‘Too Good’ to Play Baseball? Game Over
A recent newspaper headline sounded more like a lesson in parenting: Why punish a kid for the crime of being too good?
The kid, in this case, was 9-year-old Jericho Scott, who played summer baseball on a youth team in New Haven, Connecticut.
Jericho’s “crime” is his talent. He’s a pitching sensation who throws an awesome 40 mile-an-hour fastball that’s never hit a batter and rarely misses the plate. But the prodigy pitcher himself was struck out—by adults.
Parents of opposing team members first objected that their kids were unable to hit any of Jericho’s pitches. Strike one.
Then youth league officials wanted to move Jericho up to an older team, but his parents refused. Strike two.
League officials asked Jericho to play any position other than pitcher, but his parents said no again. Strike three.
Game over.
The league disbanded Jericho’s entire undefeated team, and the second place team was declared the season’s winner.
But the post-game show of who’s responsible for the collective benching of so many kids continues to play out across the country, with headlines that sound like…well…more lessons in parenting, like this one from Jericho’s hometown newspaper: Sometimes parent involvement can be way off-base, experts say.
Other adults were criticized, too. “The league obviously felt batters would suffer irreversible shame and humiliation if they had to face Jericho again,” wrote an Ohio sports reporter. “Tell me, how does that prepare kids for the real world? Haven’t we all encountered someone more skilled in our field, and haven’t we all survived?”
Ironically, the only person who stepped up to the plate to accept responsibility was perhaps the least culpable of all: Jericho, now 10 years old. “I feel sad,” he said. “I feel like it’s all my fault that nobody could play.”
Tell us what you think: Can a child be “too good” to play a game, and if so, does he or she have the responsibility to step aside? In the case of Jericho Scott, who’s more responsible for baseball’s abrupt ending—parents…league officials…Jericho?
For information about creating positive sports experiences for kids, log on to ResponsibleSports.com. Sponsored by Liberty Mutual, the site offers parents and coaches tips, tools, and advice designed to help maximize their kids’ youth sports experience. Parents can also take part in online discussions, asking questions and sharing experiences about how best to help kids apply the life lessons of sports—on and off the field. Because, as The Home Run reminds us, there’s more to the game than winning.
Add Comment Share This
Comments
Feeling protection?
Ahh…yet another case of micromanaging parents protecting their children at all costs from learning that life isn’t fair. BTW Sharon I loved that story too,along with many of Vonnegut’s other works, and agree with you as well.
Cynic75 | 1 year ago
Add Comment | Post Reply
Do I know you?
I really did play softball when I was a kid. I don’t know what Vonnegut story you’re talking about. I was unaware, I’d like to read it.
mrsgrim88 | 1 year ago
Add Comment | Post Reply
RE: Do I know you?
I was speaking of the post by Sharon. “Harrison Bergeron” was written by Kurt Vonnegut. And I do believe that you played softball as a kid. Sorry for the confusion.
Cynic75 | 1 year ago
Add Comment | Post Reply
Foul balls and fair play
Several points should be (or should have been) considered:
1) The kids on the league should have been taught to appreciate the fact that they were being given a chance to play against someone with such skill. That’s how you become an outstanding player.
2) The talented pitcher in question should have been counseled by the coaches/adults to help the other kids on the league learn how to hit his 40 mph pitches. Ah, yes … the person with greater talent has a greater responsibility to help others!
3) The “fairness” factor should not have been placed on the player’s shoulders, but on the adults’ – they should have set up the rules so that no team could rely on the talent of one individual to overwhelm their competition. That’s why leagues set up rotations. (It’s also to ensure the health of the players – pitching every game is a great way to destroy a young athlete’s arm.) In this way, the responsibility for “fair play” should be taken on by the parents, rather than punishing a skilled player simply for winning honestly.
www.ChivalryToday.com
Scott Farrell | 1 year ago
Add Comment | Post Reply
Another comment!
I’ve already made comment on this issue but another thought comes to mind. The “games” I remember the most, the ones I talk about every once in awhile with cousins or people from “around the block” were the pickup games, the football games, the baseball games we played on our own without the parents around to mess things up. I remember playing in a pickup football game across the street from my house. I didn’t have shoulder guards, so I used an old pair of boxing gloves I found in the garage. I had one of those old leather Jim Thorpe helmets I found somewhere. We had a lot of fun in those games, almost as much as we did with “Johnny Rides the Pony” and “Ring-O-Leev-E-O” and the ever popular “StickBall”. Ever slide into a sewer cap that was serving as first base?
My point is, this whole discussion has been about parents, adults who are living their lives either through their children or driven by a huge case of status anxiety that forces them to demand performance from their offspring as well as themselves.
I’m an old timer now and am only looking back to the ’50s when I grew up, so to speak. I’m not saying it was better then. I am saying it might be a good thing to give the kids a little room and let them be kids for awhile. I know for a fact than many of the major league baseball scouts are quick to eliminate a player who did too much pitching as a child because of the probable damage to the shoulder and elbow. Reality … what a concept!
Pasquale Bottiglieri | 1 year ago
Add Comment | Post Reply
Let the kid play
This kind of stuff just kills me. If a child has this amazing talent, let him shine!!
My son was moved up to an older division in his sport and it was just because parents could not stand the fact that he had talent and won the high scorer trophies.
Why should my son have to move to an older division when he is much smaller and could get hurt. I say “get some extra help for your kid and quit worrying about mine” There are kids that are better than my kid and I think it is a joy to watch them and I actually make it point to tell that kid what a great player he is.
I appreciate talent even if it is not my kid that I am watching.
Shaila Montana | 1 year ago
Add Comment | Post Reply
Parents are the bain of coaches' existences
I coached, until this year when two families managed to oust me from a program I built.
You see, one of their daughters didn’t receive a varsity letter last year, her second year EVER in the sport. She and her parents believed that because she “worked so hard” she deserved a letter, yet she missed 30 percent of practices and failed to meet other requirements given each athlete and parent in writing. While many of her teammates managed to hit the mark, she just didn’t; she didn’t even attend practice regularly.
The other family was upset because their daughter was disqualified from a meet (by conference rules, not mine) after failing to show up for one of her events. The other 26 families? No complaints.
The most disappointing thing? Losing my team, the teens with whom I’d built rapport. Another? The administration neither asked for my side of the story, nor would listen when I offered it. Coaches on our team promoted not only achievement in our sport, but goal setting, responsibility and life skills that extended well beyond the field of sport.
Unfortunately, the parents didn’t get the message.
JB | 11 months, 4 weeks ago
Add Comment | Post Reply
Hear Hear!
As a former coach whose experienced this changing tide of parenting tactics, I absolutely agree parents are short-changing their children by stepping in at inappropriate times. The kids can’t learn sportsmanship, or experience healthy amounts of success and failure if their parents won’t let them play the game, learn from their coaches and enjoy THEIR time on the mound.
JB | 11 months, 4 weeks ago
Add Comment | Post Reply
PLAIN STUPIDITY
Adults these days are unbelievable. Are they just jealous or just plain rude. Don’t ‘dis’ a kid who has a good talent. Let that kid follow his dreams. You were given a chance to follow yours.
I go to a junior high where everything is about winning. And when we face the other junior high in town, parents act worse then their children do and ‘dis’ the opposite team because they don’t go to that school or aren’t on their team. Come on let the kid live his life.
Anonymous | 10 months, 1 week ago
Add Comment | Post Reply
Rude
If the kid has talent, let him play. Someday he’ll grow up to be the most amazing pitcher ever on your favorite baseball team, and you will be cheering him on… if you help him out now and teach him how to be even better.
If he shows talent, help him get better. If the other kids don’t like that he has talent… too bad.. suck it up and get better. Or move down a level. Or move the amazing kid up a level or to and older team.. etc. What’s the deal with not moving him up to a higher team…? It’ll be good for him. The other parents just need to deal with the fact that he is better than their kid. If they don’t like it, take their own kid out. Don’t force someone else to leave. That’s just rude. If I were that kid.. or his parent, I wouldn’t want to play on that league. If who ever runs it is willing to kick out a kid with talent than that’s not worth it. There are plenty of other leagues who would love to have a kid with so much talent. Move to one of them.
As for Jericho, good job, kid. Keep it up.
Anonymous | 10 months ago
Add Comment | Post Reply
< 1 2 3 > (3 pages)