In our half-time conversation with the refs, we started off pointing no less than three times that they should've called penalties on our kids, twice on the head coach's kid for travelling.

Not that I'm disagreeing with you, we all want our kids to win. I want my kids to win, but not at the expense of a skill set they need to learn to advance.

I hear you, there. Just saying you want to be on guard to make sure you aren't being unreasonable. I catch myself doing it sometimes.

If you are coaching youth sports and are obsessed with winning, losing, and having great referees you are in it for all the wrong reasons.

I'm not going to make myself out for being a saint in these things. I'm usually good for one T or Unsportsmanlike per season.

Like I said in post 31, advancing the skill set has to come first. If you don't let a player know about their mistakes, they're stagnating, and when they go out for the school teams later, they won't have the skills they need to make the team.

The problem arises when you teach the kids one thing and that teaching is negated by a ref that doesn't know the rules. I'm all for teaching the kids and having fun, but when my players looked to me, I had no answer but to say, "He missed the call," and it rings hollow. It's confusing to a youngster.

BC old buddy:

As a guy who has officiated hundreds of kid baseball games I can only offer you this advice:

Pick up a striped shirt and make a difference. It's a tough proposition, since you have kids and they are at the age where you are father/Ass't coach. Your children will learn infinitely more from watching you handle the parents in a difficult situation that they will learn from you as an assistant coach. I know this from experience.

I was an umpire in the youth league at Lake Shawnee for many years when my kid played. I took a great deal of grief over all manner of issues. Mostly balls and strikes.

I took my kid with me on days I umpired so he could see how stupid some people could be. One particular biotchMom I'll never forget. Constantly griping about balls/strikes. I turned to her after she complained about a 3rd strike.

HER:"That was way high! How could you call that"?!!

ME: "The job's open lady. You seem to want to help. Grab a blue shirt and do your talking from this side".

[Crowd chuckles]

It was glorious silence from that point forward.

The refs post here? Assholes!

If you teach your kids the fundamentals they will succeed at the higher levels, whereas the kids that are not playing properly will have a hard time adjusting. Youth sports is about having fun, going to places to eat after the game, and spending time with your family. I don't even remember the scores of any games or what our records were when I was a kid, and yours won't either.

Clarification:

in no way do I think you're a bad sports parent. It's extremely helpful to have parents involved in the officiating aspect as it gives them somebody less easily intimidated (and kid refs ARE intimidated) by the crowd.

I was an umpire during the summer for 6-8th grade little league about 2 years ago. We had to go through training to make sure we knew all the rules and signals & whatnot and I didn't have any problems behind the plate. I guess I was pretty popular with most of the coaches because I knew all the rules and called a fair game and whatnot (got requested to come back last year, but couldn't because of schedule conflicts). Between innings, I would go talk to a coach while the pitchers & infielders were warming up and make sure they didn't have any big complaints and just bullsh*t around with them.

But one time when I was the field ump, I completely fracked up a call at 2nd (kid stole, slid into the base & was tagged out, but the 2B dropped the ball, so the runner was safe. I punched him out before seeing the ball on the ground and basically overrode my own call & called him safe). Talked with the home plate ump and he agreed that the correction should stand, so I went to each coach & let them know that I messed up and what happened. The coach of the defensive team (thought the original call should stand) took me about 10 feet from the rest of his team and said (very serious look on his face) "you know that's bullsh*t, right?" I told him that it was my fault and that I should have waited until the end of the play to make a call, but that the correction would stand. He started laughing and said that he was just joking and that he was glad I admitted my mistake. No harm, no foul I guess...

The supervisor had a nice laugh about that. I think I may try umping again this summer...

Did. Spent three years as an umpire and one as a scorekeeper in HS. Had to throw some coaches out of games, one particularly memorable event had two coaches whining and complaining about a missed tag on a runner coming home - I had called the kid out, but the kid ran 12 feet outside the baseline. The tag was irrelevant. Coaches didn't try to listen. I remember some bitter old bitch sitting behind me, anytime I yelled strike, she'd yell "Bullshit!".

I never use foul language around kids, but I do know the difference between officials that are doing their job, and those that are there because officiating beats the hell out of working at McDonalds.

Today, we got beat by 24 points by the first place team, but the officials did a good job keeping control of the game. I bit my tongue a few times, but all in all they did a good job. Kind of pissed me off that all of the other teams cell phones went off when our kids were on the free throw line... but whatcha gonna do.

Right on BC.

You need to move out of that yuppified wasteland that allows cell phones on the bench. (Although that IS hilarious)

It was in the stands. Pretty petty of family members to do that.

Are you kidding me? Did they all ringtone at once or something? I know you said yes, but I had to ask again.