surf city updates

[rbi]

Coming from years on the boys side (baseball) to the girls (softball) there are a lot of differences in the game itself for sure. One noticeable difference as soon as you walk up to any softball complex is the level of cheering by the girls in the dugout, obviously you dont hear that on the boy's side. Most of the cheers are close to the same throughout the softball game as well as some unique ones, most of which IMO are tasteful. Now some of the chants from the stands can cause the other side to be provoked into a verbal war and as coachs you need to make damn sure that your stands chants are in good taste BECAUSE again the game is not about you in the stands it is about the KIDS. Where I have found a big difference is at some of the games the level of intensity in the stands is way beyond comprehension. Now I dont know if its because they are girls and the parents are more protective or more involved but it is intense sometimes and IMO not good. It is ok to be supportive you bet ya, it is ok to be excited you bet ya, it ok to be cheering on YOUR team you bet ya, but when people cross the line is when they lose focus of the game itself and become involved in verbal confrontations with the other team's fans and/or players. And what I mean by that is when a fan or fans start singling out a particular player/coach from a opposing team and make any type of verbal or non-verbal gesture towards that person that is wrong and should not be tolerated. As well as when parents get caught up in a verbal war with the other fans for whatever reason, it should not be tolerated. Coachs need to keep a tight rope on there high strung parents and they know who they are. Now I may be wrong on this but I have found this to be primarily at the younger age groups where the verbal wars start in the stands, is it because these parents are new to the game and cant control there emotions, I dont know. I know that there are a lot of high strung very involved parents out there that need to get a grip on what this is all about, I know that may sound a little to "peachs and cream", but folks you really have lost touch when you cant control your mouth at a freakin girls softball game, I see men and women pacing the backstop area foaming from the mouth with that evil look in there eyes, FOR WHAT, get a grip. I am as intense of a person as you will find when I played the game but when my DD is out there, it is all about having fun and letting her enjoy the game, if she goes 0-4 I give her a hug, if she goes 4-4 I give her a high five and a smile. When parents lose grip on there emotions at a softball game, the only ones that lose out are the KIDS, so if you cant control yourself and you all KNOW who that applies to on any given team, stay home and watch ESPN or do the yards on weekends, or before you know it your kids will be playing with empty bleachers.

[Skarp]

Skarp, Skarp, Skarp. I've always told you son to be careful who you hang with. Now you have a couple little groupies swinging from your little jock strap. Don't be guilty by association, just because you have a golden mouthpiece. If I didn't know you from taking you to all those chess tournaments, I might mistake you for being a prick.

What can I say...swinging groupies make me tingle.

And yes, I remember those trips well...though at the time I couldn't quite understand why you always wanted to know how I had "mated" my opponent. I mean, you didn't even know how to play.

Anyway, I will endeavor to follow your advice re being guilty by association. Next time I'll be sure to align myself with the racists, thugs and brawlers.

Please write often. You never disappoint.

Your friend,
Skarp

[thetruth]

The TRUTH is irrefutable. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but, in the end, there it is. Winston Churchill.


Regardless of what caused the inexcusable confrontation last weekend, the adults involved should be reprimanded. Fighting cannot be tolerated. Gross disrespect cannot be tolerated. The coaches of every team are responsible not only for their players but the players' parents and supporters. It is unfortunate that a coach must not only evaluate talent of a player but weigh the potential consequences of a player's parents and supporters..


Examples must be made. Offensive and abusive parents must be barred from attending games and teams must not be allowed to participate in tournaments in which such occurances take place. Without consequences, abuse and disrespect will continue.


These truly are life experiences. As is with real life, you must seperate the weak and the sick from the herd. You cannot change certain people. We don't have to tolerate them. As old Grandpa Truth used to say, "no matter how hard you try, you just can't polish a turd".


Push the turds aside.

[flyball]

I guess after all the blogging and all the non-taking responsibility by the Rebels I would like to know bottom line who would like their daughters to play, or turn out like AM SOFTBALL "Aime".

You need to really think of how you want your daughter to be and at what cost are you willing to help make it happen. Is softball worth compromising your daughters values and self-confidence?

If so join their team.

If not keep fighting to make your daughter the best PERSON she can be in WHATEVER path she takes (softball or not). And hopefully she will be the person that in the end will make you proud to say,

"Boy thats my daughter and I'm so proud of her for doing what was always right even when it was tough or not the most popular decision amoung her friends (taking the high road)."


To RAISE better children we need to RAISE our standards and RAISE our voices against what is wrong.

PS. The lawyer thing was a joke because we knew all these classy people would be on the boards (yes you ran with that too as always) but if anybody needed a lawyer, it wouldn't be us, it would be the guy that reached out to our organization to take blame for the incident this morning.

AMIE STEWART

Amiee, I’m glad to read everything got worked out. Like I said earlier in a post I hope it gets resolved peacefully. And from what I read in your post it sounds like there was some remorse there. Cudos to you both.

I’m sad to hear about the Corona Angels losing a good player. It sounded like the parents on the Corona Angels are GLAD this Dad and his family are off the Team. Sounds like there might have been some issues with parents there????? Don’t know but just reading, well at least we know Ron and his family are GLAD he is off the team?

Well, see you all at States….And bring on the Chant…..

[Iluvblue]

I used to view the other team as the enemy when I first started in this game. Now after getting just a little bit smarter(not much) you realize every player on the other teams are just like the good kids on your team.

Dont make more out of it then it is. It is a game, and the opponent is not the enemy, and the other teams fans are much like the parents on your team. The quicker people learn that, the better off we all will be.

[Clean_up]

In response to parents being GLAD someone is off the team or insinuating there were past issues with him or his family. Please know that we have never had any issues with this person in terms of bad bahavior on or off the field. His family is wonderful and the player is one of the nicest kids you could ever meet as well as an extremely talented athlete.

We cannot explain or excuse the events on Sunday, but speaking on behalf of my family and several others, we are completely disappointed and saddened that this little girl may not be part of our team any longer.

I do not confuse the actions of one and cast negativity on groups or families because of individual choices and saying our team is GLAD this family is gone is just not right.

[Blind Squirrel]

... and the other teams fans are much like the parents on your team. The quicker people learn that, the better off we all will be."

Absolutely true, when they act like the parents on other teams. When they don't and they revel in their obnoxious behavior, they are not like the parents of other teams that I have seen over the course of 20 seasons. The icing on the cake is their attempted spin which rather clearly reveals their intentions and self-awareness. Normal, civilized behavior is not too much to ask of adults. Especially when it involves 11/12 year old children. There is a reason so many people have voiced their disgust.

John

[Skarp]

In response to parents being GLAD someone is off the team or insinuating there were past issues with him or his family. Please know that we have never had any issues with this person in terms of bad bahavior on or off the field. His family is wonderful and the player is one of the nicest kids you could ever meet as well as an extremely talented athlete.

We cannot explain or excuse the events on Sunday, but speaking on behalf of my family and several others, we are completely disappointed and saddened that this little girl may not be part of our team any longer.

I do not confuse the actions of one and cast negativity on groups or families because of individual choices and saying our team is GLAD this family is gone is just not right.

Then why are they gone? Why not just ban the dad for the season, or some such? Seems like throwing the baby out with the bathwater to me.

I keep hearing people whine about leaving the kids out of it. But I haven't read anything where the kids were ever brought into it. It's the adult behavior that we find obnoxious. So sure, penalize the dad...but the kid? Makes no sense.

[porcupine]

Aimiee, just like on the field, you have proven to be a tough competitor . . . ., I think you showed a great example of a strong woman . . . Great Job.

Just because someone is a "strong woman" and a "tough competitor" doesn't make her a good role model. Does anyone see Cat Osterman, Caitlan Lowe, Jenny Finch, or most other ex-college stars (with better pedigrees) allowing parents to intimidate 12-year-old girls. Or leaving the team (several times) in a snit over something? Or defending racial comments? I don't.

[sportzjunky]

wow, what a thread.... not there this is allpersonal opinion...

somehow you got to suspend the dad for a period of time. Pretty sure no one on your team is happy with what he did and the negative attention he has brought so he could probably understand at this point. My bet is if this guy is really not the way he reacted this past sunday is I doubt you will hear a peep from him from here on out. Plus he still could facing a court date over this. I feel bad for every single kid at that field. Personally, I would press charges against him to make sure he took some responsibility for his actions. But in the end, its not his kids fault. The dad needs a break from softball and sometimes teams need to have house cleaning. That kid is probably suffering enough as it is and its also not fair to her teammates. Dont toss that kid for the actions of the dad if he has been a good supportive parent prior to this past melt down.

aime,, i think if you are offending enough people with supporting/allowing your parents backstop chant, and you should probably avoid using it. Winning or losing, common sense says you probably dont want to rock any boats (my opinion) finishing spring going to states & probably Nats. Dont let the stupid chant be a focus off your kids. The kids should be the focus in the game at 12U, not the parents cheer. Personally I think it comes off as poor sports as adults using that chant at a youth sports event. Parents act like "look at me" and become apart of the game, even if its a visual & mouths. To me, you're border line taunting the other parents at a competitive youth level, especially when things are tight. You gotta know it pisses them off (at some level), more then 60% of the time... It leads to other comments by both sides. Let the kids play and shut the parents up except to cheer on & clap for the great plays and performances by all girls on BOTH SIDES. Respect each other, respect the game.

Great job to all at this tournament. Kudos to the Rebel girls for getting back out on the field after the incident. You got a lot of heart girls! Congrats to PS95 for the tournament win! Congrats to Angels-Knighten girls for placing high in this tournament.