July 11, Who's the adult here?

Elle's team had pictures at 5:30 before their game at 6:30. After pictures the girls just hung out and watched the game before theirs. At the conclusion of said game, one of the parents made some ugly comment about the other team. So what did their coach do? With all her maturity and wisdom, she came over to the other team's bench and got in his face. He got right back in hers. Then her husband came over all bent out of shape. All this in front of the girls who were good gaming eachother. To give credit, the coach from the first team did try to stop it. They were getting very loud, the woman coach included, when the teenage umps put themselves in the middle of it and diffused the situation. They could be heard very clearly informing them all that this league was about the girl's, this was their game time, and none of their behavior was accceptable. The head ump, a 5' nothing teenage girl, forced the first guy off the field while the other coaches husband is still calling him out, trying to egg him on. The other umps finally pushed him and his wife back over to their team. So I ask again, who is the adult here? Why do parents get so psychotic about their children's sporting events? These are recreational leagues for little kids, they are supposed to be fun and a time to learn. There will not be any pro scouts there and what kind of an example of sportsmanship are you setting? Well, the umps at least set a good example for the younger girls. Those teenage girls behaved with way more maturity than the adults were displaying.

Luckily, at the start of all this, one of the other parents on our team coralled our girls and moved them away to warm up. Only one noticed the fight at all. And the girl's played an awesome game. Elle played catcher again and caught a foul ball for the third out with bases loaded. Then she got hit in the shins by her teammate's hit while she was on deck. But she rallied and got her first base hit. Here is Elle on first, still nursing a bruised shin. I thought it was funny.

I am very proud of this little girl. She knew nothing about softball at the start of this season, but she stuck it out, and has blossomed. She has managed to shake off errors and (minor) injuries and be a contributing member of her team. Never once has she given up and I love seeing the self-confidence she has gained by working hard and not giving up. I look foward to many more seasons.