What would you have done?
I’m an assistant coach of a rec. league 12U squad. My kid is on the team and so is the head coaches kid. We have a small core (6 kids) that has played with us for three years and we supplement with kids from the community that sign up. We don’t have tryouts, we just do our best to teach the kids that are there to love baseball and have fun while developing solid fundamentals of the game.
One of our kids this year has had a pretty poor attitude about the team all season. He is barely coachable and I feel like he doesn’t really want to be there most of the time but his parents make him. Tonight, in the third inning he was up to bat. He was called out on strikes and he just stood in the box and glared at the ump. I’m coaching first, so I say “okay Timmy (not his real name), hustle back to the dugout.” He doesn’t move. Ump tells him he’s out and to go back to the dugout, and he still doesn’t move. I clap and tell him a little louder something to the effect of don’t worry, just hustle back in. Doesn’t move, still glaring at ump. Ump tells him again he’s out and to go to dugout. I take a couple steps toward him and more forcefully tell him to hustle back to the dugout. He finally starts to move at a snails pace back to the dugout. I exhort him to hustle if he wants to play defense next half inning. He glares at me. Mind you, this all happens over the course of about 30-45 seconds.
Finally gets in the dugout, slams his batting helmet down followed by his bat, both in the middle of the full dugout. Could have hit any number of his team mates with either one. His parents are sitting close to the end of the dugout, so at this point, I look at dad and say “you need to get him and take him home.” Dad gets super pissed, has some choice words, but gets him and his stuff and leaves. Did I make the right call?