hogan873 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-p...-211302532.html I thought since it's a slow sports day we could discuss this. I read through the article, and I was torn on what I thought. As many people mentioned in the comments on Yahoo, boys aren't allowed to play on girls softball teams. But, I can't help keep coming back to the fact that it's a team for 6 and 7 year olds. And they cut the girl (and several other players) to make the team more competitive. For a team with 6 and 7 year olds... I've been coaching my son's baseball teams for a few years, and our league is open to boys and girls. In the Shetland (6U) division, there are usually a handful of girls on each team, but by the time you get to Mustang (10U) there are almost no girls, as most have moved on to softball. So, I'm not sure which side to argue, except that the article is talking about a team for 6 and 7 year olds, and I don't see how cutting a few players can make them that much more competitive. By the way, mods if you feel this belongs in the Buster, I understand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeSox Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Basically agree with what you said. They're 6 and 7. How "competitive" is any league at that age? My guess is the coach has some issues and is trying to live his dream through youth baseball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogan873 Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 31, 2012 -> 10:06 AM) Basically agree with what you said. They're 6 and 7. How "competitive" is any league at that age? My guess is the coach has some issues and is trying to live his dream through youth baseball. This is a big problem with youth sports. I see too often where coaches expect too much out of the kids and end up yelling at them or making them feel bad about themselves. That's no way to make a kid a better player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 My first reaction is every sports program up to high school schould be about skill development, sportsmanship, and learning how to be a team mate. Keep score if you like, but winning and losing should not be the goal until high school. Fortunately my school district shares this philosophy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogan873 Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 QUOTE (Tex @ Jan 31, 2012 -> 10:16 AM) My first reaction is every sports program up to high school schould be about skill development, sportsmanship, and learning how to be a team mate. Keep score if you like, but winning and losing should not be the goal until high school. Fortunately my school district shares this philosophy. It's good to hear that some areas are doing this. The league where my son plays is all about development. Scores are kept, but both teams just have a team mom or dad doing it. The only time scores count are in the playoffs at the end...and I think some of those games get a little out of control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthSideSox72 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 At those ages, you do not cut players to be "more competitive". That's absurd. The fact that she was cut because of her gender makes it worse, though I agree that that aspect has me torn a little bit. QUOTE (pittshoganerkoff @ Jan 31, 2012 -> 10:10 AM) This is a big problem with youth sports. I see too often where coaches expect too much out of the kids and end up yelling at them or making them feel bad about themselves. That's no way to make a kid a better player. I used to ump little league, when I was in High School. I once had two coaches from opposing teams have a shouting match, that escalated into a phyiscal fight behind the backstop, that I had to break up. Also once watched a coach grab his son (player) by the shirt and shove him against the fence for a lecture, about taking more pitches. He was like 9 years old. There are some people coaching these teams that need to get the f*** over themselves. It's not about you, asshole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamshack Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 31, 2012 -> 10:20 AM) At those ages, you do not cut players to be "more competitive". That's absurd. The fact that she was cut because of her gender makes it worse, though I agree that that aspect has me torn a little bit. I used to ump little league, when I was in High School. I once had two coaches from opposing teams have a shouting match, that escalated into a phyiscal fight behind the backstop, that I had to break up. Also once watched a coach grab his son (player) by the shirt and shove him against the fence for a lecture, about taking more pitches. He was like 9 years old. There are some people coaching these teams that need to get the f*** over themselves. It's not about you, asshole. I agree with this, however, going too far to the other end of the spectrum has consequences in my opinion as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 31, 2012 -> 10:31 AM) I agree with this, however, going too far to the other end of the spectrum has consequences in my opinion as well. At these ages, it shouldn't be ultra-competitive. At 6-7 years old, they should just be starting to keep score IMO. They shouldn't be worried about touring teams and cutting players for years. There is plenty of time for that stuff as you get into the 10-11 year range (4/5th grade) and then to build on it into the middle school levels. We are talking about cutting 1st or 2nd graders here. That is just crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9347 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 The title is mis-leading. 7-year-old Anna Kimball kicked off baseball team just because she’s a girl Should be 7-year-old girl Anna Kimball cut from baseball team because she's not as good as other players Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeSox Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jan 31, 2012 -> 10:41 AM) The title is mis-leading. 7-year-old Anna Kimball kicked off baseball team just because she’s a girl Should be 7-year-old girl Anna Kimball cut from baseball team because she's not as good as other players But the coach admits that she's better than her brother, who's still on the team. Maybe it's because I played park district baseball, but I don't remember anyone being cut at those ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthSideSox72 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jan 31, 2012 -> 10:41 AM) The title is mis-leading. 7-year-old Anna Kimball kicked off baseball team just because she’s a girl Should be 7-year-old girl Anna Kimball cut from baseball team because she's not as good as other players Clearly you didn't read the article, so why bother posting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9347 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 31, 2012 -> 10:47 AM) Clearly you didn't read the article, so why bother posting? BECAUSE I CAN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogan873 Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jan 31, 2012 -> 10:41 AM) The title is mis-leading. 7-year-old Anna Kimball kicked off baseball team just because she’s a girl Should be 7-year-old girl Anna Kimball cut from baseball team because she's not as good as other players Well, in the article the coach said she's better than her brother. But, the title was misleading because other players (including boys) were cut. At least according to the coach, the reason she was cut was that the team was going to be in a league that prohibited girls from playing and to make the team more competitive in said league. Still ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamshack Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 31, 2012 -> 10:36 AM) At these ages, it shouldn't be ultra-competitive. At 6-7 years old, they should just be starting to keep score IMO. They shouldn't be worried about touring teams and cutting players for years. There is plenty of time for that stuff as you get into the 10-11 year range (4/5th grade) and then to build on it into the middle school levels. We are talking about cutting 1st or 2nd graders here. That is just crazy. Right, I don't have a problem with any of this. I'm referring more to the comments about not keeping score until the kids reach high school. Kids are graded throughout school on EVERYTHING. Why should athletics be any different? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeSox Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Kids aren't cut from school and parents generally don't get into fist fights over 2nd grade math tests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamshack Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 (edited) QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jan 31, 2012 -> 12:14 PM) Kids aren't cut from school and parents generally don't get into fist fights over 2nd grade math tests. Kids flunk out of school and are held back a grade. Kids get split into separate groups based on their aptitude. Ask teachers how angry parents get about their kids' grades. Edited January 31, 2012 by iamshack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodAsGould Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 QUOTE (Tex @ Jan 31, 2012 -> 10:16 AM) My first reaction is every sports program up to high school schould be about skill development, sportsmanship, and learning how to be a team mate. Keep score if you like, but winning and losing should not be the goal until high school. Fortunately my school district shares this philosophy. I don't think kids should be cut from sports teams, at least not until jr high but I hate the idea of completely disregarding winning/losing. I was a kid not too long ago and I wanted to win and hated losing and the sport would be very dull if those werent important factors. I was only in the town public leagues but end of year we still had a playoffs and whatnot once we got probably in 4th or 5th grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9347 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 QUOTE (GoodAsGould @ Jan 31, 2012 -> 11:19 AM) I don't think kids should be cut from sports teams, at least not until jr high but I hate the idea of completely disregarding winning/losing. So you just limit registration? In many of these areas there are more interested in playing than can conceivably be deployed on a team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamshack Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jan 31, 2012 -> 12:25 PM) So you just limit registration? In many of these areas there are more interested in playing than can conceivably be deployed on a team. It's not like the s***ty kids aren't very aware that they suck...it's just as embarrassing to suck ass and still be on the team as it is to be cut or redeployed into a weaker league. It's an unavoidable fact of life, and sheltering kids from it until 12 years old only makes it more difficult for them to adjust later in life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodAsGould Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jan 31, 2012 -> 11:25 AM) So you just limit registration? In many of these areas there are more interested in playing than can conceivably be deployed on a team. Well in my town there was a limited registration, pretty much if you didn't get in at a very young age it was hard to get in, it's tough luck for some kids but can only do so much. If a kid is truly talented at the sport obviously he can catch on a travel team somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogan873 Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jan 31, 2012 -> 11:25 AM) So you just limit registration? In many of these areas there are more interested in playing than can conceivably be deployed on a team. Good point. And yes, many leagues limit registration. Right now I think some leagues are hurting for players, and they keep their registration open a lot later. But most have a set TIME for registration, and if someone doesn't sign up in time they're out of luck. Then there's the option of travel ball (speaking about baseball still) where kids can try out. There will certainly be some kids who don't make it. But, again, depending on the number of kids who try out, it might be a matter of only having room for 12 kids per team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogan873 Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 QUOTE (iamshack @ Jan 31, 2012 -> 11:30 AM) It's not like the s***ty kids aren't very aware that they suck...it's just as embarrassing to suck ass and still be on the team as it is to be cut or redeployed into a weaker league. It's an unavoidable fact of life, and sheltering kids from it until 12 years old only makes it more difficult for them to adjust later in life. I agree with your last sentence...for the most part anyway. I've seen my share of bad players, and haven't we all secretly wished the kid was on another team? I don't have experience outside of the league where my son plays, but they don't cut anyone. If someone registers, they get to play. They do, however, hold a draft. So, the better players go first. But each team ends up with those that can't play well, or worse are being pushed into it by their parents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milkman delivers Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 The fact that things like this are even news just shows how big of p*****s we are anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9347 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Jan 31, 2012 -> 11:45 AM) The fact that things like this are even news just shows how big of p*****s we are anymore. This. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiSox_Sonix Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Jan 31, 2012 -> 12:45 PM) The fact that things like this are even news just shows how big of p*****s we are anymore. The pussification of america has been in full force for years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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