Shakespearean Saga in NWLL Continueth

[Anonymous]

https://defector.com/a-very-ugly-year-in-the-life-of-a-d-c-little-league

TLDR, In yonder fields where children play, a tempest brews among the squabbling grown, each seeking glory in the guise of sport. Thus, the sweet joy of youth is marred by folly and ambition, turning innocent pastime into a tragic farce of ambition and discord.

[Anonymous]

Forgot how old English is so annoying.

[Anonymous]

In reporting this story since the spring, I made many requests for comment to Klisch and Sweeney via email and in person. Both repeatedly turned down the opportunity. When I approached Klisch after the NWLL all-stars’ win over Mamie Johnson Little League in July, he politely declined to speak to me, saying only, “It’s been a long, stressful couple years.” After reaching out to Sweeney and Klisch one last time on Sept. 16, I received an email from Megan L. Meier, a D.C. attorney. Meier said she was representing Klisch and Sweeney in a defamation lawsuit they filed on Sept. 4 against other NWLL parents, and that she intended to subpoena me in that suit. The letter, in which Meier pointed out that she’d successfully sued Fox News on behalf of Dominion Voting Systems (and got a $787.5 million settlement), also threatened litigation against me and Defector.

In subsequent conversations with Defector’s lawyer, Meier raised an interaction I had with Klisch about a year ago at our kids’ soccer game. I was sitting on the sidelines with my wife when a guy wearing NWLL gear, who I’d also seen wearing NWLL gear at previous games, walked past. The Washington Post pieces about the Little League drama were a big topic on local message boards at the time, so I asked if he liked the stories. The man told me he was responsible for the Post articles, and asked me what I thought of them. At this point I surmised I was talking to Klisch, who I’d never met before, and said that I knew lots of people in the stories, including Davenport-Thomas, and that I had always thought very highly of him. “You probably won’t like me then,” Klisch said. I responded that if he’s the guy in the newspaper stories, he’s probably right. His attorney, Meier, showed Defector’s lawyer a photo that Klisch had taken of me at that soccer game, along with a text Klisch sent that day to another NWLL coach saying I’d “confronted” him and told him, “I don’t like you.” Needless to say, Klisch’s text message was shown to Defector’s lawyer in an attempt to paint me as out to get Klisch.

[Anonymous]

these people sound so exhausting and full of themselves. all of them.

[Anonymous]

I guess Capitol Hill got the ultimate revenge this past Summer.

They won 10u, 11u and 12u All Star tournaments, and 12u finished 2nd in the Mid-Atlantic Regional tournament.

A clean sweep.

[Anonymous]

were they better because the other team stopped cheating?

[Anonymous]

Cheating tends have a kind of snowball effect. What Davenport Thomas and Robinson were doing, they probably got the idea from seeing how another team was cheating. And that team probably got the idea from yet another cheating team. I would imagine the rot extends through the entire league.

[Anonymous]

The problem with NWLL is that they were doing some obvious things that set them up for someone to challenge the status quo...and it looks like they were met with some crazies.

The LL handbook mentions repeatedly that the President of a LL should NOT coach an all-star team. It's right there in the handbook. Why NWLL allowed this to happen for years is honestly a complete head-scratcher.

The only exceptions are they realize some LLs only have like 100 players total and get almost no parent help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess Capitol Hill got the ultimate revenge this past Summer.

They won 10u, 11u and 12u All Star tournaments, and 12u finished 2nd in the Mid-Atlantic Regional tournament.

A clean sweep.

And well-earned! The kids worked hard.

My DC is in CHLL. It is such a wonderfully supportive and fun environment. Great coaches, great kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem with NWLL is that they were doing some obvious things that set them up for someone to challenge the status quo...and it looks like they were met with some crazies.

The LL handbook mentions repeatedly that the President of a LL should NOT coach an all-star team. It's right there in the handbook. Why NWLL allowed this to happen for years is honestly a complete head-scratcher.

The only exceptions are they realize some LLs only have like 100 players total and get almost no parent help.

These kids leagues (of all sports) and year-round training programs really need some regulations.

On my wish list are some limits on the amount of training that coaches can demand from kids or families. The precedent is that high schools, NCAA rules all establish boundaries on this. There is an off season. Eight-year-olds deserve the same if not more.

Not that I am hep to regulations, it's just that these diffuse loose knit organizations run by volunteers, part-timers, low salaried coaches etc. just aren't going to be able to govern themselves in any meaningful way. Most of the programs appear to be geared towards extracting as much money from parents as they possibly can.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with NWLL is that they were doing some obvious things that set them up for someone to challenge the status quo...and it looks like they were met with some crazies.

The LL handbook mentions repeatedly that the President of a LL should NOT coach an all-star team. It's right there in the handbook. Why NWLL allowed this to happen for years is honestly a complete head-scratcher.

The only exceptions are they realize some LLs only have like 100 players total and get almost no parent help.

These kids leagues (of all sports) and year-round training programs really need some regulations.

On my wish list are some limits on the amount of training that coaches can demand from kids or families. The precedent is that high schools, NCAA rules all establish boundaries on this. There is an off season. Eight-year-olds deserve the same if not more.

Not that I am hep to regulations, it's just that these diffuse loose knit organizations run by volunteers, part-timers, low salaried coaches etc. just aren't going to be able to govern themselves in any meaningful way. Most of the programs appear to be geared towards extracting as much money from parents as they possibly can.

LL isn't a diffuse organization (and neither is Babe Ruth, for that matter). It's got a governing body.

Neighborhood rec soccer, basketball, etc. programs don't, and travel orgs are crazy. But of all the places to drop this comment, I'm not sure a thread on a Little League is the right one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with NWLL is that they were doing some obvious things that set them up for someone to challenge the status quo...and it looks like they were met with some crazies.

The LL handbook mentions repeatedly that the President of a LL should NOT coach an all-star team. It's right there in the handbook. Why NWLL allowed this to happen for years is honestly a complete head-scratcher.

The only exceptions are they realize some LLs only have like 100 players total and get almost no parent help.

These kids leagues (of all sports) and year-round training programs really need some regulations.

On my wish list are some limits on the amount of training that coaches can demand from kids or families. The precedent is that high schools, NCAA rules all establish boundaries on this. There is an off season. Eight-year-olds deserve the same if not more.

Not that I am hep to regulations, it's just that these diffuse loose knit organizations run by volunteers, part-timers, low salaried coaches etc. just aren't going to be able to govern themselves in any meaningful way. Most of the programs appear to be geared towards extracting as much money from parents as they possibly can.

LL isn't a diffuse organization (and neither is Babe Ruth, for that matter). It's got a governing body.

Neighborhood rec soccer, basketball, etc. programs don't, and travel orgs are crazy. But of all the places to drop this comment, I'm not sure a thread on a Little League is the right one.

Sure, USA Swimming is a governing body but doesn't really govern much. Hence the need for regulations.

[Anonymous]

Leave it to Bruce Bolt to frame the “Daddy Ball” issue with insights and some constructive outcomes

https://brucebolt.us/blogs/news/daddy-ball-control-the-controllable?srsltid=AfmBOooc3XG2f48nWMjd_yqB03SD01VZsmbwCJKR3aDgqdE9sfp5zxas

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Forgot how old English is so annoying.

NP. It's not Old English. You wouldn't be able to understand it if it was.

Here's the start of Beowulf in Old English:

HWÆT: WE GAR-DENA IN GEARDAGUM. (So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by)
þeodcyninga þrym gefrunon. (And the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness.)
Hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon! (We have heard of those princes’ heroic campaigns!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Leave it to Bruce Bolt to frame the “Daddy Ball” issue with insights and some constructive outcomes

https://brucebolt.us/blogs/news/daddy-ball-control-the-controllable?srsltid=AfmBOooc3XG2f48nWMjd_yqB03SD01VZsmbwCJKR3aDgqdE9sfp5zxas

Interesting read, pretty much sums up the current situation I am in. Though, my kid isn't directly affected for the position, it does affect our team, the coach is coaching the whole team *down* to their kid's level. Like beyond just favoring their kid for playing time. Like actively teaching bad technique in practice. They were beat in basketball sixty to zero as a result. Amazing. Daddy ball. The thing is the "professionals" aren't much better they're all just running pay for play private lesson rackets.