Little League Player Benched Because Mother Failed to Work Concession Stand

When I read this today I just had to post it here. From the "yes this really happened" file....

From Foxnews.com

Little League Player Benched Because Mother Failed to Work Concession Stand
Thursday, May 15, 2008

A 7-year-old Massachusetts boy was benched during his Little League baseball game because his mother failed to show up to work the league's concession stand, and the mother isn't happy about it.

Jodi Hooper of Freetown said she was unable to fulfill her obligation at the concession stand because she couldn't get time off from work, according to MyFOXBoston.
Dave Brouillette, head of the Freetown Youth Athletic Association, told MyFOXBoston that the concession revenues are necessary to fund the league's programs and that he has to enforce the rules, which require parents show up for their assigned concession stand shifts or risk suspensions for their children.

Brouillette told the station that he wasn't able to see his own son play because he had to cover the concession stand shift for Hooper, according to MyFOXBoston. Hooper told MyFOXBoston that she believed she could make up the assignment at another time if she missed one.

TV news report... http://wbztv.com/video/?id=62376@wbz.dayport.com

OK.. I understand the parents have an obligation and the league loses money if the snack bar isn't opened. But is this baseball league actually defending benching/punishing a 7 year old kid for this? OK we don't really know all the facts here. Maybe the Mom didn't let anyone know she wasn't going to make her shift. Maybe she's done this before and had been warned. There could be a number of items. However, I do not agree... at all... with benching a young kid as a punishment to the parents for not showing up at the snack bar.

In all my years involved with youth sports I have NEVER heard of this happening. The Mom obviously contacted her local Fox news affiliate because she knew it would get immediate traction.

Hopefully the result will be the league changing it's policy. How about making parents pay an extra $30 when they register their kid. If they don't show up for snack bar duty, they lose their 30 bucks.

Don't take it out on the kid.

Coach Bob

http://youthbaseballblog.blogspot.com/