Oh how I wish this sign was at our baseball field this evening!

Before I became a Mother, I figured organized sports were a wonderful idea.  They’re a great way to help teach kids about teamwork and they keep kids active too.  However after having been exposed to several sports groups in town, I find myself wondering if they’re really such a good idea.

My Son has been involved with T-Ball over the past two summers.  He absolutely loves it!  The program which was offered by the town wasn’t exactly organized sports, but more so an exposure to sports through play.  Unfortunately, the program has changed and the sports for children under the age of eight were cut out, so I enrolled him into the Baseball Association.  This evening was the very first practice and by da jumpins…it was quite overwhelming!

The parents.  Wow.  You’d think that there were professional baseball scouts watching!  I can understand Moms and Dads encouraging their kids to do their best, but to get upset because little Johnny had four turns hitting the ball while little JoJo only had three is a bit much. It’s the first day for crying out loud!

This type of behavior is not just limited to baseball. I have seen parents bring stopwatches to hockey and keep track of how long their child is on the ice. God forbid if their child was on the ice 20 seconds less than the other child. Apparently, that is good reason to insult the coaches and start World War III. I don’t want to be around such pettiness and I don’t want my child exposed to that either.

I half dread when the children play their first organized game. I can just imagine half the parents freaking out when their kids runs to third instead of first! They need to understand that this is an exposure to baseball, not the major leagues.

There should be a special viewing area for these parents – in a dugout WAY on the other side of the field!