LLWS 2010

Read Heistandt's column in USA Today. New this year - instant replay challenges!

 

Yes, absolutely. And if the coach had said it on live TV, there would have been no recourse.

Just because a writer's deadline is (slightly) longer, it's not a license to sugarcoat. If anything, it's an opportunity to find junior and get a comment from the kid...and/or ask the coach to elaborate (which gives him an opportunity to make his point differently or to say something even worse and prove that he's even douchier than he originally seemed).

 

You would really put a 12-year-old kid on the spot like that, a public pissing match with his coac for all his friends and neighbors to see?

 

I'm a board member for a Little League-sanctioned league. We went to the state finals tournament in the 12U age group this year (the age they show all those games for on TV).

Trust me, it happens every step of the way, from the opening game of District pool play through the finals in Williamsport.

Asshole parents exist EVERYWHERE in youth sports.

 

Longtime,

I think you're extrapolating too much here. (See especially point 3)

First: the players are 12, their games are on TV, they'are already on the spot.

Second: seeking players' opinions about what contributed to a loss is legit.

Third - in the initial post, the douchiest part of the quote was the coach said he felt sick that his players couldn't handle pressure. That's not a tit-for-tat. Yes, he implied that his son would have been better, but that's not terribly incendiary. I'm saying, get a quote from the losing pitcher to balance it out. And you know what? The kid might agree with the coach's assessment.

 

"Makes the coach look like a douche"; shouldn't you leave that conclusion to the audience and not censor it for them?

Guy is a piece of work.

 

A 12-year-old kid just cannot do public speaking in a way that conveys sensitive thoughts appropriately, and he shouldn't be asked to do so.

 

Maybe so, but 12-year-olds sure seem to Twitter a lot. And that's a public forum, right?

This question is for anyone: if the losing pitcher Twittered about the game, would you quote the Tweet to balance out the coach's comment?

 

Yup.

These kids should be allowed to enjoy the games. And, while it's fine for parents to do the same, the media exposure brings out the worst in some of them. Some of them were bad enough before they discover the media interest.

 

Why the bleep is this televised? Why are there AP wire stories about it? It's 11 and 12-year-olds for Pete's sake. Let kids be kids and not make the coaches into well, whatever.

This is simply an example of TV networks having too much time to fill and too much money to throw around.

 

This is why I refuse to cover this stuff. I'm a college-educated adult and I sure as hell didn't spend years learning and working my trade to parrot some "tweet" from a 12-year-old.

Good Lord, people!! Look, I'm all for kids having their fun and games. It's when we as adults (coaches, parents, media, etc.) start treating it like it's life-or-death that I question whether society has lost its collective mind.

 

Dig the Wild glasses! This kid Penaloza pitching for Mexico has to be his mom's souvenir of an evening with Ricky Vaughn.