Last week, after Number 3 was left with no travel baseball team to play on because no one,
um,
stepped up to the plate,
The week before I volunteered, I had several conversations with one of the Guys in Charge (GIC) of the league.
I was late signing up Number 3.
We are still struggling financially. I had some questions about available financial aid opportunities.
He was really good about returning my emails. All of them were answered promptly.
Like within the hour.
So after all those back and forths the week before, this past Monday morning I sent him this email:
Hi [GIC],
I have a question….
Is it too late to get an 8-year-old travel team together if we found a coach?
Two hours later, I received this reply:
not at all!! who do you have in mind?
I replied back with this:
Me.
And then, all lines of communication came to a screeching halt.
Eight hours later, I received one last email.
Since I had sent my email offering to coach, someone else had magically, out of nowhere, volunteered to be the head coach too.
Hmmmm.
We would have to figure out who would be the head coach and who would be the head assistant between the three of us.
Hmmmm.
If I wanted to coach, I would need to take an online course to get certified.
Hmmmm.
There were no more exclamation points.
The tone had clearly changed.
I waited two days before I replied.
I let the mystery head coach take the reins.
But it was total radio silence.
I sent another email.
I will be either the head coach or the first assistant, but I think we should probably get the ball rolling.
Chirp, Chirp, chirp.
Still radio silence.
While I waited,
I took the coaching course.
I passed.
Easily.
I waited one more day, and then I sent my certificate, to the GIC.
Nothing.
No reply at all.
And so, 6 days later, I have heard nothing.
Having a vagina in this town apparently makes you unfit to coach little league.
I have something to tell you, Gentlemen.
And I use that term loosely.
Having a penis does not make you the world’s greatest little league coach.
Not any more than having a vagina makes you a bad one.
My son is a good baseball player.
Do you know why he is a good baseball player?
Do you know who taught him how to play?
I did.
I taught him how to throw.
I taught him how to bat.
I taught him how to line up at the plate.
I taught him the difference between a force out and a tag out.
I have whipped fly balls at him.
I have taught him just about everything he knows.
And there is no penis anywhere in the vicinity.
Shame on you, GIC.
I hope you don’t have a daughter.
Because if you do, you clearly are setting limits on the things you believe she is capable of doing.
And since you are not in possession of a vagina, I’m sure you will take yourself out of the running to coach any activities in which she is allowed to participate.
I mean, I wouldn’t want a man to coach my daughter.
Save that for the ladies.
I guess I’m a little naive.
I guess I thought what qualified a person to coach a team was knowledge of the sport.
Being certified.
Experience with children.
I guess I was wrong.
According to some people, anyway.
Having a penis is not a prerequisite for coaching little league baseball.
Having a penis is not a prerequisite for doing anything.
I do not throw like a girl.
I know when the infield fly rule is in effect.
I can play baseball.
I can kick most guys asses in golf too.
Last year I ran the NYC marathon.
Oh yeah, and I also did pretty well in the NYC Triathlon.
(I kicked hundreds, even thousands, of dudes’ asses in those things too).
I cut our grass.
I operate the gas grill and change the propane tank.
I take care of the opening, closing, and total maintenance of the pool.
I can use a power drill, a power sander, and a chop saw.
I can miter crown molding and use a nail gun.
Yep.
Anything you can do, I can do too.
I might even be able to do it better than you.
As a matter of fact, I’d like to know how many of the current little league coaches can claim to do all of those things?
I’m betting,
um,
very few.
So you picked the wrong chick to fuck with, GIC.
The. Wrong. Chick. To. Fuck. With.
This woman will not stand for blatant discrimination.
Having a dick doesn’t automatically qualify you to coach baseball.
But being one?
Apparently that does.
Bev D. says
Well said….. I can feel your frustration jump right off the page and land in Utah. Please let us know the ‘rest of the story.’ You are more than qualified to lead this group of baseball players…. I could almost hear the music “It’s A Man’s World” playing in the background….
Gwyneth says
Good for you Susie for calling it like it is! What a bunch of BS! This kind of discrimination is just so tiring – it’s everyday, in every facet of life. Men like to think this kind of discrimination no longer exists, but let’s get serious- it’s everywhere. It’s not limited to an experienced mom coaching the little league team.
not your average mom says
Very tiring, frustrating…infuriating.
Deanna says
wow…..just wow.
—-and everyone has a boss…..just sayin’
not your average mom says
Don’t think I’ll get too far with the boss. But I’ve only just begun.
Karen says
Bravo Susie!!! Shame on them!! What an injustice!!!
From one baseball Mom to another… keep playing ball with your son and show him that they have made a huge mistake!!! Their loss! Please keep us posted… at the least they need to have the decency to respond!
not your average mom says
I will for sure write an update. Haven’t decided how I’m going to proceed yet…
old woman says
Keep this whole incident in mind when it is time to vote in the next and every next after that election. Remind every mother, woman, liberated thinking man to vote. The situation about rights for women and minorities is totally scary today… and I have been voting for over 50 years. VOTE.
not your average mom says
Will do 🙂
Lifewith2n says
What a great post ! Resonates with all women who face this kind of treatment!
However you should consider removing this line from your post
‘I do not throw like a girl’ contradicts everything this post stands for.
not your average mom says
I know “throw like a girl” is a little sexist. But there is some truth to it. And my point isn’t that all females should be allowed to coach a sport. Neither should all males. There are dudes who throw like a girl, too. If you don’t know how to throw a ball the right way, then I don’t think you should be coaching baseball. Whether you are a male or female.
Manicmom says
Wow. Baseball is the worst, although I was an umpire for my son’s team for two years and never had an overtly discriminatory experience, except on two occasions when I was the field ump and someone said (within earshot of my mom or my husband), “hey, someone let that mom know it’s time to get off the field. The game’s about to start.”
I walked out there every game feeling ready to do battle, and I’d make eye contact with every single parent on the sidelines, daring them to challenge me.
I am so glad my son has since chosen year-round swim team.
Julie says
OK, someone should have responded to you, I agree with you 100% on that. AND it is quite obvious that GIC or whomever is in charge doesn’t want you to coach. I’m wondering if there are other reasons for this? If GIC knows you, then he knows you have seven kids. He also knows how much of a commitment travel ball is. Where I live, travel baseball is a way of life. If you aren’t playing, then you are practicing or conditioning or fundraising. These coaches eat and breathe baseball so I wonder if that is the reason GIC isn’t interested in you coaching. Don’t get me wrong, I agree that they are dropping the ball by not doing anything for almost a week now, which is just going to hurt the kids, but maybe the reason they don’t want you to coach is because you already have a baseball team at home.
Just a third party’s opinion.
not your average mom says
Yeah. I’d bet all 7 kids that that isn’t the case. And I’m no rookie in this department. I know what’s involved and how big of a commitment it is. Plus, anyone who knows me knows that if I say I’m going to do something, I do it. And I do it well. Vagina and all 😀