OT: Youth Football League Cancels Season
A youth football league in Mt. Pleasant, PA, cancelled the rest of the season in light of continued threats of violence against league officials. This hits home, with my son having played youth football the last 5 years, and now playing on the Glenbard North freshman team.
This is just sad. I do not like anarchy.
LINK: Youth Football League Cancels Season
Here's a press release:
To all league officers, coaches, parents, players and cheerleaders,EDIT: Mods, given this is the football season, and Michigan State week, I completely understand if this post is removed. But I don't know that I can remove it myself.The decision has been made with great regret that the 2015 MPAJF football season has been cancelled. After continued threats against League officials, coaches and referees, the League has only one option, to cancel the season. Today, October 13, 2015, ammunition shells were placed at the field gate with names of League officers printed with permanent marker. Due to the increase in violence of these threats, the safety of our children is the main concern. Decisions of this magnitude are not done lightly; rather they are done with the advice of the State Police, FBI, school administrators and League Officials. We hope that as parents you will agree with this decision and try and cooperate with everyone involved to bring forward the person or persons responsible for these actions. The league’s future and our children’s continued participation in future seasons is what is in jeopardy.
Thank you for your support
October 14th, 2015 at 1:19 PM ^
Hockey does this well. Checking starts in Pee-Wee, usually around 10-12 years old.
The big difference is that hockey can be played the same without checking, as opposed to flag football. Most men's league games are no-check, like the younger kids. It's in full pads, gets kids used to playing the game, etc.
I don't think there's as good of a way to do it in football. 7 year olds in full pads playing 2 hand touch or flag, or blocking won't work as well as it does for hockey.
October 14th, 2015 at 1:25 PM ^
USA Hockey has banned checking in Pee Wee. Hockey Canada is the same, but I believe their regional offices have more autonomy than USA Hockey gives its districts, so there might be a holdout or two.
http://www.usahockeyrulebook.com/page/show/1084648-rule-604-body-checki…
Edit: Looks like Hockey Canada is uniform, no Pee Wee checking.
http://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/news/agm-concludes-in-charlottetown
October 14th, 2015 at 1:29 PM ^
I hadn't felt old in a while. Starting in Bantam now at 14?
I maintain that Hockey has done this better, because the sport lends itself to it more. There isn't nearly as much contact in the NHL as there was even a few years ago, and in general there aren't the same volume of hits like there are in football.
You can play "real" hockey without checking. You can't do that for football.
October 14th, 2015 at 1:36 PM ^
I've got nothing but praise for the way USA Hockey has decided to move forward. They've commissioned studies, got real data and developed a specific vision that I think is enviable in comparison to the way pro leagues have buried their heads in the sand for years.
Like you say, you can play real hockey without checking, and I think the sport is in a better position than ever in comparison to football.
October 14th, 2015 at 1:48 PM ^
I agree, USA Hockey has been on top of this issue for several years and has taken a proactive stance in trying to protect kids. My older son is playing in juniors now, but when he was in youth hockey there was checking at the pee wee level and it was awful. Coaches tried their best to teach kids both how to check and how to take a check, but they're kids, and in the 12-15 age range you obviously get kids at very different levels of physical development. The worst was the middle school teams here on Long Island, where you could have an 11 year old 6th grader going into the boards with a 14 year old 8th grader. Not a pleasant sight.
October 14th, 2015 at 1:41 PM ^
tackle football starts in 7th grade. It does not stop the high school football program from being good at football.
October 14th, 2015 at 1:14 PM ^
Oh, and in the game prior to my nephew's, a fight broke out between two parents. Yay, parents.
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October 14th, 2015 at 1:39 PM ^
In what way was it dumb? Lack of semblance of an offensive/defensive system, kids just running around? I ask because I coach youth football (7 to 9) and I'd like to compare how its run in your neck of the woods to how we run.
October 14th, 2015 at 3:16 PM ^
October 14th, 2015 at 1:14 PM ^
Over game results, blown calls, what?
October 14th, 2015 at 1:16 PM ^
Playing time would be my guess.
October 14th, 2015 at 1:25 PM ^
if were playing time, I'd assume the threats would be made against the coaches or they could just create more teams.
A friend who coached youth basketball said there are crazy heated discussions over choosing teams that are "fair". Maybe, it's over that?
October 14th, 2015 at 1:41 PM ^
Because league officials (board members not refs) generally will support their coaches. They then become guilty by association. In our league we fill out a roster every game and write on the back if any kid didn't play his alotted 12 plays and why and if we talked to the parents about it. Those rosters are handed in to the league board and filed away and are used if a parent emails in to complain.
October 14th, 2015 at 1:15 PM ^
Unreal shit going on nowadays. Threats against schools and youth sporting leagues. This makes me sad.
October 14th, 2015 at 1:20 PM ^
I Was fully expecting it was because one of the kids had a devestating injury. Does anyone else note the irony of calling off a violent sport because of the threat of violence?
October 14th, 2015 at 1:20 PM ^
up to 11 lately. Maybe the prepper crazies are on to something?
I just can't get my head around people taking a kids game this seriously. If my boy (almost 4) starts playing sports soon, is the Mad Hatter going to have to throw down with other dads at the games?
October 14th, 2015 at 1:28 PM ^
Not just dads - a few years ago two moms were arrested for a fight at a youth football game in my league in a parking lot.
One game my team won, this mom told me and my car full of kids in the parking lot that she "hoped we would all die on the way home". This was 9 year old youth football.
October 14th, 2015 at 1:49 PM ^
I've been known to wish cancer on people before, but never in front of kids. And not over a game. Ok over a game, but it was the OSU game.
October 14th, 2015 at 1:54 PM ^
avatar included, will keep any crazy parent from wanting to throw down with you. give them the mister'T' stare, game over.
October 14th, 2015 at 1:34 PM ^
you will be surprised at what you find. Especially if you live in an area where sports are a primary cultural focus, people get weird about it really quickly.
October 14th, 2015 at 1:48 PM ^
I just told my co-worker about this story (he coached soccer when his boys were young 15-20 years ago) and he told me it's pretty common. Not so much with the bullets, but the insanely competitive parents.
October 14th, 2015 at 1:52 PM ^
exhibit 1a bradenton fla
October 14th, 2015 at 1:20 PM ^
Wish I was surprised by this. But I coached a lot of youth sports and some parents take that shit too seriously. Makes them insane.
October 14th, 2015 at 1:22 PM ^
October 14th, 2015 at 1:23 PM ^
I coached youth football for 8 years last year was my last thankfully.
It has gotten worse every year - more paperwork - more cheating - kids targeting to injure -more angry parents.
I think the fact that now we had to have 2 cop cars and an ambulance at a game of 11 year olds means it has got out of hand.
October 14th, 2015 at 1:37 PM ^
I've gotta run to a mtg., but I could tell stories in football, baseball, and soccer. It isn't fun and it isn't healthy.
Conversely, good coaches, doing things the right way, make a world of difference.
One of the biggest challenges is whether you are trying to allow everyone to participate, or whether you're trying to win. It is brutal for some parents and kids when a coach is trying to win, and as a result, little Billy or Bobby or whoever isn't getting PT. Sometimes I think moms are the worst: for them, whether a game is "good" or not reduces down solely to whether or not their own child got to play, and sometimes, whether or not their own child did well.
October 14th, 2015 at 1:44 PM ^
The difference around my area is that you have house league football and travel football. House league is cheaper and you are mandated as a coach to put in every kid for atleast 12 plays (O or D or a combo). In travel you pay a lot and it doesn't guaratee any play time.
October 14th, 2015 at 2:36 PM ^
Minimum play was in my league too, but then parent A is pissed because player A only played 12 and parent B is pissed because his superstar was sat so player A get his reps.
October 15th, 2015 at 7:56 AM ^
It happens and as a coach you need to be on your toes as to why a kid only got his minimum plays. The kids on my team have minimum plays until they can demonstrate a basic understanding of where they are supposed to be on the field and can somewhat do their job in a manor that they aren't going to get hurt or get someone else hurt. In my division (7 to 9) most of my 9 year olds are on the field at all times because I make them be leaders and help the younger kids and for some reason at 9 is when everything clicks.
October 14th, 2015 at 1:31 PM ^
Anybody watch that reality show on the Esquire Network, Friday Night Tykes? It's amazing--and sort of like the story in the OP.
I don't remember parents acting like this when I was playing youth sports. The whole thing is positively insane.
October 14th, 2015 at 1:43 PM ^
That was one of the most depressing things I've seen on tv.
October 14th, 2015 at 2:20 PM ^
Bando,
If you don't mind my asking, how old are you?
I'm 32 and this 100% happened (save for the bullet shells) when I was growing up in Little League baseball.
It was essentially the masculine equivalent of "Toddlers & Tiaras" style beauty pageants where the has beens and never was beens live out their failed or distant fantasies through their little boys.
October 14th, 2015 at 1:32 PM ^
October 14th, 2015 at 1:32 PM ^
October 14th, 2015 at 1:41 PM ^
How does it happen? They have no life. Their life revolves around the activities of their kids. Their schedule is driven by their kid's sports schedules. I'm a preacher, and for many parents, attending church always comes second to attending practice or a game. And heaven forbid that we get out too late for them to catch the opening kickoff of an NFL game. Football is a religion for some. I mean, I spend a lot of time here. I love Michigan football. But my life doesn't revolve around my kids, my kid's sports, or my love for Michigan. I make time for all of them, but in the big scheme of things, they are only part of me.
October 14th, 2015 at 1:47 PM ^
We'll have to add that to the conversation topics along with the SAM/Treetops stuff, for off the board. My FIL is a pastor.
October 14th, 2015 at 2:22 PM ^
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October 14th, 2015 at 2:35 PM ^
October 14th, 2015 at 1:44 PM ^
Seriously, they need to calm down. My son will be soon old enough to be participating in youth sports, and I know I'm going to have a hard time not punching parents that act assholish towards small children.
October 14th, 2015 at 1:48 PM ^
6) If you did play for the Cardinals you'd be golfing
/Go Cubs
October 14th, 2015 at 2:34 PM ^
couldn't find a Cubs one, but found on google ones that had Tigers, Yankees, Braves, or just MLB in general. I went with this one though because it was the city of Metropolis, which I thought was cool.
October 14th, 2015 at 4:34 PM ^
Mike, in my experience with a plethora of sports and activities my kids were involved in (soccer, swimming, football, baseball, basketball, wrestling, ballet, equestrian events) I have rarely seen kids being rotten to kids, or parents being rotten to kids on other teams. I think the bulk of the bad behavior has been parents towards the refs, and sadly, some parents towards their own kids. I think what has bothered me the most has been when our own coaches have been bad to the refs. There are multiple issues. One is that refs are human, and miss some calls. But the other thing is that if you call every penalty you possibly can, you will kill the game. Just wait until you watch boys under 10 play football. It is ugly, ugly, ugly. Lots of infractions for movement on the line before the snap, clipping, illegal formations, etc., etc. You can't see everything, and really, you can't call everything. If you watch baseball, the number of fielding errors, the number of balls thrown, how wide the strike zone is, are all problematic. Sometimes, coaches and parents just need to get a life.
October 14th, 2015 at 2:08 PM ^
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October 14th, 2015 at 2:09 PM ^
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October 14th, 2015 at 2:09 PM ^
Ah sports parents
October 14th, 2015 at 2:16 PM ^
October 14th, 2015 at 2:19 PM ^
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October 14th, 2015 at 2:21 PM ^
I'm glad that someone is finally taking action about this. It just sucks that it has to get to this extreme of a level for them to actually do something. I've heard too many stories about threats on referees lives where the administration does nothing more than talk with the parent and promise the officials that the parent won't be a problem going forward. Threatening someone in the way that is being done by some parents is assault. It should be treated that way.
These referees are human. They make mistakes. Sometimes they have bad games. They do get paid for the games, but it's not generally enough to put up with these types of problems and they are really there because they love the game and want to be apart of it. And, believe it or not, it's actually hard to recruit new referees because they don't want to deal with parents.
There needs to be a serious change in the overall attitude toward referees if anyone actually wants situations like this to go away.