Every Little League Field Needs To Post This Sign For Parents
The sign serves as a reminder to parents so they keep their behavior in check
We expect a little nonsense behavior from kids because, well, they’re kids. Sadly, adults don’t always act the way they should either and it seems their basest instincts are on full display at children’s sporting events.
That’s why one Little League organization decided to make a poster to remind parents what’s expected of them during their kids’ games, because apparently, it needs to be said.
Some parents spectating at their kid’s game seem to forget that the players are only kids, and the stakes are quite low. Milwaukee dad Evan Primakow was watching his eight-year-old son play at the Glendale Little League facility when he saw this sign posted on the fence. He shared it on Reddit, where it gathered hundreds of comments from users who love its message.
It reads:
PLEASE REMEMBER
1. These are KIDS.
2. This is a GAME.
3. Coaches are VOLUNTEERS.
4. Umpires are HUMAN.
5. Your child is NOT being scouted by the Brewers today.
Nailed it.
Primakow tells HuffPost, “I think it works in that it is a reminder, that is very visible at games, that these are just kids and there’s no reason to let things get out of hand.”
John Diedrich, the president of Glendale Little League, says the signs are posted at all four fields in their league and have been up for the last four years. Diedrich says they were hung in response to the trend of parents — those watching and coaching — getting a little overwrought during games. “That overly competitive attitude has led to strife among parents at games at times,” he says.
Diedrich also says “inappropriate comments” have been lobbed at umpires by parents. The umpires are older kids who play in the league, so basically, it’s parents bullying children.
How nice.
As the mom of two Little Leaguers, I can say with full confidence that a sign like this needs to be posted in a very visible location at every youth sports field in America. Over the years, I’ve seen parents lose their shit over the smallest “offenses” by coaches and umpires as well as getting heated at the kids — including their own. I’ve watched dads loudly scoff at their sons for striking out or missing an important play. It’s completely ridiculous.
Seeing a child totally deflate after being snapped at by an adult for not measuring up is nothing short of heartbreaking. Just yesterday I watched my seven-year-old son play his first game and while there were no egregious offenses by parents, I did hear the coaches lose their patience a handful of times if a kid didn’t drop the bat and run fast enough to first or if they swung at too many crappy pitches. I wanted to say, “You realize most of these boys are still little enough to wear Paw Patrol underwear, right?”
They might look like big kids, but they’re still little. It would do everyone well to remember that.
Someday, the stakes for our children will be a little higher when it comes to sports, but for now? They’re just kids. And while mastering their sport is part of the endgame, right now, the main goal should be that they have fun. It’s up to us to make sure that happens.
