Effing Little League Parents

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Bernie Brewer

Grouchy Old Fart
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A little background first........
Those of you that know me know I love baseball, and am lucky enough to have a son that loves it as much as me. And he's pretty good at it. He plays in a small league every Monday in his regular school district (four teams). Then this year the coaches for the four teams put together an "all-star" team to play in a neighboring town to give the kids that really love it a chance to play some more.
There are a few of these "all-stars" on each team in the regular Monday league.

You can really tell which kids on the four teams are on the all-star team and which are not, for several reasons. Yes, there is a noticeable dropoff in skill level, but that is not the kids' fault, and it's not what I mean anyway. I am talking about their parents.

I was at my son's game tonight, and there were a couple a$$hole dads there bitching about everything. One was scolding his kid because he wasn't pitching hard enough. The other was yelling at his kid because he couldn't catch up to a fastball and was swinging behind it. Then one was yelling at the catcher, and it wasn't even his kid. Then both were yelling at the ump for his ball and strike calls.

Come on, guys. Set a decent example for your kids. Don't ***** out the ump. You think it's so damned easy, you get behind the plate and do it. I've been an umpire, and it's not as easy as it looks.

And if your kid makes a mistake, don't yell at him in front of everyone. ENCOURAGE him. Tell him it's OK, you'll get'em next time. And later, when you have some time alone, talk about what happened and how to correct it. And if your kid's game needs work, and they all do, get off your dead ass and go play ball with your kid. Pitch him a few so he gets some swings in. Get your fat a$$ in a crouch and let him pitch to you. Your kid's game will improve, and so will your relationship with him. And at the games, if you can't say encouraging things, then just shut your piehole.
 
SWMBO has a 7 yr old in little league and the parents are already all over their kids. It's rediculous. Actually it's embarassing to the parents and the kids. It's a game. If you can't play it like it's a game then you shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the diamond. Take a walk you bastids.
 
I hear ya on umping. I've never been an ump but I used to ref football with my Dad. There are some nutjobs out there, for sure!

It's NOT easy because you are NOT a professional! You are VOLUNTEERING your day/evening so kids can play a sport.

I remember those parents when I was a kid. They're always out there.
 
I've run into the same problems coaching Pop Warner football and our local wrestling club. While I did have to deal with a few whiny, lazy kids, the parents were the biggest pain, and what eventually drove me out of coaching.
 
Amen to this. The stupid MF'ers who couldn't make it in sports push their kids right out of the thing they love to play hoping to live through them. We have 2 leagues around me. The big city league that i played in as a kid where you'll see everything you just talked about and then the close by small town league where you won't. I know where my kid will be going to play tee-ball and more if he likes it.
 
Amen to this. The stupid MF'ers who couldn't make it in sports push their kids right out of the thing they love to play hoping to live through them.

Or the ones that were good and think they have to protect their ego by making sure their kid lives up to what they think of themselves. These guys are in serious loser denial. And the kids suffer for it. Sad.

It's a ****ing sport. Get over it!
 
I think you guys are missing the fact that your performance in little league and especially T-ball determines how successful you will be in life.

Silly dads. If you are chewing out your 7 year old in public you just aren't giving him the kind of support he needs to burn out of the sport by age 15.
 
I think you guys are missing the fact that your performance in little league and especially T-ball determines how successful you will be in life.

Silly dads. If you aren't chewing out your 7 year old in public you just aren't giving him the kind of support he needs to burn out of the sport by age 15.

Fixed that for you I assume
 
My 4-year old started t-ball this year & I was an assitant coach.. even parents of 4 year old display those undesireable attributes, it's a shame. It got really bad when we started our all star tourny's too. We're in South Texas and started playing all star teams from areas where baseball is a "way of life" and those parents were insane. Come on, it's just a bunch of 4 and 6 year olds. However, despite my disgust for some of the parents, those kids from those "way of life" neighborhoods could play some tee-ball! They could probably hold thier own with some little league teams of 10-year-olds, getting double plays and making some crazy catches.
 
However, despite my disgust for some of the parents, those kids from those "way of life" neighborhoods could play some tee-ball!

That's the problem, the whole "way of life" mentality. Again, it's a ****ing sport. If it takes precedence over teaching your children common courtesy and respect (by their example of acting like ********), they've obviously missed the point.
 
That's the problem, the whole "way of life" mentality. Again, it's a ****ing sport. If it takes precedence over teaching your children common courtesy and respect (by their example of acting like ********), they've obviously missed the point.

Life is not about courtesy and being a good person. it's about playing in the majors at all cost to family and self respect! Don't you know that FireBrewer?
 
My 4-year old started t-ball this year & I was an assitant coach.. even parents of 4 year old display those undesireable attributes, it's a shame. It got really bad when we started our all star tourny's too. We're in South Texas and started playing all star teams from areas where baseball is a "way of life" and those parents were insane. Come on, it's just a bunch of 4 and 6 year olds. However, despite my disgust for some of the parents, those kids from those "way of life" neighborhoods could play some tee-ball! They could probably hold thier own with some little league teams of 10-year-olds, getting double plays and making some crazy catches.
I coached my daughter's T-ball softball team this year. I played baseball all my life, was good enough that it paid for half of my college education. My only goal for the girls on my team was that they pay attention and learn a little something. That's it.

I'm from the 'way of life' school to an extent. My dad played semi-pro baseball and a good bit of hockey when he was younger. He coached me in Little League baseball. Not once did he push me. He let me go at my own pace and got upset when I got upset with myself. I still turned out to be a pretty damn good ball player (many, many, many years ago :D).

Point is, you can still be from the 'way of life' and not be an ass as a Little League parent.
 
You have to push them hard, otherwise we will continue down this road of turning America into a nation of puzzies! The only thing that matters is winning!

Win!
Win!
Win!

Before you know it, you are taping Lestor's buns together and getting detention.
 
One of my co-workers is the coach of her sons team. Big girl and good looking to boot. the big girl in her won't take crap from anyone.

Early this season, she literally booted parents from practices and scrimmages. Then she went a step further and had her husband bring the tractor to haul the bleachers another 20 foot from the field.

Why? Cause the parents were *****bages and couldn't see fit to allow their kids to enjoy the sport. Sure, she lost some kids from the team but the team has also become better organized too. So, she says.

Kudos to her. SWMBO was grew up on the futbol and intends for my son;s to at least try it. I told her that is fine so long as she doesn't interfere. I know her, the first time my boy gets hurt on field she's gonna jump all over somone to blame.
 
It gets better as you go along. Everyone's kid is A-Rod when they are 4-9 years old. They start to weed themselves out after that (kids and parents). I specifically sit in the outfield as far away from the kids and parents as I can when my son plays. That way I don't have to listen to the parents' BS.
 
As a peewee football ref I was involved in removing plenty of parents from the sidelines. Most leave without much incident. We did have to call the police once (I wasn't reffing that particular game, but I got the full story at the bar that night).

Honestly, what I noticed is that the parents at the "Juniors" games were WAY, WAY worse than the parents at the "Seniors" games. The police-level incident was at a Juniors game.
 
I coach my girls in softball and I have actually asked parents to leave games before. Some people take things WAY to seriously.
 
I specifically sit in the outfield as far away from the kids and parents as I can when my son plays. That way I don't have to listen to the parents' BS.

I used to see parents doing this at my little league games thinking they were weird. But now I see they were the intelligent ones! Just there to enjoy the game and watch their kids play.

I had a little league coach yell at me in front of the whole team after a game one night and tell me it was my fault we lost the game. I missed a ground ball to 3rd base letting a run in. Yes he wouldn't have scored THAT run had I not missed it, but that mistake didn't let all the others in. Plus, I WAS 10!! Dick Head coach. I don't remember this happening but my mom was telling me about it.

My mom luckily was not a yelling parent, she on the other hand was the one telling me from the stands (not yelling just talking to herself) Oh, Brad, just get up in my last soccer game of 8th grade. WEll I did get up, once the ambulance came on the field and toss'd a splint on my broken leg and hoisted on the stretcher. She felt pretty bad for thinking I was just a wuss, then seeing the ambulance roll on. :D
 
I'm with you Bernie 100%.

Little league football has been the worst we've seen BY FAR. Baseball and soccer didn't even come close. Never saw one incedent in basketball. It also seems like the football coaches think they've got some kind of pass that allows them to be a-holes, too. I'll be coaching my boy's team this year - those boys deserve better than they had last year!
 
Honestly, what I noticed is that the parents at the "Juniors" games were WAY, WAY worse than the parents at the "Seniors" games. The police-level incident was at a Juniors game.


That's pretty much what I meant in the OP. It was the parents of the kids that weren't as "advanced" that were doing all the bitching. Bitching at the kids, at the umpire, you name it. Pretty much it was just two of them. The parents of the "advanced" kids did nothing but encourage them- give them pointers, etc. But nothing negative. These kids are hard enough on themselves, they don't need parents making it worse.

But I really have no problem with the "way of life" thing, but common courtesy and respect has to be part of it, not a casualty of it. If the "way of life" mentality is done right, it will emphasize those things as much as the fundamentals of the sport.
 
IMO the most important part of kids sports is learning about losing, criticism, learning from failure, and hard/unbending discipline based on performance. Working as a team should also fit in there. Parents who build there kids up and make the failures a disaster are ruining their kids opportunity to learn from the game. Plus they just look like dikx to the rest of the normal people and embarrass their kids.
 
I'm glad my parents were able to see early on that I wasn't going to be supporting them in their old age as a major league baseball player and never got insane at any of my games.
 
I look forward to the day my boy is old enough to play tee-ball. Kudos to your Sparky for taking over coach. I think if I was coaching I'd have a parents meeting that first night and explain that this is little league, the kids are here to learn a sport, have fun, and learn the things that go along with sports such as how to lose gracefully along with winning gracefully, Hard work and teamwork. I understand bad calls will be made, but this is not the end of the world, again, it is little league. If any parents are yelling at the kids on either team, other parents, or the refs, they will be asked to leave. If they cannot control themselves or find someone else to bring their child to the games their child will unfortunately not be able to play and that they will know it is their parents fault for not being able to control themselves. And depending on the age group, ie teeball, Every kid will play, you're little allstar will not play over johnny-can't-catch-a-ball-to-save-his-life. We're not hear to make a living, we're here to enjoy the summer. Don't ruin it for your kids. If you don't like my coaching practices, please feel free to find another team that better suits your expectations of little league.
 
We finished up our season a couple of weeks ago and luckily we're in a pretty good league. My son was 9 this year and turned 10 half-way through the year, first year of "kid pitch". He had a coach this year that was a little on the intense side, sometimes talking over the heads of some of his players, but he learned a TON and had a lot of fun. He always outwardly praised his players and if he saw something talked to them one on one and only got loud when they would hang their heads or kick at the dirt after a bad play.

What Bernie said couldn't be closer to the truth. We played some teams from other programs this year and only had one where the people really stood out like this. Sadly, it was the coaches who were the worst. A funny example was one of the coaches asking the umpire what the count was and how many outs there were, then immediately screaming to his team to "PAY ATTENTION!" in the field. Too funny and sad at the same time.

Coaching is really the best way to solve any problems you may have with the way things are done on the field. Hopefully next year SWMBO will be on first shift and will take over the "daughter duties" in the stands so that I can do more than just assit in practices.
 
To those of you who help coach your kids teams.

Whats your kid's general take on this. As a Dad I think this would be great tome with him, as a boy I could see if they'd rather seperate family and "getting away" during sports??
 
I've coached just about everything my son has played. He thinks it's cool, even though I'm admittedly a little harder on him. He needs it sometimes, though - gotta know my boy! ;)
 
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