Sunday in Philadelphia, a dad pulled out a gun and threatened his son's pee wee league baseball coach during a game. Why? Because his son wasn't getting enough playing time. I totally disagree with what this dad did. He was totally and completely wrong!!! BUT I can relate to his feelings. When Brittanie was playing softball, she had made the All-Star team at Mineral Springs....which had the best 8 and under team at the time. It was an honor to be chosen. The problem was that it was her first year at Mineral Springs so all of the other members of the All-Star team had been playing together for 3 years. Her coaches, Tom Atwood and Robert Braxton, decided that though she was good enough to make the team, she wasn't actually good enough to play. It was heartbreaking to watch as each week we would attend tournaments and she would barely play. She wanted to quit. We taught her not to be a quitter and since she started it, she had to see it through to the end. Then we went to a tournament in Charlotte, paid for a hotel and everything, and watched as, once again, she was sat on the bench....crying. I finally had enough and told off her coach for not letting her play. He said this was All-Stars and he wasn't obligated to let her play like he was during the rec season. Obligated? This isn't cut throat major league baseball! This was about a little girl crying because she is never allowed on the field after practicing two hours a day every day leading up to every tournament in the hot South Carolina summer! I had enough and told her to get her stuff because we were going home. At that point, seeing my daughter cry and knowing Tom Atwood was the main reason for it, made me want to punch him in the face for being so heartless! But I didn't. Parents need to realize that life isn't fair and keep things in perspective. You don't want to send the message to your child that when things don't go your way, it is ok to resort to violence. I think I handled the situation appropriately. I didn't tell him off in front of the other players and I didn't roll over and continue to let him hurt my child either. Emotions run high when you feel your child is being wronged but we, as adults, need to keep things on a mature level and set an example of what proper behavior is.
The good news is that the 8 and under All-Star coaches from Cayce, Butch and Sherry Davenport, had coached Brittanie in All-Stars the year before and asked her to join their team. She hadn't practiced with them all summer and there was only one tournament left. But they let her play in that tournament and she had a great time. By the way, when they played against Mineral Springs, Brittanie got up to bat and hit a line drive to right field and got a triple that day. I wouldn't have taken a million dollars for that hit!! We need more coaches like Butch and Sherry Davenport coaching our kids. Their team came in second to Mineral Springs alot but every one of their players loved them, felt like they were an important part of the team, and most importantly, they had fun!! And that's what youth sports is supposed to be about!
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