Posted in Uncategorized | Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 | 1 Comment » Trackback

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  1. Larry Beckon Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 9:16 am

    Rick: Your article about “stupid refs” and a parent reminds me of many years ago when I managed and coached softball teams composed of boys that were 13-15 years old. Over a six year period, the teams finished second in the state twice and won the state championship four times. I was never faced with any “stupid umpires” or any “stupid parents”, It is the parent that is the focus of your story.

    I had an understanding with parents that their role was to be supportive of their son(s) and my role was to help their son(s) have a good time, to learn to team with others, and to learn how to be better softball players. I told parents that if their sons did not do well (made an error, struck out, etc.), the son knew that and felt bad about it. I often told parents that when the son did not do well, the parent needed to almost pretend that they did not see it. If there was ever a time to show care, love and support, it is when someone is not successful, even though they are trying. We all make errors, and we all need support. One of my roles was to help the player learn from the “error”, and to do it in a way that I was not judging them in any way. The youth would learn to improve himself. Change imposed on others is seldom successful.
    Larry Beckon, Michigan Department of Transportation.

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