does this happen a lot?

[chinamigarden]

Reading comprehension is a wonderful thing. Even my 4th grade GD appreciates it.

I defined a community and then how these people from that community acted. Would you have been so quick to any type of judgment if I stated the were from Beverly Hills, Bay Hill, Georgetown, the Main Line, Beacon Hill, etc. and acted like the dregs of the earth?

Y'all really need to get over yourself and start reading the words in front of you in the manner they are presented. BTW, blue collar has nothing to do with economic status. It has more to do with values and vanity than income.

Reading comprehension is a great thing. If you read enough you will find that words have meanings and the meaning of the term Blue Collar has nothing to do with values or vanity and everything to do with the type of work done in earning the money you make.

Here is the definition of Blue Collar
Of or relating to wage earners, especially as a class, whose jobs are performed in work clothes and often involve manual labor

Read more: blue-collar: Definition from Answers.com

 

[Goobie]

Never thought I would be defending MTR, but he really didn't say anything bad about "blue collar" communities. If you re-read what he said, he used the term "blue collar" as an adjective to describe the community the team was from. He wasn't saying they were that way because they were "blue collar"

It is the exception. Unfortunately, a team often reflects the coach or community. There was a 14U NQ a few years ago and a team was based in a very blue collar community where it was more likely a disagreement be settled with firearms and fists than discussion. Some of these folks believe the best offense is attempted intimidation.

The community was:
1) blue collar
AND
2) more likely to settle a disagreement with fists, etc.

You guys are twisting his words. He did not say that the community was
1) "more likely to settle a disagreement with fists, etc"
BECAUSE
2) they were blue collar.

There is a big difference between the two.

If he had said the "green" apple had a worm. You guys are reading it like MTR said ALL green apples have worms. That is NOT what he said. He said this ONE green apple had a worm.

Someone please tell the political correct police to stand down!

 

[undergroundga]

Would you prefer the "low class portion of the blue collar community" in defining the area from which these people came? Or maybe you prefer I referred to them as white trash?

We are blue collar but not white trash but I can guarantee that if you cross a line with my dd there will not be a discussion afterwards, but it will get settled.

 

[SoftSocDad]

MTR can defend himself, but this thread has gone way down a path that I don't think is in keeping with the spirit of our community. MTR described one incident in one area, period. Goobie's breakdown is correct.

I saw a near-rumble in an affluent community a couple months ago. It was an ugly scene involving overly competitive parents. No punches were thrown, but there was some shoving and chest-bumping. The players were respectful of one another and stayed out of the fray, but an umpire's call set off a chain of events that no one is going to forget for some time.

Youth softball games and internet forums have something in common. Neither is a place for adults to prove how 'tough' they are. The posturing here is as laughable as it is out of place and unnecessary. We should be better than that.

 

[CoachAl]

...and another thing!

a funny little add on to this thread:

if you have ever seen one of these "rumbles" or "near rumbles" taking place at a youth softball or baseball game, you will notice, for the most part, the players themselves are completely embarassed by their parents and/or coaches idiotic behavior. it is in these cases you realize that most of the players some of as young at 10 are far more mature than the adults. i've seen a lot of 45 year olds at ball parks trying to re live or live something that never happened from their youth...probably still PO'd they couldn't make the HS team or something!

i will agree that this whole bad behavior thing is on the rise. i see more of it every year and at younger age levels. there is no one to blame but the parents and coaches, regardless of what community they come from! if our players come up with a disrepectful dugout cheer...we let them know that is not right immediately. i don't blame them for coming up with it..they are still learning. if it is allowed to continue, that is on the parents and coaches 100%.

there is one team in our area that is about as bad as it gets so i know first hand. they do not even line up for the post game high five w/ the other team...unless they win! then, they use that as an opportunity to get in some trash talking. those coaches and teams are definitely out there and I have never figured out how they get enough parents to sign their kids up for that kind of thing!

 

[BB875]

This whole discussion reminds me of a thread started about a year ago by my buddy mkral.http://www.discussfastpitch.com/softball-discussions/5082-sportsmanship-gone.html

 

[Coach Ron]

some people were speculating that it's the nature of the beast as girls get older they get more disagreeable. But I think that's a load.

It IS a load! Not true at all. All behavior - by both players & parents - begins and ends with the head coach.

Long ago I set a rule for my team and every other team in our organization, and that was about this chanting crap! No one in our organization will ever utter a negative chant against the other team's kids. Yet it's become a huge part of the younger teams, especially 12U. Who ever heard of a 11 y/o girl, struggling to throw a strike in a 12U tournament, who has to be humiliated by the kids on the other team singing "Rollin', rollin', rollin'" or "Kill the birdies," or "How'd she get there, Walk, Walk, Walk." Or how about a kid making an error, and having to listen to the other team chant, "Error, error, whoo, whoo!" Whenever that happened to us, I'd always turn to the kids and ask them how to stop that. They knew the answer - "On the field." The more we played, the better we got, and it was just so sweet for our kids to watch the other team quiet down once we got rolling! Just a bully mentality, either encouraged or just allowed by the head coach. Never happens if you don't allow it!

As for coaches with umpires, that's the umpires fault. I spent over 20 years behind the plate, and the first thing I was taught was, when someone got out of line, I had 2 choices - warn 'em or heave 'em, and if you warn 'em, you only warn 'em once.

A little bit of gentle discipline goes a long way in both those areas.

 

[marriard]

It IS a load! Not true at all. All behavior - by both players & parents - begins and ends with the head coach.

Long ago I set a rule for my team and every other team in our organization, and that was about this chanting crap! No one in our organization will ever utter a negative chant against the other team's kids. Yet it's become a huge part of the younger teams, especially 12U. Who ever heard of a 11 y/o girl, struggling to throw a strike in a 12U tournament, who has to be humiliated by the kids on the other team singing "Rollin', rollin', rollin'" or "Kill the birdies," or "How'd she get there, Walk, Walk, Walk." Or how about a kid making an error, and having to listen to the other team chant, "Error, error, whoo, whoo!" Whenever that happened to us, I'd always turn to the kids and ask them how to stop that. They knew the answer - "On the field." The more we played, the better we got, and it was just so sweet for our kids to watch the other team quiet down once we got rolling! Just a bully mentality, either encouraged or just allowed by the head coach. Never happens if you don't allow it!

+1 here. We don't do this either. In our player/parent/coaching agreement we all agree not to do it. Simple rule - you cheer for us and what we do - not what they do. We show class even if they don't.

We had one team last week trying to distract my DD when she was pitching with some stupid screaming and yelling as she pitched. First time they did it she took advantage of the '10 seconds' to pitch once you go to the glove and they couldn't keep up the noise for that long. Next time, at about nine seconds she stepped off, called for time and asked to swap balls because the ball was wet. Next time she didn't pause at all. They about gave up after that.

What I really don't like is that the same teams that do this are always the same teams that want to do some joint team chant or clap the players off the field or some other garbage. We walk from this when it happens.

On a particularly bad day I did consider teaching my team how to do a good war 'haka' to use pre-game against one particularly obnoxious organization but so far I have come to my senses. If you have never seen the 'haka' performed here you go:

 

[Coach Ron]

That is pretty intimidating, and kind of cool to watch 7 years later as an outsider. But I hope they won all their games that year, because if they didn't, they look damn foolish doing all that crap and getting their butts beat!

 

[Lozza]

On a particularly bad day I did consider teaching my team how to do a good war 'haka' to use pre-game against one particularly obnoxious organization but so far I have come to my senses. If you have never seen the 'haka' performed here you go:

I know you said you won't but that is rude and offensive. The haka is to be only performed by men and only by people whose culture uses it. Anyone else doing it would be misappropriating another culture.