Posted by: Mike's Mom () on Wed Mar 24 10:21:09 2004

>
> To all of you that feel life's not treating you or your kid fair.
>
> Quit having a pity party and volunteer.
>
>

Easier said than done. Women are shunned in our league. We have one mom who played college softball and can outpitch any male coach in our league. She is fantastic. The fathers's hate her & will never give her a coaching position on a boys team because they are intiminated by her. They also exclude her son.

It's also impossible for just anyone to volunteer. Where I live, most parents do want to volunteer & help, but there is a "good ole boy" network in effect & if you're not in the clique, you're on the outs. No matter how hard you try to get in, the same coaches are picked every year. Little League baseball: politics at its best!

...and just to clear the air, I have NEVER, ever voiced a complaint about my son sitting on the bench, where he is in the line-up or not pitching. I just send him to his other leagues where his skills get better & better thanks to coaches that care for "all the boys" not just a select few.

At the end of the fall season, the team that didn't let him pitch the entire season brought him in during the last game for 2 innings because they ran out of pitchers (and were in last place so they had nothing to lose). What pleasure it was for me to watch the expression on the coach's faces when he struck out 6 players with about 20 pitches. It was a thing of beauty! - and it was thanks to the coaches in his other league who gave him, and all the boys on that team, an opportunity to play and improve.