Taking A Stand: It’s a new ball game when you keep score
Now I see why parents go bonkers at little league games. It’s all about the score, not how the kids play.
Saturday marked the first time my 6-year-old son, Jack, had been involved in a game where the score was officially kept on the scoreboard for all to see. He plays in the younger coach pitch league where the score is not generally broadcast. However, this was a season-ending tournament, so they had to keep score. For the first time, there would be a winner and loser.
Sure, parents generally keep the score in their heads during the regular season and know whether their team won or lost. But, without the score on the board, there is that deniability should your team be behind. The fact the score was not being kept during the regular season made for a much more relaxed feeling around the park as parents and friends merely enjoyed the cute play of the little kids. I’d often wondered why folks at the neighboring junior league field were so loud while there was little shouting at our field.
The question was answered Saturday when the first run went on the scoreboard. What had earlier been a fairly quiet crowd of folks, many there to laugh at the kids when the balls went past them as they were picking flowers in the outfield, were now sports enthusiasts. Errors were no longer cute. This was for all the marbles. Lose and go home. No tomorrow. Sudden death. All that jazz.
I could tell the kids could also feel the tension. First off, they could see the score so they knew they were behind. For some of them, this was the first time they’d felt the pressure of competition. Prior to this time, it was all in fun as there were no immediate consequences for mistakes. Sure, keeping score adds an edge to games which I think makes it a little more fun once you get used to it, but with that edge comes pressure to perform.
For poor Jack, who hates to lose more than any person I’ve ever met, young or old, this was a bad experience. First off, his team lost in the first round, so he wasn’t a happy camper. Second, the loudness of the crowd threw him back a bit. And, I can appreciate how a loud crowd can confuse a kid, or even an adult.
As I was coaching third base Saturday, I was taken back by how confusing things can be. When the ball is hit it’s like you’re at a cockfight, with people from both sides of the field yelling conflicting instructions at the top of their lungs. Go, stop, run, walk, slide, sold!
It’s no wonder why kids become confused as to what to do in the field. Heck, under that pressure even I might just drop to the ground in the base path and rock back and forth curled up in the fetal position.
Now I’m not saying rooting or supporting a kid’s team is a bad thing. We are a country of sports fans and it’s good parents and friends who are there to support the kids. We just need to be careful to reference it and remember what age of kids we’re dealing with. And, it’s important to remember that not every kid is an athlete. Some will be better than others.
I was the worst kid on both my junior and senior league teams. There’d always be a collective moan when the Sherrill name was called to bat.
If there’s one thing Jack won’t have to worry about now that he’s entered the real world of competition, where scores are kept, it’ll be topping his old man’s junior league performance. I set the bar painfully low.
Duane Sherrill is a reporter for the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].