Originally posted on 02/17/2013:

I coached , ran a league, and dealt with problem parents for a long time.

Your league should provide all catchers equipment. If not, if if not certified to be in safe working condition prior to the start of the season, you, the league, all league commissioners and all board members are wide open for a law suit. Your league insurance will verify this. No parent can supply ANY equipment for ANY other player and must sign a waiver if they supply it for their own kid. This is especially true for batting helmets and catchers equipment.

As for the mom, call a team meeting. Have the kids play off to the side, be it at someones house or at a park while you meet with the parents. Openly discuss any questions any parents have for the upcoming season. Want to blow her away and teach your kids something at the same time? Find a way to do a fundraiser, through the church or somewhere, so your team can put on a free car wash, with any donations going in the name of the child that died of cancer to the American Cancer Society or a specific type of cancer that the child had, or a children's hospital that the child spent time, or St. Jude. Look into getting the church parking lot and use their water for the car wash and announce plans for this event at the team meeting. The lady will crumble, the team will bond, and you will have taught those players a life lesson they will never forget. If that is somehow impossible, then have a Q and A session with them at very least. This will air out all questions and the parents will help keep her in check because it has all been discussed. She will shut it down somewhat because she now has the parents to back you up and she knows it. Tell the parents exactly what you are trying to achieve for the season. Season goals, if you will. Have a set plan, a method of teaching these kids, and stick with it. Teach them something about the game with each win and each loss. The OP that spoke to this being an instructional league was spot on. Hopefully the fundraiser can be pulled off. If so, EVERYONE leaves a winner.

As for positions, at the age of ten, every kid should get a crack at ALL positions, unless they say they do not want to play a certain position. But... if one or two kids can not catch the ball very well, putting them at First is crazy. Tell the player AND the parents of that player together, why you do not want to put them at a certain position at this time. If the player improves, you will allow it. It should be all about player safety. If one kid or 2 plays short or first all season, your league is doing an injustice to all the kids. Rotating players is so important because these kids will be completely different in 3-4 years and if never given a chance to play a position now, they will never get one unless they are a standout. That is not in the child's best interest.

I applaud you for giving your time as a coach. You are an unnoticed hero for that. But... you are not unnoticed by those kids and in years to come, they will remember you and begin to fully appreciate how valuable your time was and that you gave it to them. If you do your job well, you will be rewarded. That reward will come in the form of one of your players running into you in a grocery store or somewhere and walking up to you and saying hello. The fact that they saw you and wanted to say hi, is their way of saying "thank you". Trust me, it is the highest compliment an old coach can receive.

Winning is not a priority, teaching and having every player leave the last game a better player than they were at the first practice is the only goal if indeed this is a rec team.

Best of Luck.