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Posted on 08/25/2008 5:44:23 PM PDT by Teflonic
NEW HAVEN, Conn. —Nine-year-old Jericho Scott is a good baseball player— too good, it turns out.
The right-hander has a fastball that tops out at about 40 mph. He throws so hard that the Youth Baseball League of New Haven told his coach that the boy could not pitch any more. When Jericho took the mound anyway last week, the opposing team forfeited the game, packed its gear and left, his coach said.
Officials for the three-year-old league, which has eight teams and about 100 players, said they will disband Jericho’s team, redistributing its players among other squads, and offered to refund $50 sign-up fees to anyone who asks for it. They say Jericho’s coach, Wilfred Vidro, has resigned.
But Vidro says he didn’t quit and the team refuses to disband. Players and parents held a protest at the league’s field on Saturday urging the league to let Jericho pitch.
“He’s never hurt any one,” Vidro said. “He’s on target all the time. How can you punish a kid for being too good?”
The controversy bothers Jericho, who says he misses pitching.
“I feel sad,” he said. “I feel like it’s all my fault nobody could play.”
Jericho’s coach and parents say the boy is being unfairly targeted because he turned down an invitation to join the defending league champion, which is sponsored by an employer of one of the league’s administrators.
Jericho instead joined a team sponsored by Will Power Fitness. The team was 8-0 and on its way to the playoffs when Jericho was banned from pitching.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.yahoo.com ...
Now wait a minute - the kid wants to play with his friends, on the team he’s played on before. So Mom should think only selfishly of how successful he can be and put him on a team he doesn’t want to be on? This is the reason I have so much trouble with “elite” or “club” leagues at this age. A nine-year-old shouldn’t be pressured to “excel” at the expense of enjoying playing with his buddies.
Colonel, USAFR
What next? An 8th grad football team wont be allowed to compete in their league because two of the kids run the 100 in 10.3, A basketball team is kicked out because a kid hits 85% of his free throws....damn
Yep, I agree.
The coach that forfeited the game should be run out of town. When the going got tough, this a-hole quit. He seems better suited to coaching baseball in France. I don't know how things work in Connecticut, but where I am from quitting is not taught as an American value.
Apparently, the kid is an exceptional player- far above the other players in skill level. So how does it benefit him to beat players who are at a much lower competition level? The answer is for him to play in a league with older kids.This will give him and his opponents the best chance to test their skills- and improve them.
Thanks Jim. I’m going to direct everyone to your post #12. Thank you for saying what I was trying to say. For people who espouse common sense, it’s totally lacking on this thread. Seems everyone wants to make everything political now...I hate when there side does it, and I’m disappointed when our side does.
Thank-you for the feminine perspective.
Just not as pitcher.
Put him in the infield. Would probably make a lot of double plays with that arm.
Now everybody's happy. Where's my beer?
"Too fast" for what? Among the objects of the position known as 'pitcher' in the game known as 'baseball' is to throw the ball as fast as you can, so that the batter is less able to put the ball into the field of play. This kid is apparently playing the game of baseball correctly, to the best of his ability.
Where do you get your conclusion that he's throwing the ball "too fast"? Again, 40mph is not really all that fast. And so what if he's throwing it "too fast"? Then the batters who face him will strike out. And?
This is a part of the game called 'baseball'. Parents who didn't want their kids to potentially experience this shouldn't have signed them up to play baseball. I suggest 'tumbling' or perhaps 'rhythmic clapping class' instead.
And on the other end, why play in a league you are far too good for. .... PUT HIM IN A LEAGUE HIS SKILLS BELONG IN..it’s good for him and it’s good for the other kids.
I liked the earlier poster's idea of bumping him up to a higher age-level. But that's not what this league did, to their utter discredit and shame.
My wife was recruited a few years back to coach a girls, youth softball team (~9-10 years olds, maybe). Of course, being recruited to fill the last coaching spot, the other coaches (one of which was the league organizer) has already selected the players for ALL the teams. Of course, my wife gets the "Bad News Bears"-type team. The leftovers...
The prize after the season was the opportunity to represent the league in a tournament among teams from all over the area. The tournament was to be put on by...the organizer of this league and coach of one of the other teams, the presumed league champs.
Of course, my wife, with all of 1 year experience playing softball, coached her team to the league championship. The tournament was promptly cancelled...
If my kid were that good, I would insist he play with kids his own range...FOR HIS SAKE. So HE could get better. It's not rocket science...it's better for EVERYBODY. I think this parent derives her own pleasure from watching her kid outpitch everyone. Well, wait until he gets older and he's not the big fish in the little pond. I'm sorry you don't see this.
Sometimes it is hard to tell if there are any adults involved in certain community organizations. I’d call it childish politics, but that would be an insult to children.
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My wife and I have two grandsons who play baseball, I went to some of the games and at times the “adults” who were coaching and umpiring acted far less mature than the six year olds on the field.
As far as playing with his friends? That's not a big concern IMO. If he has a future, his friends should be encouraging him to improve and work with a team that will help him succeed.
I've seen this for over 10 years in softball - I have no reason to believe it's any different in baseball. Eventually, the other kids will catch up, or he will take that last step and be phenomenal.
I vote for post #12 as well.
All the teams I have seen for kids in this age group have rules making sure all the kids get to play and that they play different positions. Pitchers are changed every couple of innings so more kids get the chance to develop their arms.
This kid is playing in a development league. What skills are developed when the pitcher is so far and away above the others. What are the kids playing in the infield and outfield learning? Navel gauzing and nose picking?
A common sense solution would have been to let the kid pitch a couple of innings and then put him in the field for a while. Unfortunately, some of the adults in this league decided not to exercise common sense. Happens all too often.
Dude, the perfect baseball or softball game is when nothing ever happens! No hits from either team! Isn’t that the ultimate goal? (Pun unintended.)
I guess you didn't read to the very end of the article:
League officials suggested that Jericho play other positions, or pitch against older players or in a different league.
Local attorney John Williams was planning to meet with Jericho’s parents Monday to discuss legal options.
So it looks like it all comes down to that very American ritual of "if you don't like it...SEND IN THE LAWYERS." Still stand by your comments?
Exactly. As a player when I was a kid, you didn't think anybody was that good or that much better than you, and if they had a "reputation" you always wanted to play against them, to beat them. As a coach, I carried that philosophy with my teams and even when we moved up in age bracket (2 year groupings) and had to play against teams older than us...we really enjoyed it when we beat some of them. I guess when we were the old group at age 14, that's what helped us win the Michigan Pony baseball state championship. Tough competition. It's what makes you better.
No, I stand corrected. I didn't click through & read the article. (I miss the days when FR didn't have to excerpt :)
I still think 40mph isn't "too fast" in the first place, and the whole issue need not have been raised. The forfeiting also seems like a rather stupid reaction. But if the option of moving up in age-bracket was given, and the kid/parents refused it, I have to wonder why.
You sure have an uptight-knot response to a compliment.
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