The Knoxville News-Sentinel today has an article about why sports parents are so crazy, so pushy these days. A topic after my own heart. After what feels like a bazillion years as the wife of the coach, God knows I've seen and heard just about every negative, ignorant, irresponsible crazy rant there is about the coach.
"Why isn't Junior playing shortstop? He's played shortstop since he was 4." (Even though Junior now is as slow as my 82 year old grandmother and hasn't fielded a ball cleanly since the opening scrimmage.)
"Why is Junior bunting? Don't these idiots know he's a power hitter?" (Even though Junior is averaging maybe .150 in his last 15 at bats and his only prayer of seeing first base is with a successful bunt.)
"Why did those morons have the steal on?" "Don't they know we have two outs?" (Even though the steal sign wasn't on and Junior just decided -- down by a run in the bottom of the 8th inning with two outs -- he now has the speed of former Olympian Carl Lewis.)
In the Sentinel article, Coach Bill Young says that he and his wife came up with a policy to deal with the parent problem. They weren't going to be friends with the parents of the players on the team. They would be cordial, but would not have any close personal relationships.
Best idea ever, period.
Over the years, Joe and I have made our own peace with the no friend attitude. I dutifully march to the outfield at the beginning of every game (or at least as far away from the parent bleachers as I can), far enough away that I can not hear the whispers, the groans, the curses and the outright bashing of my husband and other family members who have so unselfishly agreed to coach these various teams. I have heard from different people that some of the other moms think I'm a *snob*, antisocial, etc. because I don't interact the way I should. That used to bother me tremendously. Nobody likes being the butt of jokes or gossip talk. But I just believe that a necessary part of surviving when your child plays competitive sports and your husband coaches is keeping a safe distance from the other parents.
From the looks of things, I guess I'll be an outfield mom for several more years to come. With both the girls playing softball now, it's only gonna get more interesting!
For more on this article, follow the link. http://knoxnews.com/news/2007/jul/29/the-vice/
1 comment:
Way to go, Sydney. It's a big moment to be proud of when you can ride that bike by yourself. There was no stopping me after I took my training wheels off. Good luck riding and tell Kelsey "Safety First" when you're riding. Tell Mom, Dad, Kelsey, and Joey I said hello and that I love you all.
Mary Ann Prueitt
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