Texas Football (nine and under)

[alice1341]

I attended a nine and under football game this weekend with a family member of mine. You see i used to live in eastland texas and i recently moved away. While attending this game of football played by little children i realized very quickly that our eastland team was anything but good sports. Its sad to say but i saw some things that i cant even imagine i would ever want my kids to do. While i do have children i know that if my child did what this child did i would take him home and not let him play again. If you have lived in texas your whole life you learn there are things you dont mess with that is the state, the beef, the children that you love, and last but not least FOOTBALL. How many tv's in texas are tuned into a football game every sunday and if your really into football every saturday and monday too? Football is a mans sport, its all man from every tackle to every touch down. To some men the game of football is a religion its a way of life. To my family its a fun time with family, food, friends, and the big screen T.V.. However what i witnessed at saturdays little league football game was anything but. My father once told me that the way a man acts on the football field says a lot about who he is as a man. Is he the one helping up the other team after a tackle? Is he the one telling the other team they did good after he made the touchdown ITs not a bloodsport but its a mans sport. If a man punches and cusses and kicks on the field what is he going to be like off the field? We played a Ranger team, I know for a fact that Ranger Tx hasn't always had a good name but i can say this none of the kids from Ranger where unsportsmanlike. They are just little kids, I saw a kid from eastland Kick a ranger kid after a tackle after the tackle was over and the kid was trying to get up from where he landed. I watched as another kid get punched in the face after the play was dead and his parents asking the reff what was going on and why didn't they call that? I watched the heated argument as the kids mother called him to the side. I dont know what was said but i watched as helpless parents watched their children get kicked back down trying to get up after a play had been over and even punched while the refs sat back and did nothing. They where so quick to call penalties against the ranger team but they turned a blind eye to what was going on, on the field, and no one from eastland said anything. Is that what we are teaching our kids? That it is more then ok to take cheap shots at others? Surely the coach wouldn't stand for it right? But he did he told them good job when they kicked. It wasn't that the Ranger team was winning they got there butts kicked literally and on the board. So why must we sit back and watch kids do this to one another. After the game i sat back and watched people for a while. The child that punched that kid in the face walked up to his parents where they congratulated him for kicking and punching other kids. I sat there feeling sick to my stomach to think that this was really happening and we allowed it to happen. All i could think about was what kind of person is that kid going to grow up to be? How can we as parents teach our children its ok to take cheap shots on the football field? What is the world coming to when we as people cant be nice to one another and we teach our children things like this? How must the parents of Ranger feel? What does that show us? It showed me that Ranger has some big hearted kids who's parents have taught them how to play the game that truly is football, how to be good sports because even with the loss and even though they took some cheap calls and cheap shots they kept on, they shook the hands of the kids that kicked them in the face that punched them that even tackled them even though the play was over, they held their heads high and they ran off the field with love and joy in their hearts. Who really won that game was the Ranger Seahawks not the Eastland Raiders. My heart goes out to the families that had to sit back and watch this horrible mess that some called a football game. There are a few people who should feel very low for the way this game was played and for letting it happen. All i have to say is turning a blind eye to what is going on right in front of you is horrible and i can't as a human being sit back and turn a blind eye like so many have already done I am speaking up not for myself but for the children that had to endure such horrible teachings. I am going to teach my children God is always watching us and sometimes he puts things in front of us for a reason. How a man acts on the football field shows what kind of man he really is, will be in my heart and my children's hearts for life.
-Alice

[lamb]

If all of that happened as you say it did, it is truly a tragedy.

[joey]

I hate kids being mean to one another for ANY REASON! I was at that game saturday because my grandson plays for the Raiders...I'm not saying what you saw didn't happen, but i didn't see anything out of the ordinary...YES, they play a little rougher than i'd like for them to play, but it is football and i guess thats what boys like!!
Again, i didn't see any of this happening, but if it did, i'm sorry.

[Choppers76]

I was at the game and I did see the kicking the ranger kids while they were down I understand its a rough sport I played during my school years but we didn't kick players while they were down and we didn't get kicked by other players and it was a 4a school but this is eastland I guess they teach there kids too play dirty

[lc]

I was there and my grandson came to the sidelines crying more than once telling me the Raiders were kicking them after the tackle and the head but was for all to see after my grandson tackled him and was walking off.I have never seen such poor sportsmanship in my life and the referees,coach and parents rooted them on.

[MsBizzybody]

Well, if it were my child or I saw a child get kicked, I would have made a scene. If I knew the kid that was doing the kicking, I would have called his name and chewed him out. What team was this? If you'll tell me when, where and what team, I"ll be sure and be there and maybe a pic in the newspaper of poor sportsmanship will get their attention! LOL.

I really hate that coaches and parents are allowing this to happen. That is truly not what will get them ahead on or off the field. I hate to hear/see a flag thrown for unsportsmanlike conduct. Thats a 15 yard penalty and does no good for the team.

My granddaughter knows she doesn't kick or hit even the dog! Her hiney gets spanked and so should those boys!

[MsBizzybody]

I gotta disagree with you on it being a man's sport! My mother used to raise the roof when the cowboys played in the 60s and 70s. Lotta women yelling pretty loud at the Mavericks games! Clint Coffee gives me funny looks at the football games when I get going! LOL

[Twin grandma]

so sad that the attitude these days seems to be winning at any cost. What happened to good sportsmanship. The coach should be ashamed of himself for letting this go on. The parents hold a lot of responsibility also for not teaching their kids right from wrong. Let the tables turn the other way and listen to the complaining.

[MsBizzybody]

Our high school football coaches don't put up with that kind of behavior. Why in the world are they allowing it in the little kids games. A young man on the J.V. team committed an unsportsmanlike conduct during the first or second game and I thought the coaches were going to whip him. He's shaped up a great deal since then! They need their tail ends chewed out.

[Choppers76]

Little league football Super Bowl sat. At maverick stadium

[MsBizzybody]

Is this where the team that plays dirty will be playing?

[Choppers76]

Yes I don't know what time they play

[alice1341]

11:01 the raiders will be playing the chiefs

[MsBizzybody]

Okay, so it's the Raiders that are playing dirty? Did they win the game today?

[joey]

YES, we won, fair & square!! Superbowl CHAMPS!!!

[RaiderDad]

Alice,

With all do respect you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

I was at the game. As a matter of fact I have been at every game this year. You see, my son is the one that you accuse of kicking a player in the face. But I'll get to that in a bit.

You start by disparaging the boys and then the coach of the Raiders. Coach Byrd is well respected for coaching many youth sports in Eastland. He has taught hundreds of kids how to play fair, but hard. He doesn't tolerate any of the things that abscribe to the team or to him personally. His reputation belies your assertion for what it is--overfeminization and crying over a losing season and hurt feelings.

Now, on to my son.

Seeing as you assert you actually watched the game, I am sure you saw that my son (and 2-3 ranger players on their offensive line) were playing HARD--all day. My son won the battle more often than not, and did so cleanly. Perhaps you should ask the boy who was blocking him (and who now, incidentally is playing side by side with him in the All-Star team). My son had broken through the line. The boy was falling and grabbed his leg. As my son was going down another ranger player flew in to make a block, crashed into his knee and went down.

Perhaps in your confusion between legal contact and "cheap shots" you also missed the punches thrown by a couple of the frustrated Ranger players. If you did, perhaps you caught it in the game against the Redskins and Cowboys during the super bowl last week. I can guarantee you they were happening there as well.

I don't fault the kids for it. Or even the Ranger coaches. They were positive, worked hard and encouraged their boys to play harder. If it was anything it was the hysterical moms that ran on to the field because their boys were being beaten yet again on the field. You see, insisting on sunshine, lolipops and participation ribbons for all is not what life--or football--is about. One day those boys will grow into men. They learn life lessons from football--adversity (my son lost every game last year but loved the joy of playing). They learn to work harder. To dig deeper. To push beyond what they thought they could.

You see, the congratulations I gave my son for "beating up" rangers "little kids"? What I was congratulating my son for was that he had injured his shoulder in the first quarter. He could barely lift his arm, but knowing the difference between hurting and injury decided he could play. He did. And did well. With good sportsmanship. I then took him to the ER to get x-rays and a sling. He was back out there last week because he loves the game and the team. So please, don't make assumptions that you have no understanding of.

My recommendation is that you learn more about the game. That the lessons that are learned out there are earned, not given. Also learn that some of us want to raise men, and not "participators".

Thanks.

[Sparkley]

You should also know that Eastland had a coach for this age group a few years back that coached "win at all costs". He coached Football and baseball. When parents signed up their kids for sports, they asked "Not THAT coach." It got bad enough for THAT coach, they MOVED from Eastland to another nearby town. Please DO NOT make a blanket statement for which you know none of the background. Parents in Eastland do not put up with coaching that way.

Also, I was at the superbowl games for the 9 and under football teams. I saw the Ranger Seahawks throwing punches in the game against the Chiefs. As a matter of fact, Number 13 on the Seahawks tried to kick a Raiders player in the groin in a previous regular season game. There was bad blood between those teams. The both fought hard and what I saw in the Superbowl was clean played games.

Football is a rough sport. Sometimes frustrations run high. If one team starts playing a little dirty, often the other team will retaliate in kind. I do not condone this behavior, but it happens. To the best of my knowledge the coaches DO NOT coach the kids to do this, nor do they tolerate it.

As a mom, it is sometimes hard to watch your child on the football field. But, like my son, I have to grow up and realize he is not a baby anymore. He needs to learn to handle situations where someone is not playing fair without running to me and asking for help. That is part of becoming an adult.

During the first game of the season, there was an incident where the Chiefs were playing the Raiders. At halftime the score was 40-0 in favor of the Raiders. Some of the moms on the Chiefs team were angry that their team was loosing and said the coaches were not coaching right, so they took their sons home at the half. The Chiefs didn't have enough kids left to field a team and had to fore fit. One mom took her son off the team entirely, only to try to put him back on after the Chiefs won their next game. Now what is that mom teaching her son?
To QUIT.
If it's hard, son, just quit. If it's not going your way, just quit.

You can learn a lot of life lessons in sports. I will say for the most part, I am happy with the lessons my son is learning and I would be happy for him to play for Coach Byrd any season, any sport. He is positive, he teaches the kids to play hard and he does not tolerate bad sportsmanship if he sees it.

If you can't handle watching the game, don't sign your kids up.

[Choppers76]

Raiderdad.
With all do respect you are blind I set there and seen the raiders hit and kick the Seahawks time and time again y'all go ahead and stay in denial keep on with the eastland ways

[alice1341]

Dear sparkley and Raiderdad,
I Stick by what i wrote and what i saw. I never said anything about the "Superbowl" game other then what time the Raiders played because someone wanted to know. Not only that but i dont recall mentioning any kids numbers or names. To be honest i went to all the games i saw all the kids play and your right i did see a seahawk throw his arms up on the fifty yard line but never saw a punch. Plus fyl the kid that he did that to attends Ranger School so my guess would be is they know each other. I saw the game with the seahawks and the chiefs also i am friends with one of the coaches. What i saw with that game was kids from both teams helping up the kids that just tackled. Say what you want to say and do what you want to do. It wont change the way that i feel and the way that i see and i do know a legal call from a cheap shot. My guess is there will be other things said that there will be other things done but how i see it is, the season is over.

[Sparkley]

Alice,
You mentioned before that you used to live in Eastland and you moved away. Now you are saying you went to ALL the games?
Really?

I was on the Chiefs side for the Seahawks/Chiefs game during the Superbowl. The Chiefs coaches were going nuts because the Seahawks were throwing punches after the play was over in the piles.

You think what you want, but I bet if we ask the Chiefs parents/coaches and the Cowboys parents/coaches you will hear the same story I'm telling.

[alice1341]

Yes I do move away and yes I did go to ALL the games. I do still have family that live in Eastland, Cisco, and even Gorman so yeah I did go to all the games except one on October 6 I was busy that weekend. I don't think that it's uncommon for people to move you of Eastland and still come back. And this post wasn't even about the Super Bowl until writers made it about the Superbowl.