It’s pretty simple. If a dad coaches his sons team he will give his son more playing time regardless of their ability. On occasion their kid may deserve it. But more often than not they don’t As a result you have kids playing a lot but haven’t earned it. As a result you get pissed off parents who eventually leave. Some teams have 7 dad coaches. That’s 7 kids they will get the most playing time regardless of ability. They will also have their kids stay on the top team even if they don’t deserve it.
Daddy-ball happens in all sports. When I read this I thought someone was writing about my son's former football team with 7 Daddy-ball coaches. A new Daddy-ball coach and his son joined the team. His son played all the positions my son played for the previous years. My son stood on the sidelines and WATCHED football, only got the required 6-8 minimum plays and special team on-off the field plays. The Daddy-ball coaches sons played positions both on offense and defense - taking away opportunities to play from others. The seven Daddy-ball coaches sons also were the team captains week after week (picked by their dads, not by their teammates).
We left the team and joined one in a different league, but first talked to the head coach and the athletic director about Daddy-ball. It's not happening this season and all the boys are being developed and are PLAYING football. So talk to the coaches about the positions their sons play and about Daddy-ball when you choose a new lacrosse team. Don't expect miracles if you don't ask questions up front. The goal is for your son to have fun PLAYING lacrosse, learn how to PLAY lacrosse better, and improve his lacrosse IQ.
