moar too come soon. iz in tyme out.

Angry and upset that their children cannot hit a baseball thrown by a fellow nine year old, parents forfeit the game and leave him standing on the mound, looking at an empty home plate.

Is this a scene edited out of The Incredibles?

No, it happened in the Newhaven, Conneticut Little League! Just last week!

Because Jericho Scott is so talented, they want his team to disband and be redistributed among the other teams.  Except for, I’m assuming, poor Jericho.

I don’t know what makes me feel worse about this story.  Is it that Jericho is essentially being punished for excelling at pitching?  Or that the parents from the other teams chose to impart a very harsh lesson upon a child, even though they claim it was the safety of their own children at stake? It’s a toss-up, really.

Although Jericho has never hit anyone, his top spitching peed of 40mph made some parents nervous.  I get that, I really do.  But is he not supposed to pitch to the best of his ability? 

Or is it really a case of Jericho being just too good?

Do little Danny’s parents get upset because his team gets shut out every time they play against Jericho’s team?  Is Danny depressed because he is not yet good enough to hit pitching of Jericho’s caliber?

Oh well.

Get used to it, young Danny.

It’s about time parents got their heads out of their collective derrieres and taught their children that they will not always be the best at something.  That even though there is someone better than them (and trust me, 99% of the time, there will always be someone better than them at something) it doesn’t mean they can’t try hard and do their own personal best.

And even if their own personal best doesn’t get a home run, or even a single, that it is ok.  The earth will not spin off its axis.  It just means that you put your head down and try harder next time.

Nobody likes to lose.

But learning how to lose, and how to be a gracious loser, is one of the most important lessons we can teach our kids.

I would not be surprised if soon young Jericho is forced to relocate to another city, change his name, and become an insurance salesman.

Just so everyone else can feel better about themselves.

Thanks to Dr. Nic for the story idea!