T-Ball Parents

Once again, it is the time of year for our van to turn into a taxi used for transporting our boys to games and other activities.  It is baseball season.  Aaron and I have coached for Sunshine league for four years now.  We LOVE it!  For those who do not know, Sunshine league is a baseball league for children with ANY disabilities.  There are no practices, just games.  Tyler has played for the league for six years.  When we were first asked to coach, Aaron fussed at me for saying yes.  His excuses were many.  Aaron enjoys watching the games and was concerned about the level of time and commitment it would require.  It was with great trepidation he began our first year as coaches.  By the end of the season, he was the first to volunteer for a second year.  We love the players, the families, and enjoy watching the smiles on our team’s faces as they get a home run.  Logan volunteers as a buddy to the players and helps keep them out as much as possible.  (We are always looking for buddies.  Hint. Hint.)  We have a wonderful time!

This year, Joey asked to play T-Ball.  We signed him up and practice started last week.  Last night was the first night I have taken him to practice.  It hit me that the last time I was at T-ball, Joey was a newborn.  Time sure does fly, doesn’t it?  

Perhaps it is because of my experiences with Sunshine League, I noticed what I noticed last night.  The Players on Joey’s team are between three and four years old.  No, it wasn’t the players or the coaches that caught my attention.  It was the parents.  They were yelling at their kids from the bleachers.  Yep. They were very competitive, much more so than any of the players.  I wonder how they expected their children to listen to the coach’s instructions when they were talking over him.  (As a coach, I would have politely excused the parents from observing the practices. Well, maybe not so politely.) It is T-Ball people!!  We don’t keep score!  The primary point of T-Ball is for them to learn the game!  Then there was the teenage mom who had her one year old with her.  Just the one year old, no toys, no snacks, nothing to keep him entertained.  Maybe she thought yelling at him to “shut up” would entertain him.  I was certainly not entertained. 

I hope I have the patience to deal with these parents this season.  Personally, I could care less if Joey scores one point as long as he is having fun!