Sunday, April 14, 2013

Mighty Manic Moms


                                                                       



Many multi-tasking moms are motoring around town often wreaking havoc on their children's lives, as well as their own. When our older son was in grammar school one mom was so busy driving back and forth to all three of her children's after school activities, that she even kept a compact porta potty in her mini van.

I remember when both of our boys had conflicting baseball games. It was often difficult deciding which parent would go where. In the end, I was very lucky that my husband and brother helped us cover all the bases. In seventh grade our younger son played travel baseball. It was years before his growth spurt, and he was one of the smallest boys on the team. The coach was new to the park district, and even scheduled smaller practice sessions to provide additional help.

Shortly after, he became fiercely competitive by allowing only the best players up to bat. Though our son was a strong catcher, hitting was his weakness and the coach took his frustrations out on him during practices. When I noticed that some of the other boys were being treated the same way, I made a huge mistake. I sought out the other parents in the hope that we could approach the coach as a group. Hence, I became the team piranha, and it didn't help matters with my son. I could understand if he was playing for his school, but this was a paid  program where everyone deserved to play.

On the day of the last game, my husband took our older son for a college visit, so it was my final chance to clear the air. After everyone had left I sarcastically said to the coach, "Thanks for a great summer." This really set him off,  as he went on a huge tirade. I tried to respond calmly, and  was proud that my boy also stood up for us.

Months later I ran into the mother of one of his teammates. She told me that she heard everything from the parking lot, and her family didn't leave until they knew we were safe. Afterward, my husband wrote a letter to the park district commissioner. It's almost eight years later, and we're still awaiting a response.

35 comments:

  1. I heard 8 1/2 years is the standard waiting time for a letter, so I am guessing you will have your response in October. Let us know.

    Rhonda @Laugh-Quotes.com

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  2. I wonder if the coach might have taken the frustrations he'd felt about himself and then projected them onto the kids. Perhaps he once had ambitions to be a professional baseball player.

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  3. Mom used to suffer the same dilemma with me and my sis...but she somehow made it to each program...mom's are real miracles on planet Earth...salutations :D :)

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  4. Great post, I have written a letter to our local hospital I hope it don't take that long to get a reply.

    Yvonne.

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  5. That was a sad and unfortunate episode but hopefully it gave your son a better understanding of the horrid people he's got to deal with in life.

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  6. Rhonda - Great point Rhonda! I should allow an extra month or so as the post office will soon be closed on Saturdays!

    Cynthia - I think you could be right. Something was definitely a bit off.

    Kriti - Sounds like she enjoyed every minute of it! Mom's are the best. Thanks Kriti!

    Julie

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  7. Yvonne - Your reply will arrive a lot sooner than ours will. I hope everything is okay. Thanks Yvonne!

    Rosalind - It was a big wake up call for both of us. Thanks Rosalind!

    Julie

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  8. What I hate is when I have the support until I confront. Suddenly, no one is standing behind me. LOL We've had these moments with DD3's coaches when she played soccer for 8 years. I've even witnessed a couple of dads and one mom attacking a coach ON THE FIELD and then there was Coach Carl who attacked parents and players alike. Coach Carl coached 10 year olds. Sheesh. Oh, you might want to give up on a response to the letter. :)

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  9. Once adults become involved in kids sports it is no longer either sport or fun.

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  10. Sadly competitive sports has become that way. What happened to kids just having fun playing a game! Too many Coaches put too much emphasis on win/win/win! There is plenty of time for that as they get older. In elementary school and middle school they should be allowed to just have fun. I think the world of sports has gone too far these days - starting with the pros.

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  11. Sadly kids sports can be a really nasty place to be for the kids and for the parents so i feel your pain.
    Sometimes I think there were so much politics going on in the local sports (behind the scenes) that surely we're going to produce a prominent politician out of our area!

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  12. Some people just shouldn't be coaching. It was nice that some of the other families backed you up, though.

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  13. Oh I used to coach and ref kids soccer. Sometimes those parents were so scary.

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    1. I also ref soccer and umpire softball. I call it "hazing." The advantage of being a referee is that you can run away from the hecklers while a plate umpire has to stand there and take it. Hopefully he or she has selective hearing.

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    2. Please write a story about this Al, and be sure to include photos of you in your referee uniform!

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  14. We were fortunate in that our son didn't play and our daughter was the only girl on a few all boys inline roller hockey teams. She was good enough to earn their respect, and the coaches all loved working with her. It is hard to imagine parents being so wrapped up in their kids' sports.
    tm

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  15. I'd say I hope you receive a response soon, but we know after this length of time it's not going to happen. Shame on the coach for his attitude. Too many like that unfortunately.

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  16. Empty Nester -. I would not want to meet Coach Carl. I can't believe there were actually fights on the field. Funny about the letter!

    Delores - I learned the hard way.

    Mary - I think some competitiveness is okay, but this coach went overboard.

    Jen - Oh there was a lot of behind the scenes activity. Great analogy about politics!

    Mark - I couldn't agree more about how coaching isn't for everybody.

    Kelley - I didn't want to become one of those parents, but this coach was extremely unfair.

    Julie





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  17. It's unfortunate that you hear so many stories like this about youth sports. It seems like a lot of coaches want to pretend they are in the World Series instead of trying to teach kids and have fun.

    I hope you get your response soon, Julie! :D

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  18. Yeah, what happened to letting the kids have fun? Probably a good thing I'm not a parent.

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  19. Gosh. You better get your response soon! What happened to good sportsmanship and doing things for the love of the game?

    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

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  20. My mom was basically the same way with me fencing. Although I enjoyed the sport very much, my mom just put a lot of pressure on my head to do well.

    www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

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  21. Coaches have had stepped over the line and become bullies. Good for you! I hope that coach gets his chain shortened.

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  22. Let's hope that coach isn't around much longer. What a rotten example he set for the kids. Glad you stood up to him, but too bad others didn't support your effort.

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  23. Ornery - Your daughter sounds like she was an amazing player!

    Pete - I was just kidding about waiting for a response. I gave up hope months after the incident.

    Julie - I've heard of extreme cases with younger kids where the coaches don't even keep score, so everyone wins. I was just asking for him to give my son, and the other neglected players a chance.

    Alex - You are an incredibly patient guiding force to us all!

    Nutschell - He started out that way, and then took a turn for the worse.

    Gina - Fencing must have been a very difficult sport which required constant discipline.

    Susan - "Bully" is the perfect word to describe him. Thanks Susan!

    Lee - I don't know what ever happened to him. Some of the players actually liked him, while others quietly took what he dished out. Thanks Lee!

    Julie

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  24. These "travel teams" are very competitive. My granddaughter had an injury in soccer last winter and could not play for a few months. However she attended all the games and sat on the bench supporting her team. She is back in good form now, but only gets to play the last four minutes. It does not seem fair to me, but it seems to be the way it is. I guess they are preparing them for coaches like the one at Rutgers.

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  25. Hi Julie,

    What I read makes me recall some similar times in my youthful, sporting days. Not always pleasant. Yes, whatever happened to a sporting spirit. That coach is a disgrace and good for all of you for calmly stating your case.

    Be well, Julie.

    Gary

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  26. Ohhhhhhhhh......youth sports. I coached youth soccer and softball games for quite a few years (I even coached a few teams that didn't include my son or daughter. I know. Weird, huh?). Anyway, my philosophy was that EVERYbody played. This was not only because they paid to play but because it was a frikkin' kids game. I also made darn sure that the parents knew what I was doing every step of the way. As you can imagine, I delighted in sending emails to them peppered with the same kind of nonsense you get here (minus the fart jokes). I hope that I was never viewed as this coach was-he sounds like a jackhole. No kid should ever have bad feelings associated with being on a team meant for fun.

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  27. Nancy - I couldn't agree more!

    Arleen - I'm glad that your granddaughter is doing better now. It's a shame that she was penalized for being injured. Let's hope she never meets someone like Mike Rice.

    Gary - Great point about the "sporting spirit!" Thanks Gary!

    Al - I'm sure that you were an amazing coach that made each and every kid feel like an integral part of the team. I'm also impressed that you coached teams that your kids weren't even on. I wish that both of my boys had you for a coach Al. Thanks for making me feel better.

    Julie

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  28. Hi Julie .. I can't believe someone who 'teaches' was so narrow-minded ..

    Well at least that's over ... cheers Hilary

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  30. Jewels, you little Tiger! That "man" didn't deserve the name coach and instead of pouring Gatorade over his head at the end of the season, you should have reached for the porta-pottie then a letter would not have been necessary ;)

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  31. Hilary - "Narrow-minded" indeed! We're all glad it's over too.

    Lynn - I don't know what ever happened to that mini porta potty, but you're right. It would've really have come in handy!

    Julie

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