To the Editor:
I recently attended a baseball game for 12- and 13-year-olds in Nobleboro and was heartbroken by the conduct and performance, not of the boys, of the adults. I watched a parent not only yell at a player about his hitting, or lack thereof, but also shove him several times, leaving the boy in tears.
A visibly drunk man got in the face of the woman who apparently scheduled the game, ripping her to pieces for scheduling the game that day. Another woman swore loudly at the umpire about a call and, during an exchange, was subsequently asked to leave. When she refused, the umpire said that the game would have to be over. She said she didn’t care.
With all of this outrageous behavior, it is almost no wonder that the boys on the Nobleboro team reacted. One of the boys threw his helmet violently at the end of the inning, close enough to spectators that it could have caused injury and he too was ejected.
These adolescents need our guidance. They look to us to show them the way. There are always going to be bad calls, unfair things, in life and on the field. These types of reactions do not help our kids: they hurt them.
Let us all remember the fun of a pickup sandlot game and remind ourselves that these events are for the kids and not us. May we all take away a lesson from this game and try to do better for our youth.
Kris Weinand
Union
