Blog

YourHub.com \\ Green Valley Ranch \\ Blogs \\ Sports \\ Local Sports

Blog Entry 51 of 66 The Write Words

I hope to write about anything and everything that comes into my mind, as long as it is in good taste. I hope to communicate effectively and stimulate thought and conversation. I can't wait to get started!

Blog Url: http://denver.yourhub.com/~ErinsBlog

Entries:

Little league life lessons

e-mail to a friend | print this | link to this

NEXT › ‹ PREVIOUS

Contributed by: Erin Di Paolo on 7/18/2007

My son, James, plays baseball for a local little league team. He has played for years and it has mostly been a pleasant experience. I have watched as he has grown up, matured, and become a better player and person. The game has been good to him in numerous ways. Ultimately, I hope he has learned lessons from the sport that he can apply in life; I know I certainly have. I hope James will learn that, among other things, that there are so many more crucial things than winning, like respecting others, playing fair, and being a stand-up person.

From what I have seen, I believe most of the kids that play are wonderful, amazing people. They portray good sportsmanship and character; they play with dignity and heart. If the future of our country rides on their shoulders, I have every confidence our nation has a bright future.

On the other hand, what is most distressing to me, as a spectator, is how my fellow parents act. Let me offer a disclaimer here: I am by no means perfect in behavior, but, for the most part, I do not boo or yell at the umps, players, coaches or other parents. I keep my mouth shut, which thrills James and my husband, who is an assistant coach.

During this season, as in past years, I have witnessed parents behaving badly. Everyone has heard horror stories about parents who fight with one another, yell at coaches, taunt umpires. I am here to testify that, based on my experience, those stories are accurate.

The worst thing is watching parents make decisions that ultimately hurt their kids. Yes, all parents are imperfect. I have made a ton of mistakes and will continue to do so. But I strive to not embarrass my kids while they are playing ball. I do not tell them how to play or yell at them. I do not make a scene when they get injured. I do not walk over to the dugout, unless invited.

But I have watched in horror, this season, as a father, unhappy that his son was not playing every inning, got ejected from a game and then collected his son from the dugout, departing in a fit of fury. My heart broke for the boy. A few days later, I watched as another furious father told his son they would not be staying for the after-game talk by the coach. During the game, I had heard the father complaining about decisions the coach had made. They left hurriedly, upset with the outcome of the game, but with seemingly no regard for the coach who gave of himself all season long.

After the last bit of drama occurred, I watched a confused and downtrodden coach give his last pep talk of the season, with tears in his eyes. I am convinced his tears were not shed because of the loss. No, they were for something much more profound than that. This man spent countless hours coaching kids, for not a penny of pay, and in the end, he did not get one bit of the respect he deserved.

Seeing his obvious pain invoked sincere gratitude in my heart, feelings that propelled me to walk over to him, hug him, and convey just how much our family admires and supports him, no matter what.

And you know what? It was just a simple gesture, but I believe it spoke volumes. I sincerely hope it gave him a boost of confidence, a gentle shove to forge ahead. Little league, after all, needs more people like him.

< Previous: 'Why I love Frontier Ai...' | Next: 'Loving Frontier more' >

[Report this as objectionable content.]

SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above blog

Current Rating

Based on 3 user ratings.

Talk Back : submit comments to the blog

*Note: you need to log-in to add a comment or rating.

Thank you! Your comment has been updated.

Showing 1-3 of 3 comments

Submitted By: Bill Hanzel

posted on 7/26/2007 @ 1:23:10 PM

Rated Blog Entry

Good job, Erin. I was a Little League Umpire and I've seen alot. I was also a Chief Umpire and I felt my main job was to keep parents and coaches off the backs of my crews, most of whom were teenagers. After 17 years of being an Umpire I gave it up because I didn't want to deal with the bad sportsmanship any longer. It was causing me lots of stress that I didn't need. I'd love to hear more about where this blog goes. I will check on comments.

[Report as objectionable]

Submitted By: Julius Vaughns

posted on 7/20/2007 @ 11:51:57 AM

Rated Blog Entry

Nice, Erin! It's funny sometimes to watch how some parents take the game more seriously than the kids.

[Report as objectionable]

Submitted By: Brendan Leonard

posted on 7/19/2007 @ 2:51:59 PM

Rated Blog Entry

Good piece, Erin. A couple years ago, my mom and I were talking about the photo she keeps of my first T-Ball team, which my father co-coached and my older brother was on. She remarked that my dad was a little disappointed at the end of the season, because we hadn't won a single game. I said, "Are you serious?" I had no memory of us winning or losing, and didn't realize until 20 years later that we had such an "unsuccessful" season. Huh.

[Report as objectionable]

Showing 1-3 of 3 comments

CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Erin Di Paolo

Denver , CO

Erin Di Paolo has posted 66 blog entries and 1 comment since joining on 3/18/2006. Erin Di Paolo 's average blog rating is 4.45.

view profile » view other postings from Erin Di Paolo »

SAVE AND SHARE THIS BLOG ENTRY

digg	Google
del.icio.us	Yahoo!
reddit	Newsvine

What is this?

BLOG ENTRY RSS FEEDS

All blog entries

All blog entries in Green Valley Ranch

All blog entries by Erin Di Paolo

BLOG LIST

WANT TO WRITE FOR YOURHUB.COM?

Want to see the stories you write and the photos you shoot featured in the YourHub.com Thursday print section available all over the Front Range and with home subscriptions of the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post? All you have to do is register, then post a story or column, start a blog or tell everyonewhat events are happening in town. We will print the best stories, columns, event listings, photos and blog entries in our print sections.

Loading Ad