sign at the little league field on the simpsons
: your kid is not as good as you think he is
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He's better. 
Funny, but very, very true. I work as a little league/ high school ump here in N. Texas. I won't tell you what city, because I know that some people on this board probably have kids in this age group, but this is a true story of what we go through.
First off, in my 7+ years of umping, the "worst" parents are the parents of the 6 to 10 year olds. Which is why I won't ump for that age group. The coaches aren't much better. Most parents believe their kid is the next A-Rod, and most of the parents (and coaches) don't know a flip about the rules.
In fact, in our pre game meeting with the coaches, we will tell them that contrary to what they think, they aren't Joe Torre, they aren't coaching a team to the W.S. and most likely, none of their players will ever make it to the bigs. It didn't go over well with the coaches at first. Somewhere, just playing for the "fun" of it was lost.
First off, in my 7+ years of umping, the "worst" parents are the parents of the 6 to 10 year olds. Which is why I won't ump for that age group. The coaches aren't much better. Most parents believe their kid is the next A-Rod, and most of the parents (and coaches) don't know a flip about the rules.
In fact, in our pre game meeting with the coaches, we will tell them that contrary to what they think, they aren't Joe Torre, they aren't coaching a team to the W.S. and most likely, none of their players will ever make it to the bigs. It didn't go over well with the coaches at first. Somewhere, just playing for the "fun" of it was lost.
This is too rich.
But if you think the parents of young Little League boys are bad, try taking in a travel girls softball tournament game. What you get is all of the worst of "Little League parent syndrome", with the added dynamic of the dad who wanted a boy but got a girl instead.
But if you think the parents of young Little League boys are bad, try taking in a travel girls softball tournament game. What you get is all of the worst of "Little League parent syndrome", with the added dynamic of the dad who wanted a boy but got a girl instead.
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cadMOM and I were actually talking about heading over to old Hoover Tyler LL to see what the facilities looked like (have they been kept up), and see what the kids currently look like, since empty nesting creates a number of weeknights home alone (weekends are spent traveling long ways...)
From the posts, sounds like we'd better wait until cadGKIDS come along...
cadDAD
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cadMOM and I were actually talking about heading over to old Hoover Tyler LL to see what the facilities looked like (have they been kept up), and see what the kids currently look like, since empty nesting creates a number of weeknights home alone (weekends are spent traveling long ways...)
From the posts, sounds like we'd better wait until cadGKIDS come along...
cadDAD
.
I agree, but just for the sake of comparison, it's MUCH worse in basketball!! You'd be amazed at hom many kids from our small school over here are going to play in the NBA!!
It does turn my stomach pretty much to hear the parent of an 11-year old throwing around words like "draft" in regards to their kid.....by parental accounts, Yongsan Army Base will have half a dozen kids in The Show in about ten years' time.
It does seem to me that the parents of the better players do tend to be more realistic about things -- and I be,lieve it's because we've spent more time around higher-level baseball, and have the benefit of comparing our own sons to other players who are playing at a high level (tourneys, showcases, etc).
It does turn my stomach pretty much to hear the parent of an 11-year old throwing around words like "draft" in regards to their kid.....by parental accounts, Yongsan Army Base will have half a dozen kids in The Show in about ten years' time.
It does seem to me that the parents of the better players do tend to be more realistic about things -- and I be,lieve it's because we've spent more time around higher-level baseball, and have the benefit of comparing our own sons to other players who are playing at a high level (tourneys, showcases, etc).