My grandson would get upset at his basketball coach one year because he was “mean”. His parents and I explained to him that he is trying to make him a better athlete. Their team did VERY well that year. Next year, he got a coach that just smiled at them and basically patted them on the back for participation. That team only won one game. He’s learning!
Yes, my kids have had some of the toughest, meanest travel ball coaches around. A lot of parents made their kids quit the teams because of the coaches.
But the coaches knew baseball & taught the team how to play the right way. I always told my kids, listen to WHAT he says, not HOW he says it.
And when they go back to their HS teams, they have better fundamentals than most of the the other kids. And I try to remind them that the “mean” coach taught them how to do a certain fundamental that they are executing without thought & the other kids do not.
It’s the little things that win games and make certain players stand out.