What is it about youth sports that brings out the insanity in some people? I know we have all heard some of the outrageous stories about parents beating their child’s coach, or a game official. I have spoken of some of these incidents here in my column. Just recently two additional acts of violence have taken place concerning youth sports that again have me wondering what is going on in this world of ours.
One of the incidents occurred in Southern California where a 13-year boy waiting in line at the ball field snack bar after a game, picked up a baseball bat and beat a 15-year old to death. The second incident occurred in Hamden, Connecticut where the parent of a high school softball player beat up the school’s coach when his daughter was cut from the team. According to newspaper reports, the player was a senior at Sacred Heart Academy, when her dad, Mark Picard hit Coach John Crovo, in the head, then several times more as he laid on the ground in the fetal position.
In most of the stories about these attacks, friends of the assailant describe the individual as an upstanding member of society, a pillar of the community. The attacker in the above mentioned high school softball incident was actually an art teacher at the high school in question. There are three main theories that attempt to explain violence in sports. The first is the biological theory, which sees aggression as a basic human characteristic. According to this theory, sports are seen as a socially acceptable way to discharge built-up aggression, a type of safety release valve.
Second, the psychological theory states that aggression is caused by frustration and is triggered by specific situations. Frustration results as one strives to achieve a goal, and those efforts are blocked by outside influences. In a sports setting, frustration can be caused by questionable officiating, failure to make a play, injuries that limit performance, heckling from spectators or taunts by coaches or other players.
The third is the social learning theory, which has received widespread support and media coverage. This theory maintains that aggressive behavior is learned through modeling, reinforced by rewards and punishments. Young athletes take sports heroes as role models and imitate their behavior. Parents, coaches and teammates are also models that may demonstrate support for an aggressive style of play.
There have been volumes of research on this topic, as evidenced by the development of these theories specific to this problem. Additionally, many organizations have taken steps to develop programs and tools to deal with it, including coaches training and certification programs; parent training programs; parent codes of conduct; and behavior contracts for parents and coaches. But despite all the research, and the good intentions of local and national organizations to develop programs and tools to deal with youth sports violence, we continue to have a reoccurrence of injuries and even deaths to our coaches, participants and officials.
I certainly don’t have any answers to these problems, for if I did, I could retire. I have seen some near this flash point. I have dealt with some who appeared to be headed "over the line" and perhaps would have ended up becoming one of these stories. Most of us enroll our child into youth sports claiming we do so for all the right reasons; so they can have fun and develop physically. But at some point in time, these objectives change, as does the perspective of our child’s involvement in sports. Ultimately, it is our own individual responsibility to recognize when we are nearing this fine line, and have the self-control to just walk away.
TOP 10 SOFTBALL COMEBACKS
1. Manager: "You are the worst softball player in the world." Player: "No, that would be too much of a coincidence."
2. Player: "Maybe if I choke up I can put the ball into play." Manager: "I don’t think they’ve changed the rules to make the catcher’s mitt a part of the field."
3. Parent: "You’ve seen our twins play, don’t you think they have talent?" Manager: "Yes, it’s just unfortunate you had to split the genetic pool."
4. Manager: "They are like any other team. They put their shorts on one leg at a time." Player: "Yes that’s true, but they have coaches who have shown them how to wear their shorts properly."
5.Manager: "Our team could really use a player with your daughter’s ability." Parent: "And then some."
6. Player: "I really thought I had a chance to get her at home." Manager: "Unfortunately you threw the ball into a different neighborhood."
7. Manager: "You’re all free to go home. There’s really nothing for us to talk about after this loss." Parent: "That’s the best decision you’ve made all weekend."
8. Player: "I’m thinking of buying a Lisa Fernandez bat. Do you think it will help my hitting?" Manager: "Only if Lisa comes with it."
9. Player: "I think there is something wrong with my glove." Manager: "Yes there is. It has your hand in it."
10. Teammate: "I can’t believe the coach didn’t start me this game." Player: "Yes, I didn’t think his stupidity would ever end."
FOUL TIPS
Last year I was praising ESPN for televising the NCAA softball world series and wanted to give them some props again this year. Since I have switched over to DirecTV, I have been able to catch a ton of games on the TV this year. But perhaps the best thing I’ve done recently was to purchase a DVR and fork out a few extra bucks to get TiVo, which has enabled me to catch almost every college game being televised even with my busy schedule. I love it * * * * Speaking of which, congratulations to Michigan for winning the NCAA crown in an exciting event that featured many upsets and some great softball. * * * * I had the pleasure to visit a couple of softball games this past week, and got to bump into some new and old friends. Dennis, I enjoyed our time together and hope to see you again soon. Joe, it was great to see you again after all these years * * * * As always, you can contact me at floydeunslip@yahoo.com_and so the ball rolls.