Fields of Screams: 2017 youth baseball/softball thread

[Songbird]

Makes me sick for the player. She's such a great girl with a great attitude, who's a natural athlete, with talent.

She's the one who is hurt by all of this but the mom (and dad) won't even stop to consider this.

 

[LongTimeListener]

The commish said that when she called the coach of the team she was placing the girl on, the wife asked who the mother was. The commish told her who and heard the wife sigh.

Why are they placing the girl on another team at all? That's enabling the parents. Commish should be saying the girl has a place on her original team, coach and players love her and will be glad to see her back, but that's the parents' only option.

 

[Songbird]

Because then the parents would just pull her altogether. At least she gets to play.

forking kills me.

I only took over midway through last season when all 3 coaches -- who were mean-spirited, vindictive, and punitive -- quit on the spot. Most of the players hated the experience and wanted to quit softball. My oldest goddaughter was on the team so her dad asked me to coach and I jumped at the chance. From the moment I took over we began the healing process and quickly bonded and had so much fun even though we didn't win a game. Despite having 7 girls for the season-ending tournament, we almost beat the champions. It was our best game. We had come so far from the first game after I took over when we lost by 20 runs.

Every player returned this season, including a 7th-grader who has since made the junior high team. This isn't going to ruin things for us. We're going to move on and continue to be a family and be ready for Saturday's Opening Day doubleheader.

I just wish we had the player, who no doubt must be confused as all fork. Three days ago we had a strong practice. Three days later she's being told by her psycho mom that she's on another team after being such an integral part of my team. So forking angry right now.

 

[LongTimeListener]

I feel for ya.

I think if the parents faced the choice of their girl not playing at all, she would have been back out there with you. It sounds like your league has let the mom have her way for too long and they're feeling the effects of it.

Our baseball league has some crazies. Like, the most stereotypical crazies you could ever come up with for a movie. But the league is very clear about eliminating player/parent change options once the teams are formed. Otherwise we would have 50 cases a year of this.

 

[Webster]

Songbird, nothing worse than dealing with overzealous parents. Baseball/softball seems the worst for some reason because of the time to kill between the plays. Sucks for the kid -- could the ban the parent from attending games or practices?

In our town, we have 4 teams playing in the U12 sub-travel soccer league. Each of teams have roughly been together for 3 years, playing in the fall and spring. One parent had pulled their daughter from each of the other 3 teams because she couldn't get along with the coaches -- all of whom are really good guys. They offered the girl (who is just ok, but a sweet kid) to my team in the fall. I know the parents a little and decided to speak with them before making I final decision. I told them that whatever happened before was water under the bridge, but that I wasn't going to stand for any negativity. They complained to the league that I was being unprofessional and the commissioner just dropped the girl from the program.

 

[doctorquant]

Why are they placing the girl on another team at all? That's enabling the parents. Commish should be saying the girl has a place on her original team, coach and players love her and will be glad to see her back, but that's the parents' only option.

I agree. Holy shirt is letting the girl/mom do this a bad move.

 

[Songbird]

It's the mom. And it's Vermont. And it's a really small instructional league that's already short on players. I know what both of you are saying, and you're right, but you can't not let the girl play.

Also found out that the mother emailed a few other parents telling them they should take their girls off the team. She's getting nowhere with that.

 

[Songbird]

This has gotten beyond messy. I went to talk to the commish today. She completely backs me.

But I found out that the girl in question went to school today with printed-out emails between all the parents on the team and was trying to get other players to switch teams with her. Absolutely disgusting behavior by her parents to put an impressionable 12-year-old into this position. The thinking by the parent being that if she can get other players to leave, my team will have to disband. I am livid and at the same time heartbroken for the girl.

My goddaughter, who isn't on the team this season (she's playing baseball) had a 6th-grade function tonight. I went to support her because I go to all of her extracurricular events. The girl in question is in her class so we all saw each other -- her parents included. The girl obviously wanted to say hi -- found her way around me 15-20 times in a short amount of time -- but has been poisoned against me, which is disheartening. I went to her exhibit and said Good job and she struggled to say Thank you because her dad was standing behind me. It forking killed me and I know this must be so confusing to her. She has no idea why this is happening other than what she reads in emails that her shameless parents gave her.

Apparently there's a law in Vermont, something about unwanted contact via electronic means relating to children. The commish is dealing with it now.

I'm just so forking disheartened about this. It never should have gotten this far. forking psycho parents.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Poin always says baseball parents are the worst.

I say, no, softball parents are the worst.

This is definitely a data point for me. (But, to be fair, it's happening in baseball somewhere too.)

You're doing it right, Songbird. You will reap no benefit other than knowing that, but it's enough.

 

[cjericho]

This has gotten beyond messy. I went to talk to the commish today. She completely backs me.

But I found out that the girl in question went to school today with printed-out emails between all the parents on the team and was trying to get other players to switch teams with her. Absolutely disgusting behavior by her parents to put an impressionable 12-year-old into this position. The thinking by the parent being that if she can get other players to leave, my team will have to disband. I am livid and at the same time heartbroken for the girl.

My goddaughter, who isn't on the team this season (she's playing baseball) had a 6th-grade function tonight. I went to support her because I go to all of her extracurricular events. The girl in question is in her class so we all saw each other -- her parents included. The girl obviously wanted to say hi -- found her way around me 15-20 times in a short amount of time -- but has been poisoned against me, which is disheartening. I went to her exhibit and said Good job and she struggled to say Thank you because her dad was standing behind me. It forking killed me and I know this must be so confusing to her. She has no idea why this is happening other than what she reads in emails that her shameless parents gave her.

Apparently there's a law in Vermont, something about unwanted contact via electronic means relating to children. The commish is dealing with it now.

I'm just so forking disheartened about this. It never should have gotten this far. forking psycho parents.

This is happening in Vermont? Isn't all the animosity supposed to be reserved for the right-wing screech machine and the corporatists? Have we lost our way? Poppa Bernie please guide us.

 

[HanSenSE]

I know it's another amen from the congregation, but hang in there, Songbird. You're doing right by the players, the league and the game.

It's U12, for crying out loud!

 

[Bud_Bundy]

My grandson is 5 and in his first year of T-ball. I've already seen a couple of parents "in training" for bigger and better things. Nothing overt yet, because most of these kids haven't even grasped the concept of baseball and are just having fun, but they have definite possibilities. Unfortunately.