Nicole Bluto

It's been rainy here in sunny So Cal, so our Little League games have been cancelled. Normally we don't have games on Sundays. Today is an exception. We had our first make up game today and it was a beautiful day for a game. My son Isaac has taken a break from baseball for about 2 years. This year he is doing exceptionally well and his coaches have made him the teams regular catcher recently. They say he is the best catcher on the team. He says he likes to catch. That thrills me as a mom because I see him really working hard and getting lots of encouragement from his coaches.

Enter the grouchy gramma. At today's game, she yelled at my kid. Not encouragingly either. I won't say what she said, but I didn't like it, but I shut my mouth. She then proceded to walk over to the coaches and laundry list to them how they need to teach my kid to catch. Then my hackles really went up and I had to call out to her, "Hey, that's my son you are talking about." I said "I don't like you yelling at my kid" and I also defended the coaches and said that Little League is about learning to play baseball and kids trying new positions. She walked over to me and justified herself and her words as if it was ok. I repeated again that I didn't like her yelling at my kid and that I don't yell at other peoples kids and I don't expect people to yell at mine. The coach finally told her to sit down and she did.

After she sat down, 3 moms told me what a great job they thought my son was doing and told stories about how he has told them how much he likes catching and what a hard position it is to master. That was nice.

I like baseball alot. It's one of my favorite games. I don't like how some parents or "grouchy grammas" take a fun game, a learning game and turn it into a highly competitive activity. They turn it into something about them, and not a game for the kids. Parents and grandparents are really not even allowed to coach from the sidelines like this woman did. You are allowed to cheer and encourage only. That's the way it should be.

I'm glad I told her how I felt and stood up for my son. I don't think she will do that again. I hope I didn't ruin her day either. I'm not even angry.

Little League is about baseball and kids. Not about the score, not about the parents. I am so grateful to the coaches for what a great job they are doing and the time committment they have freely volunteered. Leave your expectations at home and let the kids have fun and play the game!