homerunbetty

Exactly! There are a lot of parents out there that feel the way you do. Some voice their feelings. Others hide behind them. The reason why I posted what I did was due to all of the comments on pages 1 through 10 that showed absolutely no feelings toward the kids and consisted of nothing but parent talk. I don't expect any of the parents on here to agree with what I said. Especially since there is no way you can see what you are doing to your children. It has nothing to do with pushing them and wanting them to do good. But the actions that were stated on this thread do not show your thoughts and concerns are for the children. Parents fighting? Coaches fighting? Who is the competition for? Is it for the child to learn about baseball? Or is it for the parent in the stand to be able to say "my child is better than your child." When someone is confronted with the truth and they know they are wrong, that person will become defensive. Such as many of the comments made to my post. I don't mind you attacking my research, but you know nothing about my life to make comments about what I have been through, or the children I have. I hear all of the time from my husband about having a parent conference because their child is not playing. Yet the parents state they have been an all-star every year they play baseball and they don't understand why. It is parents like you that will be in that situation. When your child comes to my husband as a Freshman and is sitting the bench for the Freshman team or is told to come back next year, maybe then you will remember.

If you do not like Consaco as an example, what about Moises Alou who did not start playing organized baseball until he was in college? Or Kenny Lofton who played basketball in college and decided to try out for the baseball team his Junior year of college? This is the typical response I expected to receive from parents that are living their life through their children. It is sad the children are being sacrificed for the parents enjoyment.

WHAT PART OF 5 AND 6 DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND? This is just insane! They are CHILDREN! The parents on this post are just like those parents pushing their kids through the beauty pagents. They were not able to participate in anything like that as a child and are trying to live their life vicariously through their own children. You are only hurting them and setting them up for failure. Those that feel their children are going to be the ones to make varsity as a freshman have a rude awakening coming. The parents on this board should read The Creative Athlete, When to Start Sports. Another good source is "Why Michael Couldn't Hit" by Dr. Klawans. Coaches, why don't you look at the START SMART program, which is a 6 week course teaching young children three motor skills such as throwing, catching, and kicking. This program was started after a study conducted at Northern Kentucky University indicated that 49% of children age 5-8 lacked the minimum skills to play organized sports. In the good ol' days, children used to play sports with their friends. They did not have their parents behind them talking about long-term goals or who they will play for as a professional. Now parents are planning their child's sports careers at birth. Why? Do you think your child will get ahead of the competition if they start early? Or is it the "keeping up with the Jones's" mentality? Other kids are doing it. Some parents don't pressure their children and want to make sure their children don't burn out, but feel like you have to in order for your child to be a successful athlete. Where are you getting these ideas from? The coaches? The organization? Half of children in sports programs will drop out by 12 and 3/4 by the age of 15. The American Olympians conducted studies on starting children too early. They looked at 108 former and present Olympians and found 1/3 started competing in their sport at age 10 or younger. However, 54% waited until they were teenagers or young adults, while 20% was over 21. What about the physiological challenges you are placing on these children from early training? It's much better to help a child set personal goals than competitive goals. Children 6-8 participating in sports can help them learn how the sport is played, but it is too soon for them to understand about competition. Competitions should never be viewed as life-and-death situations and the way you are talking about these games, that is what you are doing to these children. The child must be taught how to win and how to lose. Dr. Klawans states, "Having a youngster at age five hitting [a baseball] off a tee could be like reading to a six-week-old baby--it could be just too early to matter at all." Michael DePalmer, athletic director of the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy says, "When I meet a parent of a 10-year-old who says, 'My kid just loves tennis,' I wince because that always turns out to be a parent who is pushing his child into competition." Coaches are always looking for prodigies who will grow up to be superstars. The fact that children are winning competitions at 5 and 6 doesn't mean they will continue to do so when they are freshman. The University of Southern California has conducted studies showing there are few 10 year olds that will be competing successfully as a young adult. Why? Because the children have oversealous parents who make the sport more of a chore than just for fun. And they have overzealous coaches that expect too much from these CHILDREN too soon. Noted sports psychologist Jim Loehr says that early success has its downside. " ... the ones who have the most difficulty are those who have the greatest success earliest, because they're always defending turf and having to live up to all these phenomenal claims of genius." Ron Quinn, director of physical education at Xavier University says, "A child who appears to be a superstar at age 10 might just be more physically mature than someone else. There's no guarantee that that child at age 16 is going to be the next superstar." What about putting your children at a greater risk for overuse injuries? Dr. Stanitski, chief of orthopedic surgery at Children's Hospital of Michigan states, "We are seeing more and more stress fractures in children and more and more injuries caused by repetitive use." When you start children too early, they tend to continue in the sport for everyone else and not for themselves because they do not want to disappoint or upset their family. There are numerous studies that show athletes who start late may progress much faster than younger ones because they are often more focused and emotionally and physically mature, which allows them to have optimal practice. Jose Canseco didn't start playing baseball until he was 13.

First, I cannot believe you are arguing about whether Green was offered the job or not. Someone else has the job. It is his time to shine. Second, let's get this straight. Green called Stump for the job. BC did not seek Green out.

that's ok brook - you did a great job tonight!!! you will pull through it and come out champions!!!! bring them to beaumont and send them home crying. COOP - thanks for keeping those that can't be at the games updated!!!! great job!

guess if i would have read a little s-l-o-w-e-r i would have seen you said the BOTTOM of the 7th...............

i know - i'm just dying over here..................COME ON BROOK YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!! let's hope murphy or ferguson come up to bat and knock it out of the ballpark.

OH MY GOSH YOU ARE KILLING ME!!!!!!!!!! now what?

any other updates????

WAY TO GO BRUINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-* Glad to see your talents recognized

WAY TO GO BRUINS!!!!!!!!! Thank goodness for this website, otherwise you wouldn't have received ANY exposure!!!! GREAT JOB BROOK!!!!

while i agree it is not the Orange Leader, PA News, Mid-County Chronicle, etc. fault, i totally disagree with regard to "...keep on winning and they'll be in everyone's paper..." i seriously doubt if WB wins there would be a write up in ANY paper.

KUDOS TO THE "SOUTHEAST TEXAS/SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA" ENTERPRISE. I saw West Brook made the front page! WHOOOO!!!!!!! :-*

unbelievable - great job for buna!

Way to go LC-M! Good job!!