Those
who know me well understand that I am not much of a sports fan. I have nothing against sports but they don’t
rise to the top of my to-do list. This
stems from my own lack of athletic ability and the fact that I never really
participated in any organized sports as I was growing up. I seldom watch sports on TV and generally
find sports more of a current event / news type of thing than entertainment. This may make me odd. When a young adolescent,
I lived in Rhode Island and was a Red Sox fan.
Back then (early to mid 60’s) I did listen to Sox games on a very small
transistor radio with an earphone. I had
to listen to the night games clandestinely as my parents were staunch believers
in early bedtimes. Thus, I was supposed to be in bed and asleep by 7:30 on school
nights. The small radio fit nicely under
my pillow so I did catch a lot of games. I knew the players and the usual
line-ups but that didn't stick with me.
I even attended a Sox game at Fenway Park so I am not a total loser. It seems to me that nearly everyone I know
loves to watch and participate in sports.
Me, not so much.
I
have grandsons who participate in organized sports and I do like watching them
but this is more out of love for these boys than my love for the sport itself. I am a believer in organized sports. They
build character & work ethic. They teach dedication & conditioning. They teach kids how to be part of something
bigger than themselves. I somehow feel
that I may have missed out because that experience is lacking in my life so I
am happy these grandboys are experiencing it.
It's
baseball season right now. I played a little baseball in pick-up games as a kid
but my knowledge of the rules is pretty limited. I enjoyed watching grandson, TJ, in his MREC
games this summer and marveled at how much these kids improve from year to
year. Grandson, Ivan, plays with the
Milton Mad Dogs and his season is still in full swing. Life should be good, right? But, I have this dilemma. Last weekend I was
watching Ivan and his fellow Mad Dogs play in a tournament in Rockford at the
Mercy Sports Core Fields. As an aside, this is a beautiful facility with
phenomenal turf fields. I couldn't help
but think, “Wouldn't it be great if our kids in Milton had facilities like
these?” But I digress. One of the coaches on the opposing team said
something that bothered me greatly.
Perhaps (no, quite likely) I am old and “fuddy duddy” but his comments
struck me as “what not to do”. While not
a student of baseball, I am a student of human behavior and, over the years,
have established pretty high expectations of adults in positions of
responsibility, development, and leadership, especially when they are working
with kids. I have been impressed with coaches of the Mad Dogs and how they work
with and develop these young boys. The remarks of this other coach did not
approach my expectations and, in fact, struck me as just plain wrong. Remember, I am not a coach nor a sports fan
so my perspective may be goofy.
As
the game started, it seemed to me, in my limited ability to judge, that the
teams were pretty evenly matched. I
don't know who the opposing team was - remember, I don't pay much attention to
this. The game was moving along when the play and controversial comment
occurred. Again, remember all my caveats – I am not a sports person.
The
opposing team was at bat. The bases were
loaded. The batter connected and smashed
the hit of the game. The ball either cleared the left field fence OR it bounced
and hopped over. I couldn't tell. The umpires couldn't tell. Very few
spectators, if any, could tell. Of course where and how the ball landed was the
difference between a homerun (4 runs scored) or a ground-rule double (2 runs
scored). The umpires initially
indicated homerun but that was questioned.
The umps clearly didn't really know.
They appealed to the Mad Dogs left fielder (guy nearest the ball and the
play) who adamantly stated the ball bounced over the fence. It appeared they were going to change their
ruling when the opposing team's coach, standing near first base, said very loudly and with emotion – here's my
dilemma – “You mean you're going to take the word
of a kid on the field?”
Now, maybe, there is a rule about this kind of thing - I wouldn't have a
clue – but the umps upheld the original call.
Probably as it should be. My concern is with the coaches words – “You
mean you're going to take the word of a kid on the field?”
I’d
like to think that our coaches, those adults to whom we entrust our kids, are
teaching not only baseball skills but also honesty & character. The right
thing as it were. Could it be that this
coach is teaching his team members to lie, to misconstrue, to cast doubt, to
get ahead at any cost, to win the game?
If you were teaching positive values to your own team, why not take that
to a true teaching level by accepting and upholding the word of the player on
the field – the one close enough to the drop of the ball to know where it
landed? Coach, you seized a teaching moment but, in my mind, you took it in the
wrong direction. What an opportunity turned into an Epic Fail!
It
could well be that no one else on that field reacted the same way I did. Let me remind you of my caveats – old and
fuddy duddy, not much sports interest, not well acquainted with the rules, and
possible ranting over nothing. But, let me also remind each of you that our
kids, grandkids, and our peers are learning every day by watching our actions
and listening to our words. Let’s pledge
to be positive role models in all that we do.
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