Something to Make Us All Think

[eastender]

Something to make us all think about how children get treated when adults get in the way.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/rick_reilly/08/07/reilly0814/index.html

 

[hornyanglo66]

A league like that should ban intentional walks, period. If it is judged as being 'suspicious' then the ump shold have the right to make them continue pitching to the guy.

The Yankees coach was a shithead for doing what he did and I hope he gets his....

 

[EagerBeaver]

This article illustrates the problem with youth sports. It used to be the case, when I was growing up, that only the best players made the team and if you weren't good enough to play, you were cut. I can remember vividly a good friend of mine who was cut from our high school baseball team (which was very good), and it was devastating to him because he was a lefthanded pitcher who envisioned himself as the second coming of Ron Guidry. The Coach decided to go with another lefthander who did not throw as hard as my friend did, but that kid ended up being a very good pitcher for our team.

Now everyone makes the team, irrespective of talent, and everyone plays, irrespective of talent. It is not clear whether the mentality of such leagues is to teach kids how to win in sports. And if a coach does something to actually try to win, it is considered heinous and unsportsmanlike behavior.

There has been a raging controversy in recent years in Connecticut high school football. It really started because of one immensely successful coach whose teams consistently won its games by more than 50 points, in some cases by more than 70 even, playing fairly decent competition. Apparently there is now a rule that you can't win or attempt to win by more than 50 points. Sort of a mercy rule.

I don't believe in any of this. I am from the old school. High school teams should take the best players who try out for the team. If a kid is not any good, there are recreational leagues and intramural leagues he can play in. Right now there are just too many stories in the press about irate parents terrorizing coaches to play their kids who aren't any good. A good friend of mine who played high level college soccer here in the USA tried to coach girl's youth soccer in his town but was effectively harassed out of the league by the parents of a girl who berated him for not playing her. She totally sucked and did not deserve to play. It's absurd what youth sports have come to. It's all about parents who see their kids as superstars even though they have absolutely no talent.

 

[EagerBeaver]

There is a very high profile criminal case in Connecticut right now involving a very successful high school girl's softball coach who was beaten with a baseball bat by an irate parent whose daughter was suspended because she missed a practice to prepare for and attend her junior prom. Apparently there was a clear team rule that if a practice was missed for any reason, there was an automatic suspension the next game. The father of the girl showed up next game and when his daughter was not allowed to play, he viciously attacked and beat the coach. The coach was beaten into unconsciousness, suffered some broken bones and apparently now has permanent damage to his eyesight and hearing. The girl's father was charged with assault and I believe his criminal case remains pending at this time. The father was also fired from his job, in large part due to significant publicity over this case.

 

[EagerBeaver]

OL,

You are absolutely right and your post illustrates that the no-win situation is created because you have these youth leagues with no cut, everyone plays policies, and the value of winning is diluted to the point of making it questionable whether the game is played with the objective of winning.

 

[eastender]

Going Back a Few Years

I grew-up in the fifties and in our district sports was what kept alot of us out of trouble.

Still remember day long outdoor hockey games,baseball games,football games.No parents ,no coaches,no officials.Everyone who wanted to play played.When certain kids would leave the teams would be re-jigged and no one cared about who won.The kids with polio would take their turn at bat,soft pitch rules for them and another kid would run the bases.Organized teams were at the school/church or community center level and again everyone had a chance - the kids on the travel teams were picked from the house league teams.The major difference was that the coaches on the elite teams had actually played semi pro or pro and new the game.

Between 1955 and 1980 this approach produced approximately 40 CFL players,inc 3 HOFers,about 60 NHL/WHA players inc 2 HOFers,numerous scholarships to US colleges,high level athletes in other sports plus a fair number of highly qualified coaches.

In the 1970's kid sports became organized.Today the few outdoor rinks are rarely used,the football fields and baseball diamonds have virtually disappeared but we have a lot of coaches with federation certificates and grades who can hardly skate or know much about kids.