Announcement
This is my 22nd year at Alameda Little League and I have enjoyed every year immensely. We have a great environment for our kids to develop into strong people and that is Little League’s primary purpose. Your Board of Directors continues to think of ways to improve the venue and to make rules that don’t stifle us but are needed in order to preserve the great environment that we have.
But it takes more than rules to make Alameda Little League successful. It takes parents who understand the collective challenge that we have to be role models for our youth. By collective, I mean all of us, not just managers and coaches and umpires but as spectators too. Our challenge is to remember that we are ALL teaching LIFE LESSONS to our youth, and how to win AND lose with dignity and good sportsmanship.
There are some behavior that simply does not fit into the category of good role modeling. First, regarding spectators, it is NEVER acceptable to BOO at Little League, NEVER! The message being sent to our impressionable youth is disrespect for others. But there are other things that spectators say that are just as bad, like “Pitch right at him, he can’t hit!” Now, the boy or girl who is at bat probably is struggling and statements like that certainly don’t help the self esteem very much, do they? Or, for example, verbally questioning the judgment of an umpire by making remarks like “ Come on blue, he was safe!” What is that teaching our youth? It teaches them that it is OK to question the authority of the official enforcement of rules. It is also a violation of our Code of Conduct, and for good reason. Our umpires are primarily volunteers who are trying to do the best they can, and they are important to our success, even if they make mistakes.
There is much that can go wrong in the “heat of the battle,” but as long as the adults understand the bigger picture we will come out fine. If we recognize our responsibility as role models, then we will make our League better. I ask that everyone again read and live by our Parent Code of Conduct because it is the foundation on which our success is built.
