...made the mistake of accepting a coaching gig in my towns Little League, Minor League level, 7 and 8 year olds.
The problem, you see, is THAT is when they begin keeping score. The minute the numbers light up the scoreboard, some of the parents lose their fucking minds.
3 years out of diapers, but we're gonna make scenes and scream at umpires, coaches and each other. FUN!
My favorite - a pitch bounced in FRONT of Home Plate and the teenage umpire called 'STRIKE'! Reaction of one parent - top of lungs screaming "ARE YOU FUCKING BLIND???!!!". No, he wasn't drunk. I made it a point to never anger him though. :)
That parent became Youth Sports Commissioner 2 years later. No shit.
X meadowlander...Lol that ump just wanted to go home Â
I had friends that would ump baseball as a kid. Suffice to say their strike zones were fairly large. Kid probably decided he was calling a strike no matter what and the kid dumped a ball in the dirt.
My 5 year old daughter is playing in her first soccer league this year and I’m making a conscious decision to just provide positive reinforcement and not criticize her the coaches or the refs. I’ve been a softball umpire before, parents can be nasty. While you don’t want to see your kid hurt or dejected or angry kids need to learn to deal with adversity as part of their maturing process
...made the mistake of accepting a coaching gig in my towns Little League, Minor League level, 7 and 8 year olds.
The problem, you see, is THAT is when they begin keeping score. The minute the numbers light up the scoreboard, some of the parents lose their fucking minds.
3 years out of diapers, but we're gonna make scenes and scream at umpires, coaches and each other. FUN!
My favorite - a pitch bounced in FRONT of Home Plate and the teenage umpire called 'STRIKE'! Reaction of one parent - top of lungs screaming "ARE YOU FUCKING BLIND???!!!". No, he wasn't drunk. I made it a point to never anger him though. :)
That parent became Youth Sports Commissioner 2 years later. No shit.
...made the mistake of accepting a coaching gig in my towns Little League, Minor League level, 7 and 8 year olds.
The problem, you see, is THAT is when they begin keeping score. The minute the numbers light up the scoreboard, some of the parents lose their fucking minds.
3 years out of diapers, but we're gonna make scenes and scream at umpires, coaches and each other. FUN!
My favorite - a pitch bounced in FRONT of Home Plate and the teenage umpire called 'STRIKE'! Reaction of one parent - top of lungs screaming "ARE YOU FUCKING BLIND???!!!". No, he wasn't drunk. I made it a point to never anger him though. :)
That parent became Youth Sports Commissioner 2 years later. No shit.
Let me guess. His first name was Brad.
Nope. He's actually a good guy, but like many parents, a really bad Sports Fan.
I've been annoyed at the refs/umps at my kids' games from time to time Â
for three seasons. Lots of fun, lots of bad umpiring, and some controversies. I think the worst I ever did was get on a home plate ump (adults, trained, paid) for ridiculous inconsistency.
Had one guy who was assistant coach for an opposing team, actually argued with an ump from the first base box. Dropped an F-bomb, which is when a few parents from our team called him out verbally from our bleachers, at which time, he grabbed his crotch in their direction. I don't believe he coached anymore after that.
About 5-6 years later, his wife found him hanging from a beam in their attic. (True story.) Turns out he'd been suffering from undisclosed mental illness for a while.
...last at bats, and wound up winning. I actually felt bad for the kids on the other team. Somehow, NONE of them had the ability to throw strikes other than lobs that my kids would cream.
So we win, 16-14 and as the last kid crosses the plate, the coach on the other team flips, storming off ranting and cursing but at least he's walking away.
I'm loading my sons and gear into my car, and he walks past me with his bag, opens his trunk and screaming "MOTHER FUCKER!!!!" throws the bag in and slams the trunk.
My kids got a massive laugh out of it - we were cracking up the entire ride home, but it was really inappropriate.
Again - 7 and 8 year olds! You CAN'T take it seriously.
ever, criticize an ump or a ref at any youth game. I just won't do it. With that said, I have to admit when my eight year old pitches, I die inside. Not because I care that he does well or winning or losing at that age matters to me in any appreciable way, but because I just feel like that is the most alone positions in the world for a kid. He is out there by himself on the mound and 50 people are staring at him. To me, that is a burden at that age that I would rather him not have. So, I just want him to get every single call so the inning will just end and I can breathe. But, even if he gets hosed on some calls (which will happen and he will get calls he shouldn't get so it all works out) I never say a word.
at the Babe Ruth level (13-16s) in Indiana. There was one door mat of a team and we'd beaten them earlier in the year by a fair margin. So, this game I figured I'd start a kid who wasn't in our top 3-4 pitchers, to get him some experience.
Around the 3rd or 4th inning we're down 16-0. Not hitting a kid throwing lolly pops, and hitting anything hard right at kids.
We get a rally going at one point, make a dent ... score was something like 16-8, 16-9. Next inning, they load the bases, so I pulled the kid who started, put in a solid pitcher. No outs, they're loaded, kid comes up and smacks a ball into the right-center gap. Rolls to the wall. Clears the bases, then the kid scores on an overthrow. 20-8 (let's say).
But wait. My buddy/assistant coach has the book and says they batted out of order. We call attention to it, umpire calls the kid out and re-loads the bases, at which time our new pitcher strikes out the next two batters. Side out.
The opposing coach walks behind the plate as the teams are switching, yelling at me. Umpires are now walking him away, but he's a big young guy and he wants a piece of me. lol Says it's Babe Ruth and that's bullshit that we called them on batting out of order. I basically laugh at him, then try to ignore him ...
Yadda yadda yadda, we end up winning the game and he tells his kids not to shake hands, then he AND a few of their parents continue to yell niceties at us (we're at their park) until we get in our cars and drive away.
and it's unreal what I would hear from parents in the stands.
There are a lot of trash human beings who weren't raised well or don't care about being decent. They grow up, continue to be garbage people and don't lose that quality just because they have children. Often, they just pass on their garbage behavior to their children who learn through their parents' actions. And the cycle perpetuates.
...made the mistake of accepting a coaching gig in my towns Little League, Minor League level, 7 and 8 year olds.
The problem, you see, is THAT is when they begin keeping score. The minute the numbers light up the scoreboard, some of the parents lose their fucking minds.
3 years out of diapers, but we're gonna make scenes and scream at umpires, coaches and each other. FUN!
My favorite - a pitch bounced in FRONT of Home Plate and the teenage umpire called 'STRIKE'! Reaction of one parent - top of lungs screaming "ARE YOU FUCKING BLIND???!!!". No, he wasn't drunk. I made it a point to never anger him though. :)
That parent became Youth Sports Commissioner 2 years later. No shit.
Yep. Coaching Rec fastpitch softball was umm, fun with parents. And then Coaching travel was a whole 'nother level. lol
People literally lose their minds when it comes to kids sports. It's really pathetic.
When I was coaching house girls basketball . . . Â
These were 10-11 year old girls; my daughter played. This was house ball, so there were rules that a kid had to play a full quarter in each half, no kid could play all 4 quarters if a kid played only 2, stuff like that.
So, there was a team that kept getting caught for violating the substitution rules. It happened 3-4 times, and then the league had to sit him down and tell him to cut it out. He kept saying he was confused, and it was innocent; he wasn't, and it wasn't. Somehow, all his "mistakes" kept his better players playing more.
We lost in the semis to another team, but I went to the finals just to watch. Coach Confusion had his team in the finals. The BEST player on the other team, in the 3rd quarter, committed a foul, and the only question was whether it was her 3rd or her 4th. So, they went to the scorer -- who was the son of Coach Confusion, maybe 15 or so.
The kid looks at the book, and says HE has it as her 5th foul, so he's gone. The other coach goes batshit, because nobody had her with 5 -- except the "official" book, and the coach says he checked his fouls at the half. The ref says, "Sorry, the book is the book," and the girl fouls out.
Luckily, the team whose girl fouled out still won. But Coach Confusion wasn't allowed to coach the next year. When he tried to sign up, he was told, "You're done, and you know why."
...made the mistake of accepting a coaching gig in my towns Little League, Minor League level, 7 and 8 year olds.
The problem, you see, is THAT is when they begin keeping score. The minute the numbers light up the scoreboard, some of the parents lose their fucking minds.
3 years out of diapers, but we're gonna make scenes and scream at umpires, coaches and each other. FUN!
My favorite - a pitch bounced in FRONT of Home Plate and the teenage umpire called 'STRIKE'! Reaction of one parent - top of lungs screaming "ARE YOU FUCKING BLIND???!!!". No, he wasn't drunk. I made it a point to never anger him though. :)
That parent became Youth Sports Commissioner 2 years later. No shit.
Yep. Coaching Rec fastpitch softball was umm, fun with parents. And then Coaching travel was a whole 'nother level. lol
People literally lose their minds when it comes to kids sports. It's really pathetic.
My kids' high school has really good sports (in NoVa). One year when the football team was good, another excellent team came to our team for a game. Big game. This team was one of those teams that throws the ball 4/5 of the time; multiple receivers; fun to watch. But it wasn't their night.
One of their parents was standing behind the cyclone fence for the whole second half -- they were probably down 20 -- screaming obscenities at the refs. Like, many f-bombs, "you mfers," really bad stuff. And he didn't let up. He had an empty area around him, because nobody would get near him, and there was no chance the refs could hear him.
When the game ended, he tried to run onto the field, and got tackled by security. Why they waited, I'll never know.
Try being the Dad of a Hockey Goalie. Talk about pressure on a kid. A goal is scored....the player had to go thru 5 other players then beat your kid for a goal....but its all his fault. You can't imagine how often you jusy gotta chew your lip. Good times???
Try being the Dad of a Hockey Goalie. Talk about pressure on a kid. A goal is scored....the player had to go thru 5 other players then beat your kid for a goal....but its all his fault. You can't imagine how often you jusy gotta chew your lip. Good times???
It is not fun to have your kid the center of attention, especially when they take it so hard and this means everything to them. At 8, what else do you have going on to talk about at school other than who won what game, who was the winning pitcher etc etc.
and it's unreal what I would hear from parents in the stands.
There are a lot of trash human beings who weren't raised well or don't care about being decent. They grow up, continue to be garbage people and don't lose that quality just because they have children. Often, they just pass on their garbage behavior to their children who learn through their parents' actions. And the cycle perpetuates.
I umped as well. After one game where I called a player out at first base, his Dad met me at the gate leaving the field and shoved me. My Dad was waiting to pick me up to go home and sprinted out of the car to jack the dude up against the concession stand wall.
I used to get screamed at regularly, but when a grown man pushes a kid - it is just madness.
Who was born with a birthmark that covered his whole face. He was nice and we all liked him. But he was born with a burden by nature. Well his bigger burden was his drunk father that verbally abused him, his teammates and umpires during our games. One day his dad showed up loaded and was tearing into the kid for playing poorly. My father and one other dad dragged him away from the field and told him if he ever came to another game he would live to regret it. And furthermore they said his son better still be on the team next practice. The dad never came to another game and the kid was on the team for two more seasons.
We all know that the kid of the guy with the teal shorts will grow up to be a bully.
Funny thing about the story I just told, I ran into the kid from my team about 25 years later. He was berating his adult sister just like his dad used to berate him on the ball field. So your premise is probably on point.
My Son and I got through it all keeping in mind the following words of wisdom. Goalies ( and Pitchers) get more credit than they deserve when the team wins and also get more blame than they deserve when they lose. Fortunately I had a very level headed son who kept an even keel no matter the outcome. At least on the outside....some of those comments had to burn him as much as they did me.
I coached my daughters softball team u11, u12, u13 Â
I give a lot of credit to my league because before we ever played a game or practiced, the league had all the coaches meet 3 times. The purpose was we were to know each other, promote sportsmanship and handle the parents and the games together.
At first I thought they were nuts. After the first few incidents, It was clear that if both coaches were on the same page we could handle anything on the field calmly and cool. Parents and umps included.
Even with this set up we still saw some ugly, but it never really ruined a game day for us. My favorite line to use with the parents was..."I'm not Joe Torre and these are not the Yankees...It's Rec, It's Sunday and we're here to have fun..please relax"...usually worked but not always.
ever, criticize an ump or a ref at any youth game. I just won't do it. With that said, I have to admit when my eight year old pitches, I die inside. Not because I care that he does well or winning or losing at that age matters to me in any appreciable way, but because I just feel like that is the most alone positions in the world for a kid. He is out there by himself on the mound and 50 people are staring at him. To me, that is a burden at that age that I would rather him not have. So, I just want him to get every single call so the inning will just end and I can breathe. But, even if he gets hosed on some calls (which will happen and he will get calls he shouldn't get so it all works out) I never say a word.
You make a great point that I totally agree with and helped me greatly in controlling games. I said this to my players and parents.."We as a team do not argue balls, strikes or outs with the ump ever. The umps call was final, no matter what. A call should not cost us a game, we need to play better.. period" When bad calls did occur, I would wait until the end of the inning and quietly approach the ump to ask for an explanation. The umps genuinely seemed to appreciate this. Sometimes the answers were surprising like, "sorry coach, I just missed it" or they would point out how I completely missed something. It's would also create mutual respect which would lead to a better experience.
thrown in jail for a night or two (their kids deserve a reprieve from their shitty parents), forced to take anger management classes, and forced to write letters to the children on both teams apologizing for their embarrassing and shameful display.
And the guy in the teal shorts should be charged separately for assault.
at the Babe Ruth level (13-16s) in Indiana. There was one door mat of a team and we'd beaten them earlier in the year by a fair margin. So, this game I figured I'd start a kid who wasn't in our top 3-4 pitchers, to get him some experience.
Around the 3rd or 4th inning we're down 16-0. Not hitting a kid throwing lolly pops, and hitting anything hard right at kids.
We get a rally going at one point, make a dent ... score was something like 16-8, 16-9. Next inning, they load the bases, so I pulled the kid who started, put in a solid pitcher. No outs, they're loaded, kid comes up and smacks a ball into the right-center gap. Rolls to the wall. Clears the bases, then the kid scores on an overthrow. 20-8 (let's say).
But wait. My buddy/assistant coach has the book and says they batted out of order. We call attention to it, umpire calls the kid out and re-loads the bases, at which time our new pitcher strikes out the next two batters. Side out.
The opposing coach walks behind the plate as the teams are switching, yelling at me. Umpires are now walking him away, but he's a big young guy and he wants a piece of me. lol Says it's Babe Ruth and that's bullshit that we called them on batting out of order. I basically laugh at him, then try to ignore him ...
Yadda yadda yadda, we end up winning the game and he tells his kids not to shake hands, then he AND a few of their parents continue to yell niceties at us (we're at their park) until we get in our cars and drive away.
Good times. But no fistfights.
You should have reported him to the head of the league. They don't want to have coaches not teach sportsmanship, or teach anti-sportsmanship. As for the call, the coach screwed up and tried to deflect the blame.
I have been an umpire since 2004 (primarily high school and middle school levels), and your behavior doesn't sound at all out of the ordinary. Coaches will use whatever they can to benefit their team plenty of times. For example, if there is a fly ball to the outfield and a runner at third, the coach of the team in the field will regularly watch to see if the umpires are properly watching both the ball and the runner on third. If they see that the umpires aren't watching the runner, they will swear up and down that the runner left early, even if they know for sure he didn't.
Coaches will also try to get into the heads of the umpires, and make them doubt what they saw, to try to get a favorable call later. I had a game I guess two years ago by now. A kid tried to steal second base. At the ball was coming in, I was thinking that there was no way they were going to get the kid. But the kid slide to the outside of the bag, and the shortshop made a great swipe tag and got him out. Well, the first base coach didn't like that. He came out arguing like hell that his player made it in safely. The coach was so insistent that the runner was safe, I started to replay the call in my head. I started doubting myself, until a realization hit me. Even if the kid was safe (and for the record, he wasn't), he came off the bag after the slide and got tagged again. That was a good feeling, and helped me move past the call for the rest of the game, even as the coach continued to whine about the call to me and my partner.
but the one important thing I took out of that was if I'm ever in a bench clearing brawl I want that blonde that went after teal shorts, throwing haymakers on my side.
more than 20 or 30 years does not make them an "adult." These people are grown children. Conversely, I knew a few high school and college kids with more maturity than them.
Great money (could clear $100 in a weekend if I felt like it, plus one of the league commissioners liked me so he would schedule his makeup games for whenever worked for my schedule). Only had one dust-up and I can still picture it. There were two adjoining soccer fields and when there were simultaneous games on both fields the sideline that was shared could get crowded. As the other ref was older she chose the side that didn’t have to deal with that. To make matters worse, there was a heavy rainstorm the day before and being that it was Sunday nobody had repainted the sideline where It was now mud. I am trying to keep the parents back while trying to eyeball the sideline from what markings remained. By halftime I had enough and, as I was taught, I told the coach he needed to control his parents. Second half they start up again. Blow the play dead and start issuing yellow cards to everyone mouthing off. Everyone shut up except for one parent. Promptly ejected him. It took a little bit for people to realize what was happening and why game wasn’t restarting. Took multiple parents to wrestle this person off the sideline. Spoke to the gentleman who coordinated the officiating that weekend and word had gotten to him. Apparently either the parent fell on his sword or someone who knew the officiating coordinator told him what had happened because the coordinator said I handled it how he wanted it handled and I was suddenly getting higher paying assignments (the older the league the more pay and you got bonus pay for working alone).
and finally gave up the latter because of the parents.
Also coached adult soccer, which was mostly foreign students and the teams were often built along national or ethnic lines.
Actually there the players could be a problem. Once I reffed a game between Libyans and and Syrians. After the third ambulance I called the game at halftime.
Reminded me of that god-awful Marky Mark movie The Happening. When some unseen force caused everyone to go batshit crazy and ultimately kill themselves in super violent manners. Complete with some of the worst acting by Nark Wahlberg ever seen.
when I was 13 or so, had one of our better player’s father kicked out of games on multiple occasions. Screaming from the sidelines and any any everything. I felt bad for my teammate, I’d quit it if was my father. No chance in signing up for that shit.
RE: That video with horrible voice over commentary Â
Reminded me of that god-awful Marky Mark movie The Happening. When some unseen force caused everyone to go batshit crazy and ultimately kill themselves in super violent manners. Complete with some of the worst acting by Nark Wahlberg ever seen.
I remember a scene from movie when he tries to convince a home owner who they knocked his door that they were not affected by what was going while signing black water by Doobie Brother...or the scene when he is shouting at the group please be quiet i just need to think...more comedy than horror...
im an assistant on my daughers 5th and 6th grade team Â
one of the opposing teams we played last year couldn't beat us.
We beat them 4 times. The last time being 22-5. The other teams coach was berating one of my team's players for being physical.
This guys teams were the dirtiest in the league. So after the game is wife who is his assistant gets in my head coaches face and is hurling expletive after expletive. It was close to blows...
We will play them this year at least 3 times.
im an assistant on my daughers 5th and 6th grade team Â
one of the opposing teams we played last year couldn't beat us.
We beat them 4 times. The last time being 22-5. The other teams coach was berating one of my team's players for being physical.
This guys teams were the dirtiest in the league. So after the game is wife who is his assistant gets in my head coaches face and is hurling expletive after expletive. It was close to blows...
We will play them this year at least 3 times.
RE: That video with horrible voice over commentary Â
Reminded me of that god-awful Marky Mark movie The Happening. When some unseen force caused everyone to go batshit crazy and ultimately kill themselves in super violent manners. Complete with some of the worst acting by Nark Wahlberg ever seen.
It drove me crazy how they called Princeton "the town of Princeton" no one from NJ or PA calls it that, they just say Princeton or Princeton NJ.
fucking idiots
apparently one man in the crowd couldn't take seeing the fight and starting praying to Jesus.
The problem, you see, is THAT is when they begin keeping score. The minute the numbers light up the scoreboard, some of the parents lose their fucking minds.
3 years out of diapers, but we're gonna make scenes and scream at umpires, coaches and each other. FUN!
My favorite - a pitch bounced in FRONT of Home Plate and the teenage umpire called 'STRIKE'! Reaction of one parent - top of lungs screaming "ARE YOU FUCKING BLIND???!!!". No, he wasn't drunk. I made it a point to never anger him though. :)
That parent became Youth Sports Commissioner 2 years later. No shit.
Perhaps, but I just think it's more likely that assholes were a factor.
The problem, you see, is THAT is when they begin keeping score. The minute the numbers light up the scoreboard, some of the parents lose their fucking minds.
3 years out of diapers, but we're gonna make scenes and scream at umpires, coaches and each other. FUN!
My favorite - a pitch bounced in FRONT of Home Plate and the teenage umpire called 'STRIKE'! Reaction of one parent - top of lungs screaming "ARE YOU FUCKING BLIND???!!!". No, he wasn't drunk. I made it a point to never anger him though. :)
That parent became Youth Sports Commissioner 2 years later. No shit.
Let me guess. His first name was Brad.
Quote:
...made the mistake of accepting a coaching gig in my towns Little League, Minor League level, 7 and 8 year olds.
The problem, you see, is THAT is when they begin keeping score. The minute the numbers light up the scoreboard, some of the parents lose their fucking minds.
3 years out of diapers, but we're gonna make scenes and scream at umpires, coaches and each other. FUN!
My favorite - a pitch bounced in FRONT of Home Plate and the teenage umpire called 'STRIKE'! Reaction of one parent - top of lungs screaming "ARE YOU FUCKING BLIND???!!!". No, he wasn't drunk. I made it a point to never anger him though. :)
That parent became Youth Sports Commissioner 2 years later. No shit.
Let me guess. His first name was Brad.
Had one guy who was assistant coach for an opposing team, actually argued with an ump from the first base box. Dropped an F-bomb, which is when a few parents from our team called him out verbally from our bleachers, at which time, he grabbed his crotch in their direction. I don't believe he coached anymore after that.
About 5-6 years later, his wife found him hanging from a beam in their attic. (True story.) Turns out he'd been suffering from undisclosed mental illness for a while.
Perhaps, but I just think it's more likely that assholes were a factor.
That’s a given. Alcohol is an asshole enhancer. :-)
So we win, 16-14 and as the last kid crosses the plate, the coach on the other team flips, storming off ranting and cursing but at least he's walking away.
I'm loading my sons and gear into my car, and he walks past me with his bag, opens his trunk and screaming "MOTHER FUCKER!!!!" throws the bag in and slams the trunk.
My kids got a massive laugh out of it - we were cracking up the entire ride home, but it was really inappropriate.
Again - 7 and 8 year olds! You CAN'T take it seriously.
Around the 3rd or 4th inning we're down 16-0. Not hitting a kid throwing lolly pops, and hitting anything hard right at kids.
We get a rally going at one point, make a dent ... score was something like 16-8, 16-9. Next inning, they load the bases, so I pulled the kid who started, put in a solid pitcher. No outs, they're loaded, kid comes up and smacks a ball into the right-center gap. Rolls to the wall. Clears the bases, then the kid scores on an overthrow. 20-8 (let's say).
But wait. My buddy/assistant coach has the book and says they batted out of order. We call attention to it, umpire calls the kid out and re-loads the bases, at which time our new pitcher strikes out the next two batters. Side out.
The opposing coach walks behind the plate as the teams are switching, yelling at me. Umpires are now walking him away, but he's a big young guy and he wants a piece of me. lol Says it's Babe Ruth and that's bullshit that we called them on batting out of order. I basically laugh at him, then try to ignore him ...
Yadda yadda yadda, we end up winning the game and he tells his kids not to shake hands, then he AND a few of their parents continue to yell niceties at us (we're at their park) until we get in our cars and drive away.
Good times. But no fistfights.
There are a lot of trash human beings who weren't raised well or don't care about being decent. They grow up, continue to be garbage people and don't lose that quality just because they have children. Often, they just pass on their garbage behavior to their children who learn through their parents' actions. And the cycle perpetuates.
what and ignorant genralization, grow the hell up
huh?
The problem, you see, is THAT is when they begin keeping score. The minute the numbers light up the scoreboard, some of the parents lose their fucking minds.
3 years out of diapers, but we're gonna make scenes and scream at umpires, coaches and each other. FUN!
My favorite - a pitch bounced in FRONT of Home Plate and the teenage umpire called 'STRIKE'! Reaction of one parent - top of lungs screaming "ARE YOU FUCKING BLIND???!!!". No, he wasn't drunk. I made it a point to never anger him though. :)
That parent became Youth Sports Commissioner 2 years later. No shit.
Yep. Coaching Rec fastpitch softball was umm, fun with parents. And then Coaching travel was a whole 'nother level. lol
People literally lose their minds when it comes to kids sports. It's really pathetic.
So, there was a team that kept getting caught for violating the substitution rules. It happened 3-4 times, and then the league had to sit him down and tell him to cut it out. He kept saying he was confused, and it was innocent; he wasn't, and it wasn't. Somehow, all his "mistakes" kept his better players playing more.
We lost in the semis to another team, but I went to the finals just to watch. Coach Confusion had his team in the finals. The BEST player on the other team, in the 3rd quarter, committed a foul, and the only question was whether it was her 3rd or her 4th. So, they went to the scorer -- who was the son of Coach Confusion, maybe 15 or so.
The kid looks at the book, and says HE has it as her 5th foul, so he's gone. The other coach goes batshit, because nobody had her with 5 -- except the "official" book, and the coach says he checked his fouls at the half. The ref says, "Sorry, the book is the book," and the girl fouls out.
Luckily, the team whose girl fouled out still won. But Coach Confusion wasn't allowed to coach the next year. When he tried to sign up, he was told, "You're done, and you know why."
Quote:
...made the mistake of accepting a coaching gig in my towns Little League, Minor League level, 7 and 8 year olds.
The problem, you see, is THAT is when they begin keeping score. The minute the numbers light up the scoreboard, some of the parents lose their fucking minds.
3 years out of diapers, but we're gonna make scenes and scream at umpires, coaches and each other. FUN!
My favorite - a pitch bounced in FRONT of Home Plate and the teenage umpire called 'STRIKE'! Reaction of one parent - top of lungs screaming "ARE YOU FUCKING BLIND???!!!". No, he wasn't drunk. I made it a point to never anger him though. :)
That parent became Youth Sports Commissioner 2 years later. No shit.
Yep. Coaching Rec fastpitch softball was umm, fun with parents. And then Coaching travel was a whole 'nother level. lol
People literally lose their minds when it comes to kids sports. It's really pathetic.
My kids' high school has really good sports (in NoVa). One year when the football team was good, another excellent team came to our team for a game. Big game. This team was one of those teams that throws the ball 4/5 of the time; multiple receivers; fun to watch. But it wasn't their night.
One of their parents was standing behind the cyclone fence for the whole second half -- they were probably down 20 -- screaming obscenities at the refs. Like, many f-bombs, "you mfers," really bad stuff. And he didn't let up. He had an empty area around him, because nobody would get near him, and there was no chance the refs could hear him.
When the game ended, he tried to run onto the field, and got tackled by security. Why they waited, I'll never know.
I'll never forget how happy I was 4 years later when he said he had enough and didn't want to play anymore.
It is not fun to have your kid the center of attention, especially when they take it so hard and this means everything to them. At 8, what else do you have going on to talk about at school other than who won what game, who was the winning pitcher etc etc.
There are a lot of trash human beings who weren't raised well or don't care about being decent. They grow up, continue to be garbage people and don't lose that quality just because they have children. Often, they just pass on their garbage behavior to their children who learn through their parents' actions. And the cycle perpetuates.
I umped as well. After one game where I called a player out at first base, his Dad met me at the gate leaving the field and shoved me. My Dad was waiting to pick me up to go home and sprinted out of the car to jack the dude up against the concession stand wall.
I used to get screamed at regularly, but when a grown man pushes a kid - it is just madness.
Funny thing about this comment is, both sides probably take this offensive. Reminds me of that song, "You're So Vane".
Funny thing about the story I just told, I ran into the kid from my team about 25 years later. He was berating his adult sister just like his dad used to berate him on the ball field. So your premise is probably on point.
At first I thought they were nuts. After the first few incidents, It was clear that if both coaches were on the same page we could handle anything on the field calmly and cool. Parents and umps included.
Even with this set up we still saw some ugly, but it never really ruined a game day for us. My favorite line to use with the parents was..."I'm not Joe Torre and these are not the Yankees...It's Rec, It's Sunday and we're here to have fun..please relax"...usually worked but not always.
You make a great point that I totally agree with and helped me greatly in controlling games. I said this to my players and parents.."We as a team do not argue balls, strikes or outs with the ump ever. The umps call was final, no matter what. A call should not cost us a game, we need to play better.. period" When bad calls did occur, I would wait until the end of the inning and quietly approach the ump to ask for an explanation. The umps genuinely seemed to appreciate this. Sometimes the answers were surprising like, "sorry coach, I just missed it" or they would point out how I completely missed something. It's would also create mutual respect which would lead to a better experience.
And the guy in the teal shorts should be charged separately for assault.
Around the 3rd or 4th inning we're down 16-0. Not hitting a kid throwing lolly pops, and hitting anything hard right at kids.
We get a rally going at one point, make a dent ... score was something like 16-8, 16-9. Next inning, they load the bases, so I pulled the kid who started, put in a solid pitcher. No outs, they're loaded, kid comes up and smacks a ball into the right-center gap. Rolls to the wall. Clears the bases, then the kid scores on an overthrow. 20-8 (let's say).
But wait. My buddy/assistant coach has the book and says they batted out of order. We call attention to it, umpire calls the kid out and re-loads the bases, at which time our new pitcher strikes out the next two batters. Side out.
The opposing coach walks behind the plate as the teams are switching, yelling at me. Umpires are now walking him away, but he's a big young guy and he wants a piece of me. lol Says it's Babe Ruth and that's bullshit that we called them on batting out of order. I basically laugh at him, then try to ignore him ...
Yadda yadda yadda, we end up winning the game and he tells his kids not to shake hands, then he AND a few of their parents continue to yell niceties at us (we're at their park) until we get in our cars and drive away.
Good times. But no fistfights.
You should have reported him to the head of the league. They don't want to have coaches not teach sportsmanship, or teach anti-sportsmanship. As for the call, the coach screwed up and tried to deflect the blame.
I have been an umpire since 2004 (primarily high school and middle school levels), and your behavior doesn't sound at all out of the ordinary. Coaches will use whatever they can to benefit their team plenty of times. For example, if there is a fly ball to the outfield and a runner at third, the coach of the team in the field will regularly watch to see if the umpires are properly watching both the ball and the runner on third. If they see that the umpires aren't watching the runner, they will swear up and down that the runner left early, even if they know for sure he didn't.
Coaches will also try to get into the heads of the umpires, and make them doubt what they saw, to try to get a favorable call later. I had a game I guess two years ago by now. A kid tried to steal second base. At the ball was coming in, I was thinking that there was no way they were going to get the kid. But the kid slide to the outside of the bag, and the shortshop made a great swipe tag and got him out. Well, the first base coach didn't like that. He came out arguing like hell that his player made it in safely. The coach was so insistent that the runner was safe, I started to replay the call in my head. I started doubting myself, until a realization hit me. Even if the kid was safe (and for the record, he wasn't), he came off the bag after the slide and got tagged again. That was a good feeling, and helped me move past the call for the rest of the game, even as the coach continued to whine about the call to me and my partner.
A parent who I respected said that one need to apply the 24 hour rule when it comes to coaches, wait until you calm down and sleep on it.
Our school district has 18-24 coaches vacancies going into school year 19/20.
Many are choosing not to coach due to parents, excessive rules et.
But that woman at the end sure scared him
Also coached adult soccer, which was mostly foreign students and the teams were often built along national or ethnic lines.
Actually there the players could be a problem. Once I reffed a game between Libyans and and Syrians. After the third ambulance I called the game at halftime.
And you could get a Hershey for a nickel!
I remember a scene from movie when he tries to convince a home owner who they knocked his door that they were not affected by what was going while signing black water by Doobie Brother...or the scene when he is shouting at the group please be quiet i just need to think...more comedy than horror...
We beat them 4 times. The last time being 22-5. The other teams coach was berating one of my team's players for being physical.
This guys teams were the dirtiest in the league. So after the game is wife who is his assistant gets in my head coaches face and is hurling expletive after expletive. It was close to blows...
We will play them this year at least 3 times.
We beat them 4 times. The last time being 22-5. The other teams coach was berating one of my team's players for being physical.
This guys teams were the dirtiest in the league. So after the game is wife who is his assistant gets in my head coaches face and is hurling expletive after expletive. It was close to blows...
We will play them this year at least 3 times.
It drove me crazy how they called Princeton "the town of Princeton" no one from NJ or PA calls it that, they just say Princeton or Princeton NJ.