you're a winner of the book Never Eighteen by Megan Bostic. If that's not you're name, you're a loser. Okay, maybe not, but, well, you get the idea.
I'm having an angry mommy day week month. My ten-year-old is in basketball and it's not going well. We have coach issues. These issues lead to one angry mommy. Well, to be fair (to myself, apparently), several angry moms and dads. And extremely disappointed 5th grade boys.
Our team has played 12 games and got their butts handed to them in 9 of them. And I don't mean we're losing 25-15. Oh, no. We lost one game 62-7. I didn't even know a 5th grade team could score 62 points. Also, one was 38-2. We made one basket. And why? I'm telling you, coach issues.
On top of that, my son goes to every practice and every game. He tries really hard and even though he doesn't score a lot, he can shoot a mean layup and is one of the best defense guys on the team. This past Saturday, they played 4 28-minute games (yes, butts were handed back in the first 3, as usual). That's a total of 112 minutes (yes, I used a calculater).
My son played less than 6 minutes. Total. Never got to take a shot (although he did block a couple). And two other boys played less than he did. One kid was in for 25 seconds before the coach put the starters back in and never got to go in again. 25 seconds?? Really?? With one minute left in the last game of the night (which we actually were winning by 20 points and the starters were STILL IN), I had to go tell the coach that one kid hadn't played at all and deserved to go in. This was the look he gave me:
(I don't know why it's way over there -----> Blogger likes to mess with me) (Just going with it at this point) (pretend I did it on purpose)So, anyway. Very, very unhappy mommy. 10-year-olds deserve to feel like winners once in awhile, too. So while I can't give you all copies of Never Eighteen (hello, teacher here), I can give you something better than an eye roll. Here, have a cupcake (and a cookie):
isn't he cute? (seriously, why is blogger messing with me? this should be centered)
Happy Monday! And may all your basketball cupcake writing dreams come true! I'm here to say, if you work hard, continue to improve, and ARE FREAKING GIVEN A CHANCE - you'll succeed!! (sorry for shouting)
(I should also mention the coach voluntarily put us in the A league. Which means our team that comes from an entire 5th grade class of 40 kids is competing against A Team Division 1 teams. They're like 6-feet tall, I'm not even kidding.)
Congrats to Angelina. Sorry you and your son had such a hard day. It sounds like your son is working really hard at his basketball. Good for you telling the coach to put the kid in who hadn't played. They should all get a chance.
ReplyDeleteOooo, I'm there with you on the angry mommy bit. Ten years old, and they're not getting playing time!! That makes me sick to my stomach, especially for the kid who wasn't put in at all. What must be going through that poor child's head...
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Angelina! Looks like a fantastic book!
ReplyDeleteI completely understand your frustration about your son's team and coach. Trust me. I have four children and have been involved, as mom, in youth sports for over 15 years. (My oldest is a senior this year.) To put it plainly, if everyone's motivations were for ALL the kids, there would be no issues. Not every child is going to be the next superstar, but all kids should be given a chance to learn and grow.
Congrats Angelina...
ReplyDeleteSorry for yours and Zac's frustration. It is tough when there is an idiot in charge.
Don't forget ABNA starts today.
yeah, every kid should be given a fair, in this case EQUAL, chance. how can they/he even know how good they are? 25 seconds tells him nothing! it should be on an equally timed rotation. now, i know nothing about kids' basketball and my kids are only 5 and 3, but the five-year-old played soccer and football last year and all the kids got equal chances to play. they all felt like winners. sorry, erica. i hope someone speaks to the coach and it improves so the season can be more fun for all of the kids.... christy
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree that sucks. See if you can get a contingent of parents to agree and talk to the coach together. And if he rolls his eyes at you (OMZ, how rude) he should be warned that he can be replaced if he's disrespectful to the kids and the parents. So. Not. Cool.
ReplyDeleteAww, I'm sorry about the coach troubles. :-/ I hope things get sorted out.
ReplyDeleteWell that is darn crappy. What a douche. I hope the troubles even out! This kiddo's deserve more balanced time to play, darnit!
ReplyDeleteLOVE that cupcake/cookie! That is so great. I'm sorry your son's having such a hard time on his team. We had that experience w/the girls on their last soccer team. Needless to say, they decided they wanted to do swimming now... :p <3
ReplyDeleteUgh, Erica, that sucks. Kids that age should have the same amount of play time. I've seen that happen to some of my friends, as well. Luckily when LIttle Monster did soccer, all the girls played the same amount of time. They rotated in and each had the same amount of time on the field. Now she does competition gymnastics, so they all get to compete, obviously. But I've seen the frustration with other friends. I'd try to complain about the coach to the organization. This isn't the NBA, dude.
ReplyDeleteyep. been there, done that, and slowly (painfully) learning, in sports, it rarely gets better. Sports are unfair. If the coaches are fair. The refs aren't. If the refs are, some jackass on the team is a ball hog. Sports are simply unfair. Doesn't mean I didnt kill myself trying to protect my kid from it (oh boy, you shoulda heard my profanities...er), but yeah. I'm no help here. :)
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