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[quote=Anonymous]I am becoming increasingly frustrated with the favoritism parental politicking in our Little League Baseball League. My son is 10 and is a good baseball player. His pitching, hitting, and fielding record ranks at least in the top 3 players on his team. He has the best hitting record on the team. He works hard, and is never late to practice or a game. My husband volunteers to help maintain the field, and helps out at practice, and I contribute by keeping score and planning team celebrations. (I mention this only to illustrate that we contribute to the team.)

DS rarely got a chance to pitch this season, because the coach had a roster of pitchers he said he wanted to develop. All of these kids were the sons of the coaches, or the friends of the sons of the coaches. They all go to the same school and are in the same class. (DS and a few of the other kids go to a different school.) Statistically, my son is a better pitcher, with more strikes thrown, and fewer walks. He has politely asked the coach if/when he can pitch, and has been repeatedly brushed off, even when he pitches very well when given the chance.

This year 4 kids on the team were picked for the All-Stars, but my son was not. Statistically, he has a better record than 3 of the kids. One kid picked never hit the ball the entire season and never pitched. Another was thrown out two games for yelling at the umpire, and fights with players on the opposing team. (Bad sportsmanship.) All of the kids picked were sons of the coaches or team manager.

DS is really upset, and so am I. I am considering asking the head coach what the criteria is for All-Stars, which I know will back him into a corner, since he's obviously not using performance or even sportsmanship as the criteria. We could just ask for a different coach next season, but to some degree this kind of favoritism is standard for the league -- this team was just the worst we have encountered. How can we help ensure DS has a chance to excel and doesn't just want to give up because other kids keep getting chances he doesn't? [/quote]

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