PDA

View Full Version : ..purest form of Sportsmanship...



Butch Edwards
04-27-2008, 8:33 PM
.. my 5 y/o Grandson is in his 1st yr of T-ball...after attending 4 or 5 games, I have come to truely appreciate what true "Sportsmanship" is... I had umpired LL about 25 years ago,but had forgottenwhat the kids bring to the sport. they do the very best they can, give 1000% even on missed grounders... the hit with the determination of any MLB player, and never complain when they get "out"... the Coaches should be praised for their sacrifices for both the youth and the game...they teach @ the very foundation of baseball, and hardly get any credit...they cheer both teams with equal enthusiasim, and give this middle-aged man a reason to enjoy sports again..without the "just win baby" attitudes that will appear later. do yourself a favor, and take a couple hours off and go cheer on the kids, even if they're not family...you'll be better off, and so will they, as they respond to encouragement.
that's the SMC Public Service Announcement for the day.... :D

jeremy levine
04-28-2008, 9:31 AM
I also really enjoyed the first years of my sons little league career ( he is 11 now and put a lot of pressure on himself ).

My favorite moment was when he was playing defensive pitcher ( a T-ball only concept of putting a kid on the pitcher mound to field the "massive" T-ball hits , locally they wear catchers masks ). The batter hit a "line shot" above my sons head , he jumped up, the mask slid over is eyes and by magic he caught the ball , but had no idea. Great stuff and yes the coaches deserve a special play in heaven.

Greg Cole
04-28-2008, 12:32 PM
Hi Butch.
It's truly good stuff. Good fun, learning, physical activity, teamwork etc... so many little things that may go unnoticed by others are priceless to me.
I sat through 2 "Coach Pitch" games on Saturday for the season opening tournament for the league that my little 6 year old is playing in this year.
"Our" team is a brand new team with a new cast of coaches and kids across the board. Some of the other teams have been working together for a couple years and clearly have the better "situational awareness" and working knowledge of the game. Their coaching was a wee bit "demanding" and or borderline overbearing for kids 5 through 7 years old.
BUT our team was cheering their batters every at bat all day and keeping the FUN in the game. I have a feeling "our" team is the Bad News Bears of the league (as they're the new team assigned some kids that never played one iota)... but my little dude was thrilled to just play nevermind batting 4 for 4.
I played baseball for MANY years and not toooo many years removed from those years yet. Brings back a flood of memories from age 4-5 til senior Babe Ruth (and some not lesser fond memories of my Dad ump'ing games when I pitched with a VERY critical eye...LOL).
Truly the good stuff in life my friends.

Greg

Butch Edwards
04-28-2008, 5:12 PM
Hi Butch.
It's truly good stuff. Good fun, learning, physical activity, teamwork etc... so many little things that may go unnoticed by others are priceless to me.
I sat through 2 "Coach Pitch" games on Saturday for the season opening tournament for the league that my little 6 year old is playing in this year.
"Our" team is a brand new team with a new cast of coaches and kids across the board. Some of the other teams have been working together for a couple years and clearly have the better "situational awareness" and working knowledge of the game. Their coaching was a wee bit "demanding" and or borderline overbearing for kids 5 through 7 years old.
BUT our team was cheering their batters every at bat all day and keeping the FUN in the game. I have a feeling "our" team is the Bad News Bears of the league (as they're the new team assigned some kids that never played one iota)... but my little dude was thrilled to just play nevermind batting 4 for 4.
I played baseball for MANY years and not toooo many years removed from those years yet. Brings back a flood of memories from age 4-5 til senior Babe Ruth (and some not lesser fond memories of my Dad ump'ing games when I pitched with a VERY critical eye...LOL).
Truly the good stuff in life my friends.

Greg

Excellent... keep the fun in the game for as long as possible...and best of luck this season!!!;)

Jim Mattheiss
04-28-2008, 10:05 PM
The kids just like to play. On Saturday my son's team was losing 13 to 3 in the 5th inning (of 6 innings). The games time limit was approaching, but there was no game following theirs on that field. The league rules say that they had to stop after 5 innings.

The coaches asked the kids and the kids gave a resounding "let's play". They finished the game and everyone was happy.

I agree that the coaches deserve a lot of praise.

Jim