The downside of exceptionalism

[lookout123]

Nine-year-old Jericho Scott is a good baseball player - too good, it turns out.
The right-hander has a fastball that tops out at about 40 mph. He throws so hard that the Youth Baseball League of New Haven told his coach that the boy could not pitch any more. When Jericho took the mound anyway last week, the opposing team forfeited the game, packed its gear and left, his coach said.

I was kind of split on this. I hate that adults interfere with kids and ruin their games, but I can understand somewhat if there are safety concerns. But then I read a bit more.

Jericho's coach and parents say the boy is being unfairly targeted because he turned down an invitation to join the defending league champion, which is sponsored by an employer of one of the league's administrators.
Jericho instead joined a team sponsored by Will Power Fitness. The team was 8-0 and on its way to the playoffs when Jericho was banned from pitching.

Crap crap crap. A 9 year old played 8 games for a team that he chose, he pitched each game, never striking another player. By all accounts the kid is on target with each and every pitch. This is about parents being too competitive, not about kids' safety.

If the kid had gone the whole season, played each game, and won the championship without breaking a sweat I would suggest the parents move him up to the next age group. But to let a kid get 8 games into a Little League season and then decide he has to go? Uh uh. That's fishy.

Maybe I'm a little oversensitive to this because of my experiences with Lil Lookout, but this just stinks. This cannot possibly be a decision made "for the kids". No kid was ever damaged by realizing there are some players that are just a bit more special. In fact, I would suggest that most players benefit by playing with and against that special player. It can help motivate them to work just a bit harder. This is just a sign of weak coaching and pisspoor parenting. The other coaches don't want to figure out another way to beat this team and the parents don't want to admit their kid might not be the absolute bee's knees at everything they do.

When did we become a nation that seeks to remove the exceptional from our sight rather than work hard to climb to that new high level?

[Shawnee123]

(IMHO) People don't want to see exceptionalism anymore. Everyone is the same, everyone gets a trophy for showing up. If other sports are too hard then we will import or invent a sport that every kid can play. We don't want any kid to ever think they're not good enough. What is wrong, however, if Charlie is good at baseball and Louie is good at trumpet and Mark bakes a mean apple pie? With the loss of exceptionalism goes individualism.

[lookout123]

I ruffled some feathers at the club when I campaigned for and pushed through the elimination of "participation awards" for everyone at the end of the season. while that is cool for rec league kids, these are competitive teams and they should be rewarded for hard work, not just showing up.

We now have a new program in place that each team handles separately at the end of each month of the season.

Team awards are limited to the trophies they receive for winning, and tags for the kit bags for any tournament they place 1-3rd.

Individual Awards:

Blood patch: When a player takes a knock in the game and keeps on playing.

Assist patch: The player with the highest number assists for the month.

Goal patch: highest number of goals

Save patch: Highest number of saves

Each team can create their own special patches and ribbons but they must be tied to behaviors, not just showing up and paying the club fees.

[Juniper]

Sounds like

Harrison Bergeron

by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

[sweetwater]

The team & coach(es) that forfeited rather than play would be ousted from the league if/when I start ruling the world. That is an appalling lesson to teach kids. But Jericho Scott should not be penalized if he has reasonable control of the ball. One does learn more from those who are better. And the kid already has a major league name - get him to autograph a baseball and wish him the very best, and learn everything you can from him. He might wind up in Cooperstown.
Now why do baseball players always congratulate team members on a win but never shake hands with the other team? That has always looked like another example of bad sportsmanship to me. Me, the non-jock, non-sports person, I'll freely admit. Loser cooties or ???

[lookout123]

I think it's because it is baseball and that would be way too much physical exertion for those guys.

[Trilby]

from LOOKOUT: "No kid was ever damaged by realizing there are some players that are just a bit more special. In fact, I would suggest that most players benefit by playing with and against that special player." end LOOKOUT.

my meager two cents. I do not believe a kid should get a trophy just for showing up. All of life is "showing up." I also know how heady athletes (esp teen athletes) can get when all this hero worship is loaded on their inexperienced shoulders...then, they might, MIGHT, get to play with the Big Boys and THAT, my friends, truly seperates the boys/girls from the men/women. It's right there where a kid decides whether he wants to really, really want to bust their, uh, rear ends. These kids ARE special, have a certain drive (that I certainly do not have) and I do believe true athletes, like Dara Torres or Michael Phelps or Shawn Johnson (sorry to be so USA-oriented, but I really don't "know" the other outstanding athletes of other countries...except Yao Ming, who really plays for the US) have a certain special something* and you can actually FEEL the greatness float off of them. They definitely should be recognized as special.
When we are talking about 5 year-old newbies, who knows which kid is going to excel? 5 year-olds don't need to be yelled at, but encouraged.

College football is BRUTAL and I cannot imagine what a man or woman would have to give up to go pro. I think our American pro/champ athletes feel very special, indeed. Nearly God-like. Maybe it's too much, too "special" but then again, maybe it's just right. I think LeBron James is a good example. But then again, he plays for Cleveland and Ohio can use all the good things/people we can lay claim to. We have Shawnee and LeBron and that's about IT.

/end possibly irrelevant rant/

name the movie: "certain special something" was the beginning of a song and win two points!

[BigV]

Hey lookout123, all my players would line up on the baseline opposite the other team after the end of the game. We'd walk past each other as a team high fiving the other kids "goodgame, goodgame, goodgame...." It was a little impersonal, but it was compulsory.

When I was a swim coach for the city team, we always gave a team cheer for the other team at the end of a meet, regardless of who won. "2-4-6-8 who do we appreciate--COLTON!" etc.

Good sportsmanship is a learned skill and those kids capable of demonstrating it expertly far exceed the kids capable of turning on a fastball or managing to compete in the individual medley. I considered good sportsmanship more important than athletic ability. Physical talent is a wonderful blessing but there are more opportunities to benefit from good sportsmanship than a footrace.

[lookout123]

sweet. sportsmanship is something that can be carried and used throughout life. a good through-ball while impressive on the soccer field doesn't really mean much in day to day living.

I was just kidding about the level of physical exertion in baseball, honest. please don't hit me with a bat.

[SamIam]

OK, dumb question, since I know nothing of little league or baseball. Why can't this gifted kid be placed in a league that's more in line with his talent. Frankly, I'd be bored if I never got to go up against a team that would challenge my skills.

[BigV]

you crack me up!

[Aliantha]

I wonder what happens to the players who are good batsmen and never strike out regardless of who's pitching...

[lookout123]

I don't know all the details but here is my $.02.

He is nine. I don't know if that is just turned nine or about to turn ten. I don't know if he is a mature nine year old or normal nine year old with an unusually wicked arm. All of those things are important factors.

In the context of Lil Lookout: when he turned five the other coaches demanded he be moved out of the 6 and under soccer league because he kicked too hard. He was small even for a five year old and he wasn't the most emotionally mature, but I was coaching so I moved him up to U8. That meant he was a small five year old playing against kids up to 8 and a half. he was going into kindergarten and there were kids in 3rd grade playing the same league. The first couple sessions were kind of dicey as the older kids picked on him, and roughed him up, but he pulled through and became a pretty good player.

When he turned six I started hearing demands for something to change because he was "too good" for the league. For crying out loud, it is a little kid who wants to play with his friends. He was still small and getting his world rocked but he was good with the ball at his feet. He was averaging five points a game and you could count on him to create a play when the ball was at his feet. Should I have moved him up because he outscored everyone else? I didn't think so.

He just turned 7 and he is still small, but now about average size for the U8 league. The kid can score at will. He creates chances on goal with an amazing understanding of the game. In the rec league regardless of the team he would have been the best player in any position. I asked if he wanted to move up to the next age group (again a year early) where he would be playing kids up to 11 years old. He wasn't afraid of playing against them but he wanted to play with his friends. That is what the game is about - kids playing with kids. The other kids didn't get mad that Lil Lookout was better than them - the parents got mad that Lil Lookout was better than their kid. He played that last session in U8 but was miserable because he started hearing the comments made by parents about him not belonging there. Now he's in U10 and he's still lighting them up but he has no friends on the team. watching him I almost wonder if he is playing with a vengeance for not being able to play with his friends. He is like a man on fire when he takes the field with this team. No talking, just playing. His only friends in the whole league are two other boys who moved up early just like him. The other kids are talking about the 4th and 5th grade and he just started 2nd. Kind of sad really.

My view as a parent and a coach is that it is ok to move a kid up early if they are prepared and willing, but they should never be forced up. These are rec league sports and the kids should be allowed to shine with whatever skill they have. They have a whole lifetime of feeling insecure and inadequate ahead of them - let them enjoy childhood. Sometimes I think kids would be better off if all the adults would just eff off and die. yeah, i know logically that is inaccurate, but you know what i mean.

[lookout123]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

I wonder what happens to the players who are good batsmen and never strike out regardless of who's pitching...

they eventually meet a nine year old they can't hit until their parents fix it for them.

[Aliantha]

Exactly.

If these teams had a good coach they might say something to this effect in my mind.

"OK team, we know this is going to be a tough one. Little Johnny over there has one awesome arm. Maybe we'll even see him in the majors one day, but for now, it's our job to try and win this game somehow. Now I know it might be tough, but he's their only great player, whereas we're a team. A T.E.A.M right? Maybe we wont get a run on the board, but if we work as a team, maybe we can stop them getting a run either. Maybe we can't pitch him out - although I think Little Jimmy is a great pitcher too - but if we work together, we can field them out right? RIGHT? So who's with me???"

Where's the challenge in teaching kids that if you can't beat someone the way you usually do, you just give up. It doesn't encourage broader thinking and it doesn't teach kids about teamwork. Only that individual brilliance can't be beaten in a team situation. If your kid's in a team sport, they need to learn team work. I think that's generally the point.