Where has compassion disappeared to?  There are chances to teach in almost every situation.  Why can’t ADULTS see this?  Our youngest son is playing his first year of baseball, on the 5-6 youth league here in Fairview.  While most of the teams in the league are fun and even if our team loses, the kids still have a good team, there are two teams in this particular who have coaches who seem to have lost touch with reality, sportsmanship and companionship.  (No, I am not going to name names, but if they read this, I HOPE they know who they are and I’m sure parents of the opposing teams know to whom I refer.)

I do not know how it is in other leagues around the area, but in this league, there is a horrendous unbalance when the coaches choose their team players at the very beginning of the ball season.  They are able to choose their players and know who they are getting, who has played before, how good the players are, etc.  Our coach is brand new to coaching this year and sadly for her, the league stacked her team with the youngest and the newest players while ensuring that their teams were stacked in just the opposite way.  How fair is that concept?  Why do they not do a lottery?  Put all the players’ names in a hat and take turn pulling from the hat.  Then the teams are balanced.  There are no ‘super’ teams in the league.  And then, then if the coach can coach/teach all the ‘hat’ players how to really play, then, hey, my hat is off to them.  But when you intentionally stack teams with the best players, I’m really not at all impressed with your coaching abilities.  Or maybe it doesn’t have to even all a lottery.  I’d even be okay with each coach being able to choose a third of his/her players (so three on a team of nine) off the top and then having the remaining names put into a pool.  And then again, they would be put in the position of actually teaching/coaching their teams into winning teams.

I know this season is getting close to being over.  But there is still time to teach the players some compassion.  When the opposing team is losing 15-0 or worse, why not pull your outfielders (the less experienced players) into the infield and putting the infielders in the outfield.  This MIGHT even the playing field (no pun intended) out.  And in addition, it would give those less experienced players a chance to learn something new and improve their skills.   (Wow, there’s a thought.  Both teams might benefit from the whole experience!) And is it really necessary to continually send the winning teams runners all the way around the bases when the younger, smaller and more inexperienced players on the opposing/not winning team are just trying to learn the fundamentals of catching the ball and where to throw it?  Must you really win by 20 or more points?

This is in NO way any fault of the players.  This is a ‘shame on you’ to the coaches, the ADULTS, who should know better.  Do you really want and/or need these little guys who are playing on your teams to grow up and think this is the way things should be?  Can’t you take this wonderful opportunity that you have right in the palm of your hand and teach them about compassion?

Started Meghan’s softball tournament in Etowah early yesterday morning. The schedule we were told was that her team would play their first game at 10:30. If they won that, they would play again at 1pm; if they lost the first game, they would play again at 3pm. And that would be it. No mention of playing any other games. Apparently, communication is not a strong point.

Poor Meg. On her very first up to bat, the pitcher threw a wild ball and it slammed Meghan right in the side, hard. The umpire asked her if she wanted to leave to the field instead of taking the base, to which, while in pain, Meghan answered yes. Then, she was taken off the roster for the rest of the game! Apparently that is the rule. If you leave the field, you are out for the rest of the game (this was in the 2nd inning!). Now, please note here that the umpire did not tell her this would be the case if she left the field! After much fuss on my part (mama bear running wild!), she was allowed back in after that inning. Anyway, her team lost that first game In between, we went out to Hendersonville to visit my sister and her family, then back to the ball park. Played the second game and won, 11-0! Behold, because we won, they had yet another game at 7:30pm! Yikes. Long day for these kids and cold last night on the field and none of us were prepared for that. Behold, again, we won the 7:30 game and we’re now going back this afternoon for a 2:00 game. If we lose that, we’re done. If we win, the girls have ONE more game at 3:30pm.

Maybe I’m a very confused person (and that is quite possible. hehehehe) but I always thought tournaments and playoffs came at the end of the season? These teams have had 2 weeks of practice and one week of games, and now this weekend long tournament. Just seems backwards to me.

I’m interested to see what happens today at the game(s). After Meghan got hit in the mouth on Friday night, I was pretty upset with the coaches for not allowing her to have a helmet on during warmups(She’s been the team’s catcher, sharing occasionally with another girl) and I made that clear. Probably not too nicely. Then after the fiasco with her being almost pulled from the first game yesterday after getting hit and asked if she wanted to leave the field, without being told the consesquences, I was upset and again, as that mama bear, I made it it a tad clear. Well, since that second incident, Meghan has not been put back in the catcher’s position and instead has been in the outfield. During the second game yesterday, I thought maybe they were just allowing her a little breather and a chance to chill. But when we went back for the 7:30pm game, she was not allowed to catch again. I told her to tell her coach she wanted to catch and that she was ready again. She came back and told me that he told her no because he needed someone fast in that position! EXCUSE ME? Are you serious? She has been catcher for 2 years. She rocks. Nothing like this has ever been brought up before. And honestly, Meghan and the other catcher are on equal grounds on their catching abilities. And now all of a sudden she isn’t catching. And he actually had the audacity to say what he did to her?????? I did not blow last night although lord knows, I surely wanted to explode. I will see what happens today. If she is still pulled from that position, then I will go ‘nicely’ talk to the coach. If I pissed him off then he should deal with me and not take it out on her. And he certainly should never have said what he did to her. How about, why don’t you take a game or two out to recover from your hits and get more comfortable with the ball? Or something like that. Even James, our oldest son, who goes head to head with Meghan constantly, when he heard what the coach did and said, was ready to raise Kane!
We’ll see what the day brings.

Anyway, enough about that. Here’s to the Scorchers winning the tournament today and bringing home the championship!!!!!

We’re in full swing (no pun intended) now of the 2009 baseball & softball season for the triplets! The boy’s team won their first game last night, 3-2! And Meghan’s softball team won their first game tonight, 6-4! Meghan was up to bat twice and got 2 hits and 2 runs! Go Meghan. Tomorrow they all have games, so we’ll be off and running in many directions, but having fun cheering them all on. Frankie, our four year old, really wants to play next year, so I guess we’ll have to figure out a way to clone ourselves! Ah well, it’s fun and they enjoy playing. That’s what it’s all about.