Little League Parents...A Good Thing?
Contributed by AJS...
I recently went to watch my cousin play in an intramural hockey league. He is in 4th grade and his class is split up into a few teams so that every kid has a chance to play. For most of these kids, it is the first time they are touching a hockey stick and they are only playing because their classmates are and like hell they’re going to be the dorky kid. Most of them don’t know a goal from a basket and only care that their team has a better record than the kid sitting behind him in class.
I got there early and watched part of an earlier game with my cousin. I noticed that one of the coaches, a parent of a child on that team, was holding a clipboard like an NHL coach, with the hockey rink and a white board marker. During a time out he could be seen diagramming a detailed play like Scotty Bowman instructing the Red Wings how to run their power play. Most of the kids were looking around to see if their parents were there or deciding what video games to play after. Yet the coach kept making X’s and O’s. When play resumed and his kids “messed up” the diagramed play, the coach yelled as loud as he could at these kids trying to get them to do what he wanted.
My first reaction was that this is the type of parent that they write about in Sports Illustrated. The “Crazy Little League Parent” that goes too far and hits a kid or referee or even gets tossed from the gym (though that would at least be entertaining – have you ever watched 4th graders play hockey? It’s similar to women’s basketball, but with a little more athleticism). I was tempted to go over and tell him to shut his trap and let these kids enjoy their game. So what if a 4th grader doesn’t know how to play the body or lift a stick, high school kids can’t either. Besides they are playing floor hockey, not ice hockey. There’s no professional floor hockey league (truth be told, there’s not much of a professional ice hockey league now either). These kids just want to have fun and hope their team wins. They shouldn’t be yelled at, but rather taught how to play.
But then it occurred to me that this parent may be a “Crazy Little League Parent,” but really, what is wrong with that? These coaches usually fit one of the following categories: The ex-athlete who can’t play anymore for various reasons (age, knees comb-over gets in his eyes when he sweats, obesity) and he needs the competition so he coaches his kid’s team; or the guy who was never good at sports and his kid isn’t either, so he coaches to make sure his kid plays and pushes him to be an athlete. In either of these cases, can you really blame him for being so serious about the game? (Yeah, I guess you can).
I once heard something very interesting from an old school basketball coach. When told that it doesn’t matter if you win or lose as long as you have fun, he responded with, “it is only fun if you win!” No one likes losing. These parents yell at the kids and try and design plays and bench kids when they can’t follow the plays. They are trying to make the kids better by making them winners. No one wants to go home having just lost a game whether it is the coach or player. The kids are learning that you should take everything seriously and try and excel at everything you do at an early age. The parents that tell the kid that it’s ok if they lose 8-0 as long as they have fun will be very happy when their child flunks the bar after 3 years of law school, as long as he tries hard (To see how they got into law school, please see JP’s article). The parents tell them that it is ok because at least they made an effort. You will never hear Larry Brown tell his team that they should just go out and have fun and not care if they win or lose. He will bark at them to get back in position. If you are not teaching the kids to strive for excellence, even at a 4th grade hockey game then what is it that you are teaching them?
Competitive nature is good for people to have. I am going to want my children to come home and say we won the championship. I am going to volunteer to coach so I can teach them to play the right way. Let other parents complain or tell me I am crazy. But my kid will have a trophy and their kid will go home and play with his Barbie dolls because all that matters is that he is having fun.
I recently went to watch my cousin play in an intramural hockey league. He is in 4th grade and his class is split up into a few teams so that every kid has a chance to play. For most of these kids, it is the first time they are touching a hockey stick and they are only playing because their classmates are and like hell they’re going to be the dorky kid. Most of them don’t know a goal from a basket and only care that their team has a better record than the kid sitting behind him in class.
I got there early and watched part of an earlier game with my cousin. I noticed that one of the coaches, a parent of a child on that team, was holding a clipboard like an NHL coach, with the hockey rink and a white board marker. During a time out he could be seen diagramming a detailed play like Scotty Bowman instructing the Red Wings how to run their power play. Most of the kids were looking around to see if their parents were there or deciding what video games to play after. Yet the coach kept making X’s and O’s. When play resumed and his kids “messed up” the diagramed play, the coach yelled as loud as he could at these kids trying to get them to do what he wanted.
My first reaction was that this is the type of parent that they write about in Sports Illustrated. The “Crazy Little League Parent” that goes too far and hits a kid or referee or even gets tossed from the gym (though that would at least be entertaining – have you ever watched 4th graders play hockey? It’s similar to women’s basketball, but with a little more athleticism). I was tempted to go over and tell him to shut his trap and let these kids enjoy their game. So what if a 4th grader doesn’t know how to play the body or lift a stick, high school kids can’t either. Besides they are playing floor hockey, not ice hockey. There’s no professional floor hockey league (truth be told, there’s not much of a professional ice hockey league now either). These kids just want to have fun and hope their team wins. They shouldn’t be yelled at, but rather taught how to play.
But then it occurred to me that this parent may be a “Crazy Little League Parent,” but really, what is wrong with that? These coaches usually fit one of the following categories: The ex-athlete who can’t play anymore for various reasons (age, knees comb-over gets in his eyes when he sweats, obesity) and he needs the competition so he coaches his kid’s team; or the guy who was never good at sports and his kid isn’t either, so he coaches to make sure his kid plays and pushes him to be an athlete. In either of these cases, can you really blame him for being so serious about the game? (Yeah, I guess you can).
I once heard something very interesting from an old school basketball coach. When told that it doesn’t matter if you win or lose as long as you have fun, he responded with, “it is only fun if you win!” No one likes losing. These parents yell at the kids and try and design plays and bench kids when they can’t follow the plays. They are trying to make the kids better by making them winners. No one wants to go home having just lost a game whether it is the coach or player. The kids are learning that you should take everything seriously and try and excel at everything you do at an early age. The parents that tell the kid that it’s ok if they lose 8-0 as long as they have fun will be very happy when their child flunks the bar after 3 years of law school, as long as he tries hard (To see how they got into law school, please see JP’s article). The parents tell them that it is ok because at least they made an effort. You will never hear Larry Brown tell his team that they should just go out and have fun and not care if they win or lose. He will bark at them to get back in position. If you are not teaching the kids to strive for excellence, even at a 4th grade hockey game then what is it that you are teaching them?
Competitive nature is good for people to have. I am going to want my children to come home and say we won the championship. I am going to volunteer to coach so I can teach them to play the right way. Let other parents complain or tell me I am crazy. But my kid will have a trophy and their kid will go home and play with his Barbie dolls because all that matters is that he is having fun.
posted by EDS | 10:47 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home