In Little League Baseball, bad parental sportmanship is sour grapes every time.

by Jillian @ http://blueshelled.com . June 8, 2009 . 4:55PM

Over the last couple of months, I’ve spoken repeatedly about AJ’s baseball and the idea that sportsmanship is not my strong suit. However, to counteract the “C’mon!” and the “Are you kidding me?!” comments that come flying out of my mouth, I readjust what I’m sending out there with high encouragement to not only our players, but those on the opposite team, as well as the umps. The umps, afterall, are just 16-17 year old kids, and they like to be told they are doing a good job, too. At least, that’s how I justify my negativity to myself.

What I know is that I am, by far, not the worst out there. It’s not to say that I should be saying anything at all. I shouldn’t. At the same time, I feel compelled to right wrongs when I see them against our team, even when our coach is content to let them slide. It’s part of the advocate in me and it’s one of the ways I stay genuine to myself. I’m not saying it’s right, I’m just saying it’s how I roll.

We have hit tournament time, for our age bracket, and AJ’s team was the best going in to the tournament, so the pressure is on. Over the weekend, we had our first game and both teams played fiercely against one another. It was a fantastic game and I enjoyed watching it ever so much. What I did not enjoy was the almost cat-fight that I experienced between a mother from our team and a mother from the other team. It caused my tension level to increase as I’m sure it did to the other bystanders, as they were loud enough for everyone to hear.

Oh, and the bickering started before the game did.

These two have a history insomuch as we have played this team before and they got into it as well. They are both intense parents who love their children greatly. They are also vocal, outspoken folks who put the pressure on their kids, and the rest of the team to do a good job. It can be a great motivator. It can also cause people to wilt under pressure. Luckily, for the kids, they took it out on each other, instead of the kids. They started off yelling at the kids, then the umps, then at each other, repeatedly. The rest of the parents looked at one another with uneasy expressions and I think I’m not the only one who wondered if we should ask them to leave.

At one point, one of the moms asked the ump to remove the other mother. The ump ignored her.

I’m in for a lifetime of this.

As a parent, I’m conditioned to protect this little cub. He’s mine and I will do what I can. But in this arena, it really is just a game, and unless someone else really hurts him, I’m gonna have to try to bite my tongue until it bleeds because I will not embarrass my son like that. These games are about him, not me, and the minute I live vicariously through him, it takes the fun out of it for both of us. And everyone else involved.