So the LL coach kicked this young man off of the team.

[Amy in AZ.]

I haven't met any child yet, that wanted to play, that can't play well enough to play at a 10 yo level in LL. We will see. I am not charging him for lessons, so I will feel free to say "He needs to find a different sport." (Baseball certainly wasn't my husband's sport. In fact, no sport was.)

I am hoping to teach him to hit. We will see.

Anyway, the League President put the little boy on a different team and the family seems satisfied.

 

[3'sDad]

Amy: Great that you steeped in and offered to help. I coached LL (softball) for quite a few years and just retired from coaching this past summer when DD aged out of LL Juniors (14/15). Our league needed volunteer coaches when DD was 8/9 and they asked. I loved it, working with the kids and teaching them how to play

I had many girls who really could barely catch ot throw. They were out projects for the season - teach them the basic skills of the game and insure they have fun. As a volunteer coach, there is no better reward then to see one of your new, inexperienced players get their first hit, or make a catch or play on a ball. They smile, the parents beam with pride! That's what volunteering your time is all about.

Two quick stories:

1. 3-4 years ago we had a girl who was a transfer student...her parents are American but were ex-pats living in the UK and just came back to the US. The girl played soccer & had never played softball other than perhaps a catch with Dad. We had her for a year & taught her the basic fundamentals of the game. Great kid, great parents. The following Spring, we get our rosters from our local LL Player Agent & she's not on the team roster, so I emailed the parents to see if they neglected to sign-up; it happens. Parents tell me this girl won't have time to play LL this Spring, she was so interested in softball she tried out for and made her school team!

2. This could have been the same year - Due to a very large traffic accident which tied up several interstate highways our assigned umpire could not make it to the game. Our LL District allows for parent volunteers to officiate games if an umpire does not make the game, so the game can be played as there are minimum played game requirements for teamsn & players to be eligible for LL All-Stars (LL takes these minimum requirements very seriously - there are virtually no waivers granted for minimum # of games played or player participation). To alow this game to be played; two parent coaches volunteered to umpire, rotating each half inning. Both sides told the players - "the strike zone will be wide we want everyone to get in their swings - the umpire does not want to call you out on strikes". There was little dispute on balls & strikes the entire game. There were 2-3 calls on the bases made that were over ruled by the oppositon coach where a runner was clearly out or safe that the umpire just missed. The correct decision was enforced on the field on each of the calls and the better team won the contested game by 1-2 runs, as it should have. There were emails from our LL President etc , thanking both sides for such a distplay of sportsmanship & a game played in the spirit LL envisioned.

 

[David Carter]

Amy: Great that you steeped in and offered to help. I coached LL (softball) for quite a few years and just retired from coaching this past summer when DD aged out of LL Juniors (14/15). Our league needed volunteer coaches when DD was 8/9 and they asked. I loved it, working with the kids and teaching them how to play

I had many girls who really could barely catch ot throw. They were out projects for the season - teach them the basic skills of the game and insure they have fun. As a volunteer coach, there is no better reward then to see one of your new, inexperienced players get their first hit, or make a catch or play on a ball. They smile, the parents beam with pride! That's what volunteering your time is all about.

Two quick stories:

1. 3-4 years ago we had a girl who was a transfer student...her parents are American but were ex-pats living in the UK and just came back to the US. The girl played soccer & had never played softball other than perhaps a catch with Dad. We had her for a year & taught her the basic fundamentals of the game. Great kid, great parents. The following Spring, we get our rosters from our local LL Player Agent & she's not on the team roster, so I emailed the parents to see if they neglected to sign-up; it happens. Parents tell me this girl won't have time to play LL this Spring, she was so interested in softball she tried out for and made her school team!

2. This could have been the same year - Due to a very large traffic accident which tied up several interstate highways our assigned umpire could not make it to the game. Our LL District allows for parent volunteers to officiate games if an umpire does not make the game, so the game can be played as there are minimum played game requirements for teamsn & players to be eligible for LL All-Stars (LL takes these minimum requirements very seriously - there are virtually no waivers granted for minimum # of games played or player participation). To alow this game to be played; two parent coaches volunteered to umpire, rotating each half inning. Both sides told the players - "the strike zone will be wide we want everyone to get in their swings - the umpire does not want to call you out on strikes". There was little dispute on balls & strikes the entire game. There were 2-3 calls on the bases made that were over ruled by the oppositon coach where a runner was clearly out or safe that the umpire just missed. The correct decision was enforced on the field on each of the calls and the better team won the contested game by 1-2 runs, as it should have. There were emails from our LL President etc , thanking both sides for such a distplay of sportsmanship & a game played in the spirit LL envisioned.

Been there and done that...I was literally pulled from the stands, no umpires showed they needed to play the game, I had not umped in probably 4 years I made it out of there with nothing but thanks yous from the parents so I guess everyone was happy.

@MTS this is why these leagues are called recreational, the point is not to groom superstars the point is for girls to have fun and learn the game, there is a girl that was on our 12U team last year and is playing again this year 12U, she is one of those people that is simply not very coordinated and probably can't play any sport well, she is out there trying, having fun and making friends (and it was great to see her get a hit last season the whole team cheered like crazy as did all the parents in the stands, honestly say it makes you feel better than watching your superstar hit a HR) . There are travel teams and All Stars for girls that want to go to the next level at recreational ball NOBODY is cut.

Amy...glad it seems like things are working out, it was probably better he not go back on that team to that coach, now the only thing the league has to deal with is the coach who thinks he can cut players from a LL team.

 

[JNew0872]

This coach has LL all wrong but there are so many out there just like him. All he cares about is going to Tournament of Champions. Quick story: Two years ago I coached a LL softball team. Through the draft, I got the last girl on the table - a girl who had never played, thrown a ball, swung a bat. Appeared completely uncoordinated and unathletic. Another coach told me, "Good luck with that one." I paired her with one of my better players to mentor her. Made sure everyone on team knew we were a team which is like family. We loose as a team and win as a team. All team members cheered this girl on. When she got her first hit in a game, the girls cheered like she had hit a grand slam. This team went on to win Tournament of Champions. The first time a softball team in our league had won it and we beat the LL that wins it every year. This girl now loves softball. The following year I didn't get her one my team but I still loved cheering her on and watching her learn to become a pitcher.

 

[Sweet Lou]

You know, folks, whatever the sport, sometimes it just isn't for everybody and everybody isn't for it. And the last time I checked, there is no "right" to force any sport to allow someone to participate just because they want to participate.

Yes, it would be fantastic if there was a place for everyone who wants it, but what if there isn't? I've seen teenagers, hell, adults who couldn't catch a softly tossed ball if they had 10 hands, let alone two. Or even learn how to hold a bat, let alone swing it. And I'm referring to people who were actually trying to learn how to play.

And if I remember correctly (and it may not apply at all levels), but doesn't LL have a mandatory playing time rule for all players? Would that not mean that a team cannot just carry a player and allow selective participation even if it is for the good and protection of the child? And who is going to be blamed when a player who probably doesn't really belong on the field with some of the more skilled players gets hurt simply because s/he could not perform at that level?

Folks, as means as some want to make it sound, sometimes being cut from a team is in everyone's best interest including the child being cut. If this child truly does not have the skills to be there, s/he probably shouldn't be.

Amy, hope you are able of helping this young man, but I have a question. With all your experience in multiple games, if you came to the conclusion after so many sessions that maybe he just doesn't have the ability to develop the necessary skills, what would you do?

Travel teams, all-star teams and middle/high school sports are a great place to learn you aren't good enough to keep playing. Little league is for everyone to get a chance.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

I got to work with him, yesterday. I found a tall 11 yo, that is well mannered and very athletic. He just needed to learn to throw and we worked on hitting. Walking in, he is probably already a 7 out of 10. He didn't know the strike zone, but just because that hadn't been explained to him. He did well and seemed to enjoy the lesson.

 

[leechristensen]

thats the sad part amy is this kid has played bball before and never been coached, never been taught the proper mechanics.our local ll was more concerned about winning their league than teaching. they would draft good 10yo on their major rosters and have them ride the bench just to make sure they would have them on their team for the next year. kids like this would be sent down to minors because they were not the best. ll is about everyone playing and teaching like the asa rec program. we had 5 major teams in our league. one draft year they sent 7 12yo players down to the minors for "safety reasons" there were no safety reasons these kids had never benn taught how to play and the coaches wanted good players. the league had to file paperwork with district and that always gets lost. just sad for the kids all they wanted to do was play bball. all stars is for competition and you get to select your best..that was one of the many reasons i left the little league arena..it stopped being about the kids and more about coaches winning

 

[rydog73]

Love all the success stories so here is mine. I coached American Legion baseball for many years. We had a young man tryout that was smaller than everybody else and was just not very good but you could tell he loved the game. In warm ups he missed a ball and it hit him right above the eye splitting his head wide open. His dad takes him to the emergency room and about an hour later he is back all stitched up and ready to tryout. This tryout is for 2 teams and we take everybody if roster space allows and we decided to take this kid. We find out after we take him that he has a club foot which is why he doesn't run so well and his eyesight is not real good. The first two years every time up to bat he struck out but never missed practice and you could see him improving. Third year we get him in a game and he gets a hit to right field and our bench goes crazy. He moves to second on a passed ball and the boys in the dugout can't hardly contain themselves. Next batter hits a double to the gap and he scores from second. Our kids mob him at the plate like he just hit the game winner and he walks of the field with a grin from ear to ear. It has been 10 years since I coached Joe but I will never forget him and his love for baseball. I know this is long but in 20 years of coaching various sports it is my favorite story to tell.