Disrespectful kids

[T.J.]

I don't really see too many of the disrespectful kids you speak of. There are some, but all in all IME there are few and far between.

I also feel the managers & coaches have no control of how their players are raised at home, behave at home & outside of softball, and have no control of their off-field influences. But IMO they do have control of how they behave under their tutelage. When I do see a player acting or behaving disrespectfully I look at the coaching staff. If a player is punching fists at the end of the game I would be inclined to talk to the manager as I think he/she would like to be aware of it....and I would appreciate the same if our kids were doing the same.

 

[coach james]

While calling games this weekend, a pitcher was struggling, and after walking quite a few her coach pulls her and asked her to play ss. He started to comfort her and say "you'll get em next time" etc. She growls at him and very rudely walks towards ss. The coach stays calm and simply says "dugout! Your not going to act like that on this team." And then asks another player out from the dug out....
To my knowledge that attitude problem player didn't see the field the rest of the game.
Love it...

 

[BobInMadison]

I remember a game where the coach for the other team got the parents to quiet down.

This was the final game of a low-level double elimination 10u tournament. All sorts of rec-league tournament rules, such as no steals, 1 base on an overthrow, coach pitches after 4 balls (no walks). Standard 10u rec league rules, and all the girls playing were rec league players (although DD had played up at 12u that spring).

This was the third time the two teams had met in the playoffs, and each team had won once. The winner of the game would win the tournament.

All the 3 games, the parents of the other players were riding the umpires about non-calls against my DD, some of which weren't violations of the tournament rules, but the rec league where their team played. The umpires were getting a bit annoyed, and let the parents know they really were watching my DD.

Top of the 6th, DD's team is up 8-7. Our pitcher is too tired, so DD comes in relief. One out, runner at first, coach pitching, easy grounder to pitcher. DD fields the ball, and throws over the 1B head. Oops. The runner on first comes home, which would tie the game. Umpire rules the girl took 2 based on the overthrow, and sends her back to third, taking the tying run off the scoreboard. The parents of the other team are irate, and getting about as nasty as one would see in Wisconsin (which isn't really that nasty, compared to some other places I've lived.)

At that point, the other team's coach has a talk with the parents, from his position at 3B coach. He tells them it was a judgment call, and they may not like the call, but the ump made the decision so they should just live with it. I really respected him for taking control of the situation like that, when it could've gotten ugly. This was just 10u, and this was putting a lot of pressure on DD.

Oh, and DD struck out the next two batters for the save.

 

[newsoftballdad]

Up around Wisconsin girls are trained to thank the umpires after the game. Anywhere from shouts of "thank you blue" to teams going and having each player shake the umps' hands.

Our team does this as well. HC is a former college catcher, so she knows the importance of a good ump.

As for the sportsmanship, we were at PONY in Va last week, we played a team that screamed and skreeched at our pitcher, we beat them to send them into the loser's bracket. Low and behold they fight their way back to within one game of playing us a gain. They had a 5 run lead, hooting and hollering the whole way. Lost 6 to 5 in the last inning on a walk-off suicide squeeze! KARMA!

 

[BobInMadison]

I guess some of it depends on the age group, and some depends on how they were screaming and screeching.

For the 10u and 12u levels, the chants and stuff can be a team-building exercise. It can really be hard to tell where the line is. There are some chants that get a bit nasty, and I am not happy that DD #3's team has picked some of them up from opponents.

I figured out from talking to some of the coaches that part of the reason the coaches allow the chanting in rec leagues is to toughen up the pitchers for tournaments. At some point most pitchers learn to let the chants roll off their backs, if they want to be good pitchers.

As far as umpires, I was unhappy that DD #1 never umped a game. Our rec league uses parent volunteers for base umping in the fall, which taught me that base umping is a lot harder than it looks. One of the coaches would drag DD #1 into base umping for DD #3's games (this was a coach from the OTHER team, now DD #3's TB HC). Also, DD #1 has the best eye for strikes and balls I have ever seen. She will completely freeze up on a 2-strike count if she knows a pitch will be 2 inches outside, or too high, or whatever. Not move and inch. It would drive me crazy to see it, but she would almost always get the call.

So, DD #1 went through rec league ump training, but never signed up to ump a game. Pity. She could've been a great ump. Considering that the rec league umps are not always the best (these are all MS or HS students), she would've really stood out.

 

[Dana Marque]

Just last week we had a team (14u travel) where parents didn't like the umpires calls. One wild pitch hit the ump in the head. Parents from the other team started clapping. It was a really close game - 0-0 until the 4th inning. We ended up winning 2-0. I just felt it took away from the good game both teams were playing and was just so rude!!!! Yeah - I'm about telling my pitcher it looked good if it was a close pitch but I'm also then on the bleachers stating I can't see the corners... I've also commented on close play calls - this is why I'm not an ump - safe - out - safe - out... I couldn't do it... Respect blue!!! You may not agree w him but let him do his job.

My favorite thing is when I see the little girls talking to blue asking questions abt a play (not to argue but to understand). It shows those girls really do respect their knowledge...

 

[BobInMadison]

I remember one 14u game where the umpire spent some time working with the pitchers and the catchers after the game, to help them with their mechanics, etc. At one point, the coach for the other team came up and thanked the umpire for calling an illegal pitch on his pitcher. He had been trying all year to get her to work on the situation, and he needed umpires to make the call on her for her to improve.

 

[CoogansBluff]

Just last week we had a team (14u travel) where parents didn't like the umpires calls. One wild pitch hit the ump in the head. Parents from the other team started clapping.

I heard that this happened at the NSA World Series in Spartanburg last week and that a team (14U) got kicked out. But I don't have confirmation of that.

 

[coach james]

Just got home from the eastern national tourney. We saw some great kids here overall for once (16u)
The field ump we had yesterday was the worst blue I had ever seen. He was missing calls that weren't even close. So bad the plate blue went out to talk with him and this arrogant guy who supposedly calls d1 games told the plate blue to go back and do his job while he does his! Everyone's mouth was hanging wide open! (He said it loud enough for the whole diamond hear him)
My team was on d and after an infield blooper softly rolled right to my pitcher. She calmly picks it up and throws a strike to 1b beating the runner by two steps. Field blue says "SAFE!"..... what!?!? I immediately assume the 1b was off the bag etc. I asked him if she was off the bag and he yells across the field that his call stands and "she was Saaaffffeeeee" he said it real slow and sarcastic while looking right at me as if he was provoking a fight. I've never wanted to knock a guys teeth in so badly. The level of disrespect in some people these days is unreal. I still have no idea why he called her safe???

 

[BobInMadison]

Nothing hurts a game more than a really bad ump.

Not long ago in a rec league, the kid who was plate ump lost track of the count. With DD #3 pitching, he sent a girl to first on a walk, after she had swung and missed 3 times. Even the coaches on the other team were telling the ump she had 3 strikes on her. Didn't matter. This was a kid who was umping, so a bad writeup from coaches can make a big difference.

Another time the coach for DD #1's team, who generally knows the rule book better than most umps, pointed out a local field rule that was different from the ASA rule. Another ump, I think the father of the plate ump, was getting really nasty to the coach. (I don't know why an umpire not calling a game should get involved.) When the coach showed the local rule to the young ump, the young ump started screaming at the coach. The coach pulled his team off the field and forfeited the game. (DD #1 was in the on-deck circle. She wasn't a huge fan of that coach, but she agreed with him in this case. Normally that would've been a nasty ride home, but DD #1 had the most amazing SB I had ever seen in the first game of this double header, so it was mostly me saying: "How did you DO that!" all the way home).

A few days later, at BP, a board member for that rec league confronted the coach about it. Fortunately, a number of us parents who had seen the whole thing were around to defend the coach.

So, normally I show respect to blue, but occasionally blue makes it VERY hard to do.