The Responsibility Project^®. Exploring what it means to do the right thing

Too Good To Play Ball?

31 Comments

October 2, 2008 by Kathy McManus

A recent newspaper headline sounded more like a lesson in parenting: Why punish a kid for the crime of being too good? 

The kid, in this case, was 9-year-old Jericho Scott, who played summer baseball on a youth team in New Haven, Connecticut. 

Jericho’s “crime” is his talent. He’s a pitching sensation who throws an awesome 40 mile-an-hour fastball that’s never hit a batter and rarely misses the plate. But the prodigy pitcher himself was struck out—by adults. 

 Parents of opposing team members first objected that their kids were unable to hit any of Jericho’s pitches. Strike one. 

Then youth league officials wanted to move Jericho up to an older team, but his parents refused. Strike two. 

League officials asked Jericho to play any position other than pitcher, but his parents said no again. Strike three. 

Game over. 

The league disbanded Jericho’s entire undefeated team, and the second place team was declared the season’s winner. 

But the post-game show of who’s responsible for the collective benching of so many kids continues to play out across the country, with headlines that sound like…well…more lessons in parenting, like this one from Jericho’s hometown newspaper: Sometimes parent involvement can be way off-base, experts say. 

Other adults were criticized, too. “The league obviously felt batters would suffer irreversible shame and humiliation if they had to face Jericho again,” wrote an Ohio sports reporter. “Tell me, how does that prepare kids for the real world? Haven’t we all encountered someone more skilled in our field, and haven’t we all survived?”

Ironically, the only person who stepped up to the plate to accept responsibility was perhaps the least culpable of all: Jericho, now 10 years old. “I feel sad,” he said. “I feel like it’s all my fault that nobody could play.” 

Tell us what you think: Can a child be “too good” to play a game, and if so, does he or she have the responsibility to step aside? In the case of Jericho Scott, who’s more responsible for baseball’s abrupt ending—parents…league officials…Jericho? 

For information about creating positive sports experiences for kids, log on to ResponsibleSports.com. Sponsored by Liberty Mutual, the site offers parents and coaches tips, tools, and advice designed to help maximize their kids’ youth sports experience. Parents can also take part in online discussions, asking questions and sharing experiences about how best to help kids apply the life lessons of sports--on and off the field. Because, as The Home Run reminds us, there’s more to the game than winning.

31 Comments

What do you think? Leave a comment

• October 3, 2008 by jelly

  I find it sad that the league had to bench the kid. There are many people out there who are better the others, its called life. Some people are born with certain advantages, others with different advantages. If the parents, coaches, etc. want to complain about a kid who is remarkably good at playing the game, they should work harder to train their team to be able to hit the ball. Practice does make perfect.

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• October 3, 2008 by Brandylynn

  This is so sad, and unacceptable. The parents of the opposing team children have serious problems. Parents these days do not want to say no to their kids and apparently they do not want their kids to lose. They DO somehow expect their children to grow into strong, and capable adults. Wonder how that is going to happen without their parents allowing them to prepare for the real world.

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  • June 29, 2009 by D.M. Gambrell

    Parents for the most part are more detrimental to Little League Sports than any other one thing I can think of. They want their kid to be the best player on the team, to play one of the skill positions, but heaven forbid that he/she have to participate against a kid like Jericho who in the parents mind is just to talented for their kid to compete against. In the end Jericho has to pay the price for being too good. I have 2 boys who played Little League Sports many years ago and I have always held the opinion that on game day the game would be much more enjoyable for the kids if parents were not allowed to attend. I've seen parents attacking umpires, opposing coaches even berating kids from the other team over things that amount to nothing. The games are very important to the kids but parents should realize that it is only a game for youngsters and treat it as such.

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• October 3, 2008 by James Allard

  How sad that such a talent, in one so young, would be used to hold the young boy back. Had it been my son, or daughter for that matter, we'd all still be on the news. Never give up, never surrender. Ayn Rand used to write about things like this, and here, sadly, she is proved right, again. Those with no talent will demand everything of those with talent, and then deride them for their talent. Think about it: if your child was struck out by such a prodigy, would you be offended, or would you tell your child that they should remember the name of such a prodigy, because if he follows the road his talent leads, some day, one day, your child would be able to say, truthfully, "I batted against him once upon my time of childhood." Sad, sad, sad... Hopefully, he will pursue his talents just the same, and one day, we will all see him on the mound, doing that which he does so well. The parents of the other team players should be ashamed of themselves in my humble opinion.

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• October 6, 2008 by Sharon

  This reminds me of a story I once read. It is called Harrison Bergeron, and it is about a future where everyone gets objects to handicap them, so that no one is smarter, stronger or more talented than anyone else. The world is supposed to be equal. This is what the adults are doing by not letting this child play! Do we really want a world like that?

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• October 8, 2008 by Pasquale Bottiglieri

  As a former coach and referee for youth soccer I am unfortunately all too familiar with the collective lack of wisdom displayed by parents who literally live their lives, partially at least, through their children. First of all, it is common knowledge that, for a 10 year old, pitching a baseball at that speed could easily cause serious damage to his shoulder and elbow. Not a certainty, mind you, but a good possibility. Nobody mentioned that. His coach might have opted to cut back on the number of innings he pitched just to protect his arm. Having said that, I wonder what might have happened if, over time, some of the batters started to hit his pitches. What would the parents have said in that case? All that they accomplished is the elimination of a real challenge for the pitcher and for the batters who faced him, a challenge that undoubtedly would have been an asset to all their lives, an experience that would have given all of them a good taste of the real world. I have said before that teaching, and coaching is teaching, is not a job but rather a responsibility that we all share. Simply stated, the parents in this case provided a lesson in the politics of winning at all cost rather than sportsmanship, respect for the game, and, most of all, respect for the individuality and separateness of their offspring.

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  • November 14, 2008 by JB

    As a former coach whose experienced this changing tide of parenting tactics, I absolutely agree parents are short-changing their children by stepping in at inappropriate times. The kids can't learn sportsmanship, or experience healthy amounts of success and failure if their parents won't let them play the game, learn from their coaches and enjoy THEIR time on the mound.

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• October 8, 2008 by mrsgrim88

  I grew up in small town, playing fast-pitch softball and we had a great pitcher. A pitcher that was so great, if you did manage to get your bat around in time, it went foul - every time. For like, the first season and a half. But then, somebody got a hit and then somebody else did, and we all got older and just plain better at the game. Better at the game as a result of playing with and against her. The parents and officials who have done this to these kids should truly be ashamed. They've robbed their kids of a great experience. If there are any boys from the opposing teams that are buying in to this theory that Jerico's too good to play against, don't let them tell you that. Just keep your eye on the ball and do your best. You'll get better and better. Think how you'll feel when you do hit it.

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• October 8, 2008 by Brian Welden

  I have coached and been involved in our local baseball association for several years, and we have instituted several measures to help ensure that we do not experience this type of situation. We place a very tight restriction on the number of innings a single player can pitch in a game, and we require that EVERY PLAYER get to pitch at least a couple of innings during the season. The parents are informed of these rules before the season starts, and everyone involved is well aware of the consequences to be faced if the rules are violated. The parents in this case also need to be aware that kids who progress rapidly in their early baseball careers (i.e., 9 and 10 years old) are often caught and surpassed by other players as they get older. Jerico could well be an "average" pitcher by the time he is 13 or 14. I've seen it happen in our league more than once.

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• October 8, 2008 by Vaso Deldio

  Only in today's culture of requiring so much to be organized would something like this even be considered an issue. First some comments on the discussion above. 1) To the opposing teams' parents: So you think teaching your children that it is unfair to face someone who is better than them is the best way to have them grow up? I would think that this should be looked at as a golden opportunity to test themselves against the best in their league. How often do any of us get a chance like that? Think of how any one of them would feel if they managed to hit just one ball. Get someone to pitch to them at 50 mph until they can hit them, for pete's sake! 2) Was the league's officials hoping to place the young man on a team where he could just be seen as average? That if you have talent, don't worry because some group of officials will conspire to keep you in your place. 3) Good grief this one is the most ridiculous of all and I cannot bring myself to comment on it! So what is next? If a team starts being undefeated do they all need to play with only half the numbers in the field or should the team be moved to a higher league or should they all be asked to play soccer or something? Finally, what ever happened to just letting the kids play ball without all the interfering parents? If the parents were not whining so much the kids on the other teams would probably be fine.

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• October 9, 2008 by richard gamble

  I remember another fellow who was out played in his early baseball career, always second best. In fact, he's probably the only MLB hall of famer to have never been the best player in grade school! You see, Joe Garagiola grew up on the same block as ...drum roll please: Yogi Berra!

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• October 12, 2008 by Jeff Yarsa

  The only thing this teaches those kids is that if you try too hard or achieve too much someone will tell you that you can’t do that anymore, or force you to give up some of your accomplishments and give them to someone who didn’t earn them. Don’t be exceptional just do the bare minimum and we will regulate the rest of the field so that you don’t have to try and better yourself. What a great thing to teach your kids, doesn’t practice just complain about the better players and someone will tone them down or remove them. I have a feeling that not too much longer and that same little league association will go to not keeping score and everybody bats. That will make it FAIR for everyone and nobody’s feelings will get hurt. But then again nobody will push themselves to get better either because it won’t make a difference at the end of the game, if you can still call it a game at that point.

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• October 14, 2008 by Cynic75

  Ahh...yet another case of micromanaging parents protecting their children at all costs from learning that life isn't fair. BTW Sharon I loved that story too,along with many of Vonnegut's other works, and agree with you as well.

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• October 15, 2008 by mrsgrim88

  I really did play softball when I was a kid. I don't know what Vonnegut story you're talking about. I was unaware, I'd like to read it.

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  • October 15, 2008 by Cynic75

    I was speaking of the post by Sharon. "Harrison Bergeron" was written by Kurt Vonnegut. And I do believe that you played softball as a kid. Sorry for the confusion.

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