Yeah, I'm venting. It's a game!!!!

[stephanie]

Coaching a 10U team now. Love it!!
The other night, we played a team that was taunting my team SO bad that the umpire warned them twice to stop. (really? The coach was too stupid to realize what the FIRST warning meant?) Normally, cheers don't really bother me, but this one was calling for the death of my pitcher, and that she needed to be buried 6 feet under, in a cemetary.
OMG...
And then, my pitcher (a 9 yo little girl) had to listen to the parents on the other team call her names. Needless to say, I had to remove her from pitching since she was in tears.

To any coach out there that reads this and thinks "wow, that sounds like my team this lady played," GO GROW UP!!

Your W-L ratio in RECREATION SOFTBALL isn't worth making little girls think that maybe they DON'T want to keep playing softball.

Does anyone out there still remember that it's about these kids, not us coaches?

I'll say it again. It's a game...

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Oh, I had that happen once. My team was about the same age as yours.

Yes, there were death threats and the taunts became racial. I lined my team up and said I don't want any of you to say one word back at them. Just then, one of my team members yelled back at them - "Why don't you shut up." I was livid. I was just trying to leave the area. I said "Who said that?" Silence. Then, "Coach, it was Caitlin."

It was my DD. :l

We packed up and left to avoid further problems.

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

IMO, Inexcusable for a coach to allow any kind of taunting of the other team, at any level. First time our girls (in t-ball) chanted taunts against the other team (taught to them by older sisters in the dugout) we immediately admonished them and it stopped. I am all for postitive cheers for teammates, etc. On the flip-side, some coaches are going to allow it unfortunately so we need to teach our DD's to ignore it or be inspired by the taunts (e.g. stiking the other team out, playing harder, etc).

Regarding rec ball and win / loss records. In my region, there are many competitve rec leagues and why shouldn't the players and coaches play to win ball games?, it is a by-product of all of the hardwork, dedication the girls put-in throughout the pre-season and season. Sure, some coaches might take it a bit too far, but I think coaches have an obligation to prepare the girls for game day and play the way the way the game was meant to be played.

 

[stephanie]

I am all for my girls having a winning season. I don't believe anybody wants to go to practice every week so that they can play the game JUST to have fun. They want to win. I want to win. The parents want to win. Teaching girls to "want to win" is important. But it isn't everything.

 

[FJRGerry]

A coach who permits poor sportmanship just to win a game is a poor coach indeed in my opinion. Isn't the ultimate purpose of sport at the youth level to teach valuable life lessons?

 

[obbay]

I had a similar-but-not-as-bad problem I vented about last year. Same age as yours.
The responses typically advised cheer for your team, not against the other.
I made sure my girls understood that regardless of what the other team cheers, we don't go there. Support your teammates and that's it.

As a boy, that stuff never bothered me- but girls are different.

Take the high road.

I've also heard of a team of older (U14) girls (from another town) spitting in their hands before they congratulate the other team at the end of the game and instead of saying " Good Game" they said "you suck". Nice. Their coach must be so proud.

 

[stephanie]

I've also heard of a team of older (U14) girls (from another town) spitting in their hands before they congratulate the other team at the end of the game and instead of saying " Good Game" they said "you suck". Nice. Their coach must be so proud.[/QUOTE]



ok, this is gross...
Hopefully, the whole SWINE FLU thing has stopped them from doing this...

 

[Comp]

If it was bad enough that the umpire issued a warning for it, there should not have been a 2nd warning, head coach should have been gone. If it there was still another coach available to run the team and it continued, then the team should have been gone.

 

[TimothyJ]

Bring a video camera and tripod to the games.. If it starts up, you can point it at the other dugout and or their parents.

Let the coach know you'll make him/her an Internet Star if they don't control their players and parents.

truth be told, I'd probably pull my girls off the field. I coach 10u rec, and I take the "rec" part of it very seriously. Not sure what I'd do if it was a more competitive league

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Oh, my LL boys team did that (spit on their hands), once. We had a few laps to run after that, and I made sure that the other team saw me discipline the team. The next game, I put a parent behind their kid as we went through to shake hands. Boys!