Mind your own business

[55dad]

Last weekend I overheard some parents and players from another team making negative comments about one of our players. It was bad enough that a particular parent was participating with the girls in directing some fairly nasty comments about character and loyalty towards our player, but the real kicker was that what they were saying was completely inaccurate and they had no idea what they were talking about. I approached the dad who was leading the negativity and provided him with the truth. Although I am sure I didn't make any difference in his mind at least it shut them all up. This is an 18U team and the folks doing the talking were 18U players and parents. Amazing to me. I thought the 12U drama stopped at some point.

The bottom line is that this "kid" who all these folks were making nasty comments about is just a young lady trying to play some ball and she does it at a very high level. Why do folks feel the need to attack a kid's character because of some perceived agenda? It baffles me.

 

[djcarter1966]

Jealousy is a powerful emotion. Some people think the only way to build themselves up is to tear others down.

 

[let it be fun]

Jealousy is a powerful emotion. Some people think the only way to build themselves up is to tear others down.

Those kind of comments are not random. There is probably some history there if these folks felt the need to comment. While 18U should be better, the flip side of 18U is that the softball community is rather small and most of the girls have played on multiple teams with hundreds of different players and families by the time they get to 18U. There is bound to be some drama and jealousy.

 

[WARRIORMIKE]

 

[MNDad]

Again, thank you for coming to my DD’s defense. It’s an honor having her play with families that look out for one another. It’s tempting to go off on those spreading the rumors, but anyone who knows her is fully aware of her character and loyalty.

 

[corlay]

I find the most inappropriately vocal parents,
have kids that are usually marginal players.

 

[BobInMadison]

One interesting thing -- I've known of cases where a girl is unfairly criticized, and every one of her teammates has stuck up for her. Good when that happens.

 

[JAD]

The bottom line is that this "kid" who all these folks were making nasty comments about is just a young lady trying to play some ball and she does it at a very high level. Why do folks feel the need to attack a kid's character because of some perceived agenda? It baffles me.

Grown women can be catty towards one another, so not sure why you think 18 year olds would be exempt from the behavior...

 

[Sparky Guy]

Grown women can be catty towards one another, so not sure why you think 18 year olds would be exempt from the behavior...

I had this conversation tonight with an 18U player who will be starting college this fall. I warned her about keeping her thoughts regarding other team members to herself and staying quiet. I told her the absolute worst part is they won't let it go if they found out she said something negative. It will sit there and fester till the "injured" party finds a way to get even. Then the cycle starts again.

I know one of the things that helped my DD the first two years was not rooming with any of the players on the team. She could vent to her roommate knowing it would not get back to the team when she needed to.

 

[55dad]

Grown women can be catty towards one another, so not sure why you think 18 year olds would be exempt from the behavior...

Yeah. What was I thinking?