7-year-old girl kicked off baseball team

[Lozza]

While I think its unfortunate that this coach is "discriminating" against this girl because of her gender, my question is why do parents insist on having their daughters play baseball if they have the option to play fastpitch softball? Why not support the girls program and promote the game of fastpitch which really is a different game than baseball?

Because maybe she wants to play baseball and not softball? I know a lot of girls who prefer baseball to softball. (I think they're nuts personally)

And why is discriminated in quotation marks? She was asked to leave the team because she was a girl. That is fact. With the coach admitting that he was keeping lesser players (her brother) because they were boys. So he could play 'more competitive' baseball. For seven year olds.

 

[CatcherToShortstop08]

I played baseball for eight years and made the All-Star team the six years I was eligible. My mom originally did it because the softball in our area didn't start that young, and I stuck with it because the girls weren't as competitive as the boys. It was never an issue. I was just one of them, and they knew I was as good as they were too. Only time it mattered was 12 y/o all-stars when we had a team sleepover and I had to sleep in a different room. Literally the only time it made a difference.

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

Because maybe she wants to play baseball and not softball? I know a lot of girls who prefer baseball to softball. (I think they're nuts personally)

And why is discriminated in quotation marks? She was asked to leave the team because she was a girl. That is fact. With the coach admitting that he was keeping lesser players (her brother) because they were boys. So he could play 'more competitive' baseball. For seven year olds.

I don't know if many 7YO's really know the difference between baseball and softball. I think what happens is the parent signs their kid up for one sport or the other, so they don't really know the difference at this very young age. Parents like the convenience of having a brother and sister on the same team so they are not driving to two different practices, two different games, etc. But in the long run it may not be the best thing for the player.

In my area, most PONY baseball teams at the younger divisions seem to have at least one girl on the team. At some point the girls will either quit baseball and/or will transition over to fastpitch.

I can understand, as Amy mentioned, that if baseball has better coaching & facilities, why a parent might choose to stay in baseball for several season but every time I see a girl playing baseball, I can't help thinking that the fastpitch community is losing another player this year. Baseball has plenty of support both financially and in participation in my area, I think we need to support fastpitch as much as possible and encourage the girls to play softball. It's highly unlikely any of these girls will be playing baseball at the TB level, in high school, or in college.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

This would have just been t-ball, right?

 

[99&beyond]

I plan on starting my youngest DD at the baseball fields. My goal (she is only 2...) is to field an all girl team. Play at the baseball fields for the first several years (they have a really nice t-ball only field, incredible umps, plus the ball would be easier for smaller hands) and then transition the whole team over to the girls fields.

If I had 2 kids of close age and opposite gender, I wouldn't care if they played on the same team. It would actually be rather nice for the time factor.

My DS is 6, how competitve is he trying to make them. Our boys are still picking the grass and playing in the dirt....

 

[PA SB Dad]

My DS is 6, how competitve is he trying to make them. Our boys are still picking the grass and playing in the dirt....

My DS is 12 and does the same thing!!

 

[chinamigarden]

I coached our LL's all star team twice. We are a small town and baseball is secondary to football even at that age. We never made it out of districts but we did ok, we won as many as we lost and had a couple of really good ball players. We just didn't have any depth. Fast forward 4 years and I was watching my dds 12u team and I was thinking that 4 of them had better arms then all but 2 of the boys on those all star teams. I really believe that those 4 girls could have not only played on that all star team but started. We would have been a much better team with 4 girls then we were without. Funny thing is, my dds travel team is from the same small town and draws from the same group of families.

 

[amanda_cake]

I plan on starting my youngest DD at the baseball fields. My goal (she is only 2...) is to field an all girl team. Play at the baseball fields for the first several years (they have a really nice t-ball only field, incredible umps, plus the ball would be easier for smaller hands) and then transition the whole team over to the girls fields.

At a large complex where I live, I know of a coach who was able to field an all girls' t-ball team & planned to move them up to 8u the following year. Their uniforms were pink, they were adorable, and they were better than some of the mixed sex teams out there.

 

[MsDinosaur]

If I was their Mom, I'd be pulling both children off that team and looking for a new one. I wouldn't want either child to pick up his attitude.

 

[shockcoach]

It looks like they are sanctioned through Home - Allen Sports Association. I'll bet when the local city starts getting flack for them using their fields while discriminating against this girl, they will be forced to change the way they conduct business. The website lists this as a city recreational league.

I also notice they have a nice list of sponsors to contact and let them know where their money is going, including to Dick's Sporting Goods.