EVERYTHING
FOR YOUR FAMILY
KID
QUIPS
During last July’s 5.8 earthquake, 3-year-old Bronwyn told her 1-year-old sister, “We’re going for a wiggle.” READ MORE
Editors Note
|
||||
|
There has been, by the time you read this, a meeting between the head umpire of my town's Little League and its managers. As a parent and as a volunteer umpire, here is my suggestion: Remind folks to keep the on-field complaints to a low roar, and if they cannot do so, encourage the umpires to throw the offenders out of the game. Listen, if you haven't been to a Little League game in years, little has changed. The very same, very loud, ex-jocks whose claims of glory are both very old and very tiring, have become parents, managers or coaches. (Virtually all guys, by the way.) They rant somewhat at the kids; they yell too much at the umpires. This species simply can't shut up. They believe they are the day's appointed CEO and don't realize that the game belongs to the children, and the field belongs to the umpire. I have umpired four games in two seasons now, not all pleasant. In one of the good games a few weeks ago, I was in the midst of repeating in my mind, "I'm doing this for my son, I'm doing this for my son," when the game's closest play occurred. I made the right call - a really close play at first base - and heard the groaning and got needled, in a nice way, by one of the parents. And that was that. Good enough. Everyone knew to move on, in the spirit that the game belongs to the children. But I've already witnessed events this season that tell me that those moments in the sun don't always occur. I'm not interested in my 9-year-old son questioning judgment calls, but it is hard to teach him otherwise when he sees the moaning and groaning from adults, game after game. A Little League rule states that you can't question a judgment call - such as an out or safe call. Managers and coaches lose their voices over such plays. They really do go ballistic. True, most do not; my son's manager is a peach. But one rotten apple... An unbelievable moment occurred recently on an otherwise picture-perfect Saturday. A guy and his buddy were walking past our game just as an umpire made a close call at first base. Without losing a step, the man loudly berated the umpire, who he apparently knows by name, chatting up the umpire's shortcomings to his buddy. Our game had nothing to do with him. He was going to another field. He had no connection to what was happening on our field. Who is that guy? He may be leaning too much on his son's athletic ability, and using that as an excuse to be a boor. He is not like our team's coach, who quietly and effectively teaches the children how to play baseball. I'm reminded of what a friend of mine, a manager in another Little League town, says: "Airline execs should eat their own airline food, architects should work in the buildings they design, and all parents ought to umpire at least one game, because if they haven't, they have no clue what goes on behind the plate and in the field." We all need to resist the temptation of getting caught up in years past. This ex-jock mentality is both inappropriate and frustrating. Even if we were good athletes in our teens - and in reality, most of us were not - we're getting physically old in our 30s and 40s. We need to deal with that privately. So do three things: Cheer our children at the games, make new friends among the parents and, otherwise, just shut up. |
||||
RSS Subscribe
Digg This ArticleSEARCH THE SITE
