Tonight Kennedy played in what we thought would be her final Tball game. The Hot Styx are in a tournament, and since they had already lost once (double elimination), we thought we’d be finished after tonight. Kennedy has had lots of people come see her play this week: Granny, Anna and her kids came last night and Tonya and Lindsay came tonight. Of the two games, tonight was infinitely more exciting; unfortunately, it wasn’t because of the players, but because of the other team’s coach.
We were kind of excited to be playing this team because the girls had beaten them last time. However, we remember their coach well; he’s a yeller, and he does it all with a condescending tone, as if he is the end-all, be-all Tball God. Before we had even finished one inning, he was already getting warmed up and had received one warning from the ump. I felt sorry for her because he was so hard on her. He would even argue calls where his girls tagged our’s out because the ump called her out “for the wrong reason.” The ump said, “I’ve already called her out. What do you want from me?”
One call involved Kennedy. She hit the ball and ran towards first. The little first base player was trying to field the ball, right in front of first base. Kennedy slowed down as she neared the base so as not to run the girl over, but she didn’t stop. She kind of ran to the side of the girl and stood on the base. The other little girl tagged K. but Kennedy wasn’t giving in. There was a little bit of a shoving match on the base (Kennedy stood her ground, even when everybody thought she was already out) and the ump called her safe because the first base player can’t stand in the base line.
Well, the other coach came charging out of the dugout screaming at the ref. Then he turned and stomped toward his own catcher and yelled at her awhile. The ref told him, “These kids are here to HAVE FUN; LET THEM HAVE SOME FUN!!!” Two plays later, the coach told his girls they were done, and he forfeited the game. He is filing a complaint about the ump, but I can’t imagine what actual grounds he would have.
So, now their team got 4th place in the tourney, and Kennedy’s team will play in the finals on Thursday, in Luther @ 6:30. We think they are going to play the team that already beat them once last week, but the girls are over the moon. Their coach told them if they win that the team will receive a trophy bigger than “Little Bali” (a teeny-tiny-little-four-year-old on the team). I caught her coach after the game (he’s our neighbor) and we visited about the crazy other coach. I also said, “Just to let you know…if you ever yell at my kid the way that coach yelled at his catcher, we’re going have a problem.” His response (by the way, he rarely yells at all) was, “I don’t yell at my own kids that way, I’m darn sure not going to yell at someone else’s kid that way.” I agree, Gary, I agree.
Good luck, K!!!
ETA: They won Thursday’s game, but ended up having to play the same team on Friday, since both teams had one loss and Harrah had beaten us. We lost Friday. (Thank goodness, I hate to think what the other team’s coaches would have said to their kids. They had been yelling at them for two straight games, and their catcher-why is it always the catcher-was sobbing audibly by the end of the game.) But, in ironies of all ironies, the second place trophy was EXACTLY the same size as the first place, and Kennedy was thrilled to have won her first trophy ever. It’s on the mantle at our little green house if anyone wants to drop by and see it.