spending quite a bit of time (volunteer time, I add) with these girls since the end of April. This man is not about to "start coaching" with us and step on our toes. Nope. If he decides to tell us that we are doing things wrong, he is bound to get the business from yours truly.

Things are going to get awkward, I know it. Stay tuned.