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Mar 6, 2016
383
63
One time.. (long story, but gotta set the scene... ) ;)

Back when oldest DD was in first year of All Stars in 8u, (yes, 8U, but wait til you hear why and maybe you'll change your current thought about me...lol). :unsure:

My oldest was/is a very shy girl (she's now 16) and never had a lot of self confidence. She's pretty, athletic but ever since she was little, just never seemed to have that inner confidence for some reason. Just her personality I guess.

So, first year ever playing 8U Rec softball. One of only a couple kids on team that could actually catch the ball without turning their head or not having the glove the wrong way. We've all seen it at 6U and 8U. So, her coach has her try catcher during the season and she does well, likes it and becomes one of the top 2 catchers in 8U. She enjoys it and being counted on for the team as the main catcher is kinda cool to her and is giving her confidence in herself.

Fast forward to All Stars and we are in our 3rd tournament that summer (2013) hosting at our own local Rec fields. She's in at catcher, Im an asst coach on the team and the game is going fine, nothing out of the ordinary (well, for 8U that is). We are on defense and we get the other team out, nothing significant seems to have happened and as my daughter comes back to dugout from catching...she's crying and sobbing and doing the little kid cry (gasping for air thing).

So, I am completely confused on why she's crying. No runs, nobody fouled one off and hit her, nothing I can think of to cause her to cry like this.

Well, when I ask her what's wrong, why are you crying.... she says, "The umpire told me that... if you can't catch the ball and stop them from hitting me, then don't be a catcher." And then she said, "I don't wanna play catcher anymore."

Absolutely infuriated :mad:, I immediately turned to my head coach (who was also my daughter's head coach that I helped during the regular season) and told her, "sorry, but I'm about to be thrown out right now."

I went up to the umpire and asked...a littel loudly but not yelling (yet). "What did you tell our catcher? What did you say to her? She's over their sobbing and crying because of what you said. WHAT DID YOU TELL HER?"

The man then said "I said if she keeps missing balls then she stop playing catcher and play something else."

I LOST MY MIND!!! The parents of both team had no idea what I was talking to the umpire about....until that very moment. I went OFF and asked How in the hell can you say that to 8 and 7 yr olds!! They are 7 and 8 yrs old and it is her 1st year ever playing...and YOU tell her to STOP playing because she missed a few pitches???? SHE'S EIGHT !! HOW DARE YOU talk to the players like that.

By now, all the fans are like "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!!" I actually then turned to the fans to quickly explain the reason I'm going APE S#IT. This guy is literally telling girls not to play and that they can't catch. My daughter is in the dugout refusing to play anymore because of what this guy said. What if he said it to your daughter? ANY of the girls? (And of all girls, my DD who's confidence in herself was already low...)

So, my wife in the stands, now knowing what the hell is going on and why our daughter is sobbing in the dugout and why I am going ballistic ...she now GOES OFF as well as others at the umpire. Enraged of why he could say something like that to the girls.

ANYWAYS, another asst. coach has now puled me away from doing anything else and we call the TD and UIC and let them know what happened... the UIC removes the ump from the game and takes over the rest of the game. I have to remove myself from the field....my daughter reluctantly played catcher in a couple games later in tourny....my Dad who was there in the stands slowly realized what happened and started crying but proud of me in someway.

Fast forward...my oldest DD continued to catch. Went and played high level TB and into HS as a catcher. But, both she and I and my wife and my Dad remember that one instance like it was yesterday.

Always remember, ONE small thing said by an umpire or coach or teacher can impact a kids life or redirect it in a negative (or positive) way. Damn, just typing all that is making me pissed and upset about it all over again. :mad:😢 One of those events in life you ALWAYS remember.
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Last edited:
Nov 18, 2015
1,585
113
…my Dad who was there in the stands slowly realized what happened and started crying but proud of me in someway.

This was my favorite part of your story. You can never be too old to make your parents proud of you!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
One time.. (long story, but gotta set the scene... ) ;)

Back when oldest DD was in first year of All Stars in 8u, (yes, 8U, but wait til you hear why and maybe you'll change your current thought about me...lol). :unsure:

My oldest was/is a very shy girl (she's now 16) and never had a lot of self confidence. She's pretty, athletic but ever since she was little, just never seemed to have that inner confidence for some reason. Just her personality I guess.

So, first year ever playing 8U Rec softball. One of only a couple kids on team that could actually catch the ball without turning their head or not having the glove the wrong way. We've all seen it at 6U and 8U. So, her coach has her try catcher during the season and she does well, likes it and becomes one of the top 2 catchers in 8U. She enjoys it and being counted on for the team as the main catcher is kinda cool to her and is giving her confidence in herself.

Fast forward to All Stars and we are in our 3rd tournament that summer (2013) hosting at our own local Rec fields. She's in at catcher, Im an asst coach on the team and the game is going fine, nothing out of the ordinary (well, for 8U that is). We are on defense and we get the other team out, nothing significant seems to have happened and as my daughter comes back to dugout from catching...she's crying and sobbing and doing the little kid cry (gasping for air thing).

So, I am completely confused on why she's crying. No runs, nobody fouled one off and hit her, nothing I can think of to cause her to cry like this.

Well, when I ask her what's wrong, why are you crying.... she says, "The umpire told me that... if you can't catch the ball and stop them from hitting me, then don't be a catcher." And then she said, "I don't wanna play catcher anymore."

Absolutely infuriated :mad:, I immediately turned to my head coach (who was also my daughter's head coach that I helped during the regular season) and told her, "sorry, but I'm about to be thrown out right now."

I went up to the umpire and asked...a littel loudly but not yelling (yet). "What did you tell our catcher? What did you say to her? She's over their sobbing and crying because of what you said. WHAT DID YOU TELL HER?"

The man then said "I said if she keeps missing balls then she stop playing catcher and play something else."

I LOST MY MIND!!! The parents of both team had no idea what I was talking to the umpire about....until that very moment. I went OFF and asked How in the hell can you say that to 8 and 7 yr olds!! They are 7 and 8 yrs old and it is her 1st year ever playing...and YOU tell her to STOP playing because she missed a few pitches???? SHE'S EIGHT !! HOW DARE YOU talk to the players like that.

By now, all the fans are like "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!!" I actually then turned to the fans to quickly explain the reason I'm going APE S#IT. This guy is literally telling girls not to play and that they can't catch. My daughter is in the dugout refusing to play anymore because of what this guy said. What if he said it to your daughter? ANY of the girls? (And of all girls, my DD who's confidence in herself was already low...)

So, my wife in the stands, now knowing what the hell is going on and why our daughter is sobbing in the dugout and why I am going ballistic ...she now GOES OFF as well as others at the umpire. Enraged of why he could say something like that to the girls.

ANYWAYS, another asst. coach has now puled me away from doing anything else and we call the TD and UIC and let them know what happened... the UIC removes the ump from the game and takes over the rest of the game. I have to remove myself from the field....my daughter reluctantly played catcher in a couple games later in tourny....my Dad who was there in the stands slowly realized what happened and started crying but proud of me in someway.

Fast forward...my oldest DD continued to catch. Went and played high level TB and into HS as a catcher. But, both she and I and my wife and my Dad remember that one instance like it was yesterday.

Always remember, ONE small thing said by an umpire or coach or teacher can impact a kids life or redirect it in a negative (or positive) way. Damn, just typing all that is making me pissed and upset about it all over again. :mad:😢 One of those events in life you ALWAYS remember.
View attachment 22694
View attachment 22695
This is like the polar opposite of why I got kicked out :cautious:
 
Feb 20, 2019
109
28
Yep. Rec game. One ump behind the plate who was lazy and never left his spot. Had a BR on 2. Hard hit grounder to F6. F6 was deep in the hole. Had no chance to tag my BR as she was 4 feet away when fielding it but tried a swipe anyway. Ump called her out on the tag. I calmly walked up to him and asked if he wanted to see my dog. He asked why. I told him because my dog had better depth perception as he was a seeing eye dog. Out I went.

Another rec game. I used a line I first heard on here when the other teams' BR's kept leaving early. I said, "Blue, I think I have your cell phone here!" He said, "Why do you think it's mine?" I told him, "There's a lot of missed calls!" Out I went.

Those are great, but I really, really wish I hadn't read this post!! If I get kicked out of a game for using those lines, I'm blaming you.
 
May 20, 2015
1,095
113
Once

last pool game on a 95 degree Saturday.....one umpire

play at 3rd.....SS covering, tag play, occurred about 4-5' before the bag - runner went WAY into the interior infield to avoid the tag

umpire called her safe, tag was missed

from the dugout door i asked if she stayed in the baseline - loud enough for her to hear, but not aggressively at all

she came FLYING down the line and told me one more word and i was gone......i hadn't said a word all game, but the other coach (one of the two host teams in our division) was chirping every call, including balls and strikes.....two of MY parents (pitcher and catcher) were behind the backstop, and weren't quiet, either

i turned, and rather quietly, looked at one of my assistants and said "i was just trying to ask a question?"

BOOM.....gone

i walked out of the dugout, over to one of my parents, and reached down......she yelled again that i was out......i held up a twizzler from the parent's bag and told her i was just grabbing a twizzler lol

i went about 300 yards away, down by the parking lot, and sat on bleachers.....she sent the TD over, i told her i had two daughters playing and the hotel was 30+ away....she let me stay

after we won, i was loading up the truck......she (the umpire) was changing at her trunk next to me......she laughed and admitted that she took the heat and the chirping of others out on me, and wished me luck the next day

we won the tournament, beating the other host team in the semis, who coincidentally had a mixed roster of bother of their squads (they loaded up) haha

that was 7 years ago.....never even close to that again, i've mellowed in my old age, and smartened up


she just laughed when i asker her again in the parking lot if she had stayed in the baseline........i was right, but with one umpire, there was nothing to be done regardless
 
Jan 11, 2015
78
18
One time.. (long story, but gotta set the scene... ) ;)

Back when oldest DD was in first year of All Stars in 8u, (yes, 8U, but wait til you hear why and maybe you'll change your current thought about me...lol). :unsure:

My oldest was/is a very shy girl (she's now 16) and never had a lot of self confidence. She's pretty, athletic but ever since she was little, just never seemed to have that inner confidence for some reason. Just her personality I guess.

So, first year ever playing 8U Rec softball. One of only a couple kids on team that could actually catch the ball without turning their head or not having the glove the wrong way. We've all seen it at 6U and 8U. So, her coach has her try catcher during the season and she does well, likes it and becomes one of the top 2 catchers in 8U. She enjoys it and being counted on for the team as the main catcher is kinda cool to her and is giving her confidence in herself.

Fast forward to All Stars and we are in our 3rd tournament that summer (2013) hosting at our own local Rec fields. She's in at catcher, Im an asst coach on the team and the game is going fine, nothing out of the ordinary (well, for 8U that is). We are on defense and we get the other team out, nothing significant seems to have happened and as my daughter comes back to dugout from catching...she's crying and sobbing and doing the little kid cry (gasping for air thing).

So, I am completely confused on why she's crying. No runs, nobody fouled one off and hit her, nothing I can think of to cause her to cry like this.

Well, when I ask her what's wrong, why are you crying.... she says, "The umpire told me that... if you can't catch the ball and stop them from hitting me, then don't be a catcher." And then she said, "I don't wanna play catcher anymore."

Absolutely infuriated :mad:, I immediately turned to my head coach (who was also my daughter's head coach that I helped during the regular season) and told her, "sorry, but I'm about to be thrown out right now."

I went up to the umpire and asked...a littel loudly but not yelling (yet). "What did you tell our catcher? What did you say to her? She's over their sobbing and crying because of what you said. WHAT DID YOU TELL HER?"

The man then said "I said if she keeps missing balls then she stop playing catcher and play something else."

I LOST MY MIND!!! The parents of both team had no idea what I was talking to the umpire about....until that very moment. I went OFF and asked How in the hell can you say that to 8 and 7 yr olds!! They are 7 and 8 yrs old and it is her 1st year ever playing...and YOU tell her to STOP playing because she missed a few pitches???? SHE'S EIGHT !! HOW DARE YOU talk to the players like that.

By now, all the fans are like "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!!" I actually then turned to the fans to quickly explain the reason I'm going APE S#IT. This guy is literally telling girls not to play and that they can't catch. My daughter is in the dugout refusing to play anymore because of what this guy said. What if he said it to your daughter? ANY of the girls? (And of all girls, my DD who's confidence in herself was already low...)

So, my wife in the stands, now knowing what the hell is going on and why our daughter is sobbing in the dugout and why I am going ballistic ...she now GOES OFF as well as others at the umpire. Enraged of why he could say something like that to the girls.

ANYWAYS, another asst. coach has now puled me away from doing anything else and we call the TD and UIC and let them know what happened... the UIC removes the ump from the game and takes over the rest of the game. I have to remove myself from the field....my daughter reluctantly played catcher in a couple games later in tourny....my Dad who was there in the stands slowly realized what happened and started crying but proud of me in someway.

Fast forward...my oldest DD continued to catch. Went and played high level TB and into HS as a catcher. But, both she and I and my wife and my Dad remember that one instance like it was yesterday.

Always remember, ONE small thing said by an umpire or coach or teacher can impact a kids life or redirect it in a negative (or positive) way. Damn, just typing all that is making me pissed and upset about it all over again. :mad:😢 One of those events in life you ALWAYS remember.
View attachment 22694
View attachment 22695

Had a 12U game last week where it was the first game for the league and all the players are very new or never have played before. Well the girl who got picked to play catcher had never done it before and didn't know where to stand and was about to cry before the infield warmups as she was scared. Coach was trying to calm her down and she waited to play something else.

Right before the batter comes to hit and we start the inning she ask me what she is suppose to do. I tell her you just sit in front of me and do your best to catch the ball when the pitcher throws it. Don't worry if you miss the ball. If you miss it I will stop it with my body instead haha. She smiled and gave me a laugh. She did half the game and they swapped another girl in for the 2nd half.

Guess who was back catching the 2nd game they played 3 days later. Same little girl. No crying this time and was more comfortable.

You are right about the words you use and you never know what impact they might have.
 
Jun 6, 2016
2,714
113
Chicago
Had a 12U game last week where it was the first game for the league and all the players are very new or never have played before. Well the girl who got picked to play catcher had never done it before and didn't know where to stand and was about to cry before the infield warmups as she was scared. Coach was trying to calm her down and she waited to play something else.

Right before the batter comes to hit and we start the inning she ask me what she is suppose to do. I tell her you just sit in front of me and do your best to catch the ball when the pitcher throws it. Don't worry if you miss the ball. If you miss it I will stop it with my body instead haha. She smiled and gave me a laugh. She did half the game and they swapped another girl in for the 2nd half.

Guess who was back catching the 2nd game they played 3 days later. Same little girl. No crying this time and was more comfortable.

You are right about the words you use and you never know what impact they might have.

Not that it matters too much, but how did she do? Was she able to catch the easy ones? How much of a beating did you take?
 
Jan 11, 2015
78
18
Not that it matters too much, but how did she do? Was she able to catch the easy ones? How much of a beating did you take?

I didn't expect too much. She didn't block any of the balls but the pitching was also bad. But I knew it going into the games. The league is just there to have the girls do something organized. They target the lower income families and people not well off. Think its like 3 teams total.

The heat ended up getting to her. She was constantly asking for water and was doing a lot of running going to get the ball from the backstop almost every pitch.

I don't mind getting hit, that's what all the gear is for. I think I got hit a couple of times in the foot but you don't feel anything. The ones floating above your head are easy to dodge haha.
 

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