Wussification of America: Arlington Parks and Rec edition

[Anonymous]

You missed a game. Boohoo

[Anonymous]

Hey OP come over to DC. My 8 year old had an epic day. Rec soccer in the snow this morning and baseball in the snow in the late afternoon.

[Anonymous]

I was sad that our first soccer game of the season was rained/snowed out but I get it that if we damage our fields in the first game, they won't be good for the later games.

[Anonymous]

Yikes! Who's trolling whom or who? Start a grammar thread! You millennials are whack.

[Anonymous]

My son's team in Arlington got most of their game in before the snow really started coming down. It was so cold and wet that the kids who were pitching couldn't grip the ball or keep their hands warm. One inning had 6 runs in a row scored by being walked in while the fielders stood around freezing. Not sure what was gained for anyone.

[Anonymous]

I think we were linked by a bored high schooler.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think we were linked by a bored high schooler.

*punked

[Anonymous]

OP here. We're going to use practice slots to makeup Saturday's games, so the kids won't miss the reps. In fact, in some ways a makeup is better. The dedicated players will come, and the ones who waste my time will have another "commitment". So the good players get to play the whole game.

I will say, people who got mad at me are losers. If you're gonna be the best, you gotta lay it on the line each and every day. I quote Coach K from that commercial to my coach-pitch kids, telling them I want them to be the best they can be each and every day.

If they do that, I got their back and will pour out my soul coaching them. I will back them up if they don't like a call; I'll get MYSELF thrown out so they can keep playing. In return, they bust their butts for me so we can build a program, win some hardware, and bring back some pride to Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We're going to use practice slots to makeup Saturday's games, so the kids won't miss the reps. In fact, in some ways a makeup is better. The dedicated players will come, and the ones who waste my time will have another "commitment". So the good players get to play the whole game.

I will say, people who got mad at me are losers. If you're gonna be the best, you gotta lay it on the line each and every day. I quote Coach K from that commercial to my coach-pitch kids, telling them I want them to be the best they can be each and every day.

If they do that, I got their back and will pour out my soul coaching them. I will back them up if they don't like a call; I'll get MYSELF thrown out so they can keep playing. In return, they bust their butts for me so we can build a program, win some hardware, and bring back some pride to Arlington.

Little man, it's kids' sports. You're not refighting the Somme here. Chill.

Also, "bring some pride back to Arlington"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We're going to use practice slots to makeup Saturday's games, so the kids won't miss the reps. In fact, in some ways a makeup is better. The dedicated players will come, and the ones who waste my time will have another "commitment". So the good players get to play the whole game.

I will say, people who got mad at me are losers. If you're gonna be the best, you gotta lay it on the line each and every day. I quote Coach K from that commercial to my coach-pitch kids, telling them I want them to be the best they can be each and every day.

If they do that, I got their back and will pour out my soul coaching them. I will back them up if they don't like a call; I'll get MYSELF thrown out so they can keep playing. In return, they bust their butts for me so we can build a program, win some hardware, and bring back some pride to Arlington.

Taking team sports too seriously at young ages is bad for the kids' bodies long term.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We're going to use practice slots to makeup Saturday's games, so the kids won't miss the reps. In fact, in some ways a makeup is better. The dedicated players will come, and the ones who waste my time will have another "commitment". So the good players get to play the whole game.

I will say, people who got mad at me are losers. If you're gonna be the best, you gotta lay it on the line each and every day. I quote Coach K from that commercial to my coach-pitch kids, telling them I want them to be the best they can be each and every day.

If they do that, I got their back and will pour out my soul coaching them. I will back them up if they don't like a call; I'll get MYSELF thrown out so they can keep playing. In return, they bust their butts for me so we can build a program, win some hardware, and bring back some pride to Arlington.

Buck Showalter and other MLB people say kids that age should not be so focused on baseball and are better off playing less organized sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. We're going to use practice slots to makeup Saturday's games, so the kids won't miss the reps. In fact, in some ways a makeup is better. The dedicated players will come, and the ones who waste my time will have another "commitment". So the good players get to play the whole game.

I will say, people who got mad at me are losers. If you're gonna be the best, you gotta lay it on the line each and every day. I quote Coach K from that commercial to my coach-pitch kids, telling them I want them to be the best they can be each and every day.

If they do that, I got their back and will pour out my soul coaching them. I will back them up if they don't like a call; I'll get MYSELF thrown out so they can keep playing. In return, they bust their butts for me so we can build a program, win some hardware, and bring back some pride to Arlington.

I don't think anyone got mad at you as much as thought you sounded like a complete tool who takes kids sports too seriously....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nice job, Arlington Parks and Rec. Great job, great effort

We had a game this afternoon, and the snow stopped around noon. Yet Parks and Rec went ahead and canceled all games today by 11:00 AM.

Thanks fellas. Our boys have got to get reps against live pitching, but they won't because a bureaucrat says no. They desperately need experience fielding in live game conditions, and when you don't know where the ball's going to go. But no, Arlington Parks and Rec doesn't see it that way because "families need to plan their days".

I wrote about this earlier this week, how our travel teams and eventually the high school programs suffer because adults make bad decisions.

Today's canceled game is gone. Coach pitch is about kids learning to hit and field. You need to learn how much to get the job done not just when it's sunny and 75 degrees, but also when it's drizzling and struggling to climb over 40.

Coaches Doug Grove and John Skaggs, at W-L and Yorktown, respectively, are a game UNDER .500 this season. They're paying now for the missed reps from cancelling Coach pitch games ten years ago...games they played out in Fairfax County!

My son plays in the Fall Church league. All games were canceled there, too. The rain did stop, but there were wind gusts up to 50 mph all afternoon which could have caused hazardous conditions. Many of the playing fields may have also been unusable due to the previous rainfall. A lot more factors to consider other then the complaints you cited above.

This is where we fall behind. A kid in House league may catch the sniffles playing today. Maybe some South Lakes kid will come down with lymphoma in 20 years after getting reps in on crumb rubber turf.

We can't know the unknown. What we DO KNOW is that great Arlington high school coaches are losing games NOW because their kids missed game reps ten years ago. Reps that can't be replaced. And thanks to Arlington County Parks and Rec, we're making the same mistake again, canceling Coach pitch games because it's cold (but ABOVE FREEZING) and it MIGHT rain this afternoon (but it's NOT)!!!

[Anonymous]

Maybe you should learn to pitch better so practices are more challenging.

[Anonymous]

OP is intense of course. overly so. But he has a point about the wussifying of our kids. Kids can play sports in mild rain and 45 degrees. We used to do it all the time growing up. Just another lesson in dealing with adversity. It builds character.

Sports these days are increasingly removing perseverance for the sake of kids and their parents feeling "comfortable" or "safe."
Truth is the world is not comfortable nor safe. People have to deal with shit. Even at a young age.