24

This year I have several high school sports to follow. My son is playing baseball right now and will do soccer in the spring. My daughter is currently playing volleyball, possibly followed by basketball. (hopefully she will think hard on this one)

I like high school sports for several reasons:
1- It teaches discipline
2- It teaches teamwork and good sportsmanship
3- it teaches life is not always fair
4- it teaches to win well AND to lose well
5- it teaches commitment

I could go on, but you get my drift. What I don't like is obnoxious parents who think their kids should never be picked on and who can't control their own behavior at games! Screaming at your kids and their team doesn't help them, It distracts them! Screaming at the other team just undermines the very values you are trying to instill!

My examples-
My son's baseball team is made up of 10 boys. (you need 9 to make a team so they barely made it) 5 of those boys have never played ANY sport, 3 of those 5 do NOT speak English, (they are foreign exchange students)2 others have only played soccer(my son is one)1 boy has played several sports since he was young, and the remaining 2 have one previous season behind them.

They have lost all four games so far. But you know what? Those boys do not give up! Even while their own coach is screaming (must be a coach thing) they constantly encourage each other and they play their very best until the game is over.

So I'm watching the game last week and the other team is good. Doesn't help their odds that they have 17 boys to our 10, all but 2 are 3rd year baseball and they started practice at the end of last year. Our team is tired, hot and discouraged. We have 3 spectators on our side of the stands. (sitting in the sun) The other team has about 25 spectators in the stands. (sitting in the shade)and what are these parents doing? They are screaming and laughing! "what kind of team is this?", "we should have brought the kindergarten to play!", "where did you learn to throw a ball?", "maybe you should go back to China!" I was horrified! These are grown adults! Don't they have any class? Don't they understand the image they are sending? Are they trying to embarrass their own kids? Do they realize our foreign students will be building homes in space while their own students are struggling through college?

I am disgusted! I am angry! So after the game I call them all CREEPY PEOPLE! I know, childish, but it made me feel better and my son didn't hear me say it. I wish my team all the best this afternoon.

Last night, volleyball. We have 6 players (barely enough to make a team) all played last year together. New, young, mean, inexperienced coach this year! (girls refer to her as the bitch-queen, never to her face) The other team has 8 junior varsity and 10varsity players. We have 6. total. Our girls play all 9 rounds with 1 break between j.v and varsity.

This time it was our side that had the problem. A Godzilla mom!! She does not like anything to hurt her girl. If she fails at math, it's the teacher's fault. If she doesn't want to go to school, she stays home. So mom shows up half way through j.v. and decides the coach is being mean. Soooo, she marches over to the assistant coach and demands that he tell her to stop. Assistant coach says "It's her job to coach this team." So mom waits until j.v. is over and while the coach has our team in a circle, mom goes over there to handle her, calls the coach a bitch in front of the whole team and demands that her daughter leave with her right then! We would have had to forfeit the game had the girl done what her mom said. Thankfully she told her mom to go away and let her finish the game. Then this poor girl had to make excuses to the team for her mom's behavior. Mom marches over to me, (our girls are friends) and asks if I will bring her daughter home. I say yes, and tell her I would be happy to bring her home after every game. Mother says, "she is not playing on the team after this, there is a difference between coaching and being derogatory and rude!" Well, NO DUH!!!! Take a step back and be accountable for your own behavior!

We lost last night too. But just like the boys, our girls want to play, know that winning isn't everything and as long as they do their best, they can say they had fun. after all, it is "just a game".

On the way home I told this girl that I was sorry her mom embarrassed her, and I hope her mom will let her continue to play. I wish the best for our team this season!

This makes me so glad I promised my kids I would never interfere with their activities. I'm not above mentioning problems when I see them, but I address it at an appropriate time. Hopefully my kids will forgive my enthusiasms at their games, appreciate that I come to the games, and never feel they can't tell me when to butt out if I'm acting like a moron! ( hopefully they never catch me at it)

AND I take great pride in saying that I have never gone to a game when someone doesn't tell me what a great attitude our team has! One parent (from an opposing team) told me last season, "It's easy to be a good winner, It takes spirit to be a good loser."

"It is in the blood of genius to love to play for its own sake, and whether one uses one's skill on swords or pens, gold or fame, the games the thing."