Of all the wonderful memories I have of my children growing up, one of the worst was the rotation of working the concession stand at little league.
In order of preference I would put jury duty and root canal surgery ahead of that task.
A 7-year-old Massachusetts boy was benched during his Little League baseball game because his mother failed to show up to work the league’s concession stand, and the mother isn’t happy about it.
Jodi Hooper of Freetown said she was unable to fulfill her obligation at the concession stand because she couldn’t get time off from work, according to MyFOXBoston.
Dave Brouillette, head of the Freetown Youth Athletic Association, told MyFOXBoston that the concession revenues are necessary to fund the league’s programs and that he has to enforce the rules, which require parents show up for their assigned concession stand shifts or risk suspensions for their children.
Brouillette told the station that he wasn’t able to see his own son play because he had to cover the concession stand shift for Hooper, according to MyFOXBoston.
As usual, we’re focusing on the wrong things. Instead let’s consider:
1. We have too many adults involved in children’s sports which is taking away from the real objective; to have children learn a sport, have fun and team building skills without adult interference.
2. If parents sign up their child, they are there to see them play, not watch fries turn a lovely golden brown.
3. Why is the concession stand needed anyway? Don’t we have an obesity problem in this country as it is?
Adults, get out of the way and let kids play.
Tags: children, little league, Play, Sports
You nailed it Tina as I knew you would because you get it. Sadly, there are many parents that do not and some of them are running youth sport leagues. I have spoken to the mom in this case as she is heartbroken and her family is getting lambasted by some for her challenging this rule. She knows she made a mistake and owned up to it missing her slot. Her son has already sat his games so he was punished. My issue is with this rule/policy – it is wrong and teaches the wrong lessons and needs to be changed. This mom is trying to change it so more children are not wrongly punished and for that, she is catching a lot of heat. Youth sports are about the kids, not the adult egos, including coaches and board members who don’t get it. Thanks for addressing this.
Yes, the concession stand may not be needed, but—in our league, the proceeds from the concession stand pay for many things that otherwise would not get funded. Registration fees do not pay for everything. This may not be the case in your league. Also, I feel for this mother, but there are many parents who do shirk their duty and this is likely why the policy was put into place. All you need to do is tell someone you can’t make it. Maybe this mother did not realize it, but an attestation to this responsibility is on the registration form where my son plays. And the parents must sign it.
Well said! If I could write like this I would be well happy. The more I see articles of such quality as this (which is rare), the more I think there might be a future for the Web. Keep it up, as it were.
I am always searching online for articles that can help me. Thank you