NationStates Jolt Archive

Ok ... so the topic is a little misleading.

Deal with it.

Anyway, I am the coach of the 8 and under (that's 8 yrs old and under) softball team. What that means to the rest of you is that I get to teach a bunch of crazy uncoordinated girls how to throw a softball, hit a softball, and generally deal with the fact that a ball may be hitting them at some point.

I've noticed, however, a huge difference. If a kid can't catch the ball so well and gets hit buy it from time to time, I get some mother yelling at me. Never the dad. Why is that?

I have a theory that "sports" is genetic.

Discuss.

The mother cares for her child's welfare and you're disapproving of it? Come on, no one wants to see their kids hurt.

Firstly, the girls may be acting ditzy because it's "cool" to be ditzy now. Try watching those anime shows or the Newly Weds and see how the females act.

Secondly, If the balls are hitting the kids that hard, you're placing them too far apart. Try shorter distances.

It's called "masculinity" and "femininity."

And it was discovered thousands of years ago, but liberals have been supressing knowledge of it just as vociferously as conservative christians initially suppressed cosmology, failed, and are now attempting to suppress evolutionary science.

men realise that sport is sport, there is always a chance of a minor injury. mothers do have the pratective maternal instinct and so would ahve a harder time seeing their child hurt, even if only a little

My history teacher said some scientists believe boys and girls natural abilities are actually the same to start off with but it is culturalization that makes the subtle differences add up over the years to make men and women's abilities so different. For example, because girls are taught to stay inside and play with dolls while boys are taught to run around outside and climb trees etc, then the boys become faster and stronger, not because they were born to do so but because their environment makes them have to be that way. I guess its the classic nature vs nurture discussion. But anyway, by that line of thinking the girls on your team run around and act silly because thats how little girls are expected to act. Fathers are taught not to be too involved in the raising of the children because that could be seen as too feminine, showing too much emotion or whatever. I do think the mothers' behavior is basic maternal instinct to protect her babies from harm.

I just think that if you, as a parent, agree to sign your child up for sports, then for god's sakes, deal with the fact that accidents happen. I took softball as a young girl and I got smacked in the face with a ball. Yeah, it hurt, but my mother didn't start yelling at the coach (whose fault my accident wasn't) because of it.

Fathers can be insensitive, but I think mothers are sometimes hypersensitive. A cut or a bruise won't kill your kid.

Ok ... so the topic is a little misleading.

Deal with it.

Anyway, I am the coach of the 8 and under (that's 8 yrs old and under) softball team. What that means to the rest of you is that I get to teach a bunch of crazy uncoordinated girls how to throw a softball, hit a softball, and generally deal with the fact that a ball may be hitting them at some point.

I've noticed, however, a huge difference. If a kid can't catch the ball so well and gets hit buy it from time to time, I get some mother yelling at me. Never the dad. Why is that?

I have a theory that "sports" is genetic.

Discuss.

This is not a male / female thing. Just wanted to point that out. Since im male and not a homo either, and still Im not gungho on sports (especially baseball/softball which in my book is only good when im sick since it puts me to sleep)

As for kids getting hurt and parents getting in your face, deal with it, or get out of doing it. Any descent parent doesnt like their kid getting hurt. And many go overboard when theirs does. (i know, cause im one who does)

I rate this post* PG for the Use of Copulation as an example.

It's called "masculinity" and "femininity."

And it was discovered thousands of years ago, but liberals have been supressing knowledge of it just as vociferously as conservative christians initially suppressed cosmology, failed, and are now attempting to suppress evolutionary science.

Leme get this part outa the way first =)
Gender role is a term used in the social sciences and humanities to denote a set of behavioral norms that accompany a given gendered status (also called a gendered identity) in a given social group or system. Gender is one component of the gender/sex system, which refers to "the set of arrangements by which a society transforms biological sexuality into products of human activity, and in which these transformed needs are satisfied" (Reiter 1975: 159). Every known society has a gender/sex syste; As defined by wikipedia

I have Knoticed that in our socity

It is often the Mans role to teach the fear of being Perceived as immature, such things as "Feelings" are weaknesses that no man should explore.

Women often teach the more compasionate side useing the feelings to benifite them, being atuned to your feelings gives you power beyond yourself often used to protect the off-spring.

It is hoped that the two sides will mesh better but don't often do, often in the early years of the male/female subjects it causes undue stress and an Aquard feeling when not knowing hat is socaly exceptable but still trying to meet that exceptation

Edit-
As far as Sports being generic, i belive any repeatable activity that stresses the body can be clessified, thou i would exclude Human-Copulation because it is often a 2 player match witch has no lasting effect on a persons phisque(wow thats spelled realy wrong but Copulation is correct), male or female

Ok ... so the topic is a little misleading.

Deal with it.

Anyway, I am the coach of the 8 and under (that's 8 yrs old and under) softball team. What that means to the rest of you is that I get to teach a bunch of crazy uncoordinated girls how to throw a softball, hit a softball, and generally deal with the fact that a ball may be hitting them at some point.

I've noticed, however, a huge difference. If a kid can't catch the ball so well and gets hit buy it from time to time, I get some mother yelling at me. Never the dad. Why is that?

I have a theory that "sports" is genetic.

Discuss.I've noticed that girls of that age tend to be scared of anything (ah, that brings back memories :D). I assume a dad's protective instincts kick in once the girl reaches puberty while the mom wants to protect the "fragile" girl at an early age.

I agree with Laerod. What I would do is just get them to practice tossing the ball, running, and hitting it. I am assuming the sport is soft-pitch, so I would gather up the parents in one big group, hold a meeting, and say, hey, your kids could get hit with a ball, but it really won't do much. At the most, a bruise.

My history teacher said some scientists believe boys and girls natural abilities are actually the same to start off with but it is culturalization that makes the subtle differences add up over the years to make men and women's abilities so different. For example, because girls are taught to stay inside and play with dolls while boys are taught to run around outside and climb trees etc, then the boys become faster and stronger, not because they were born to do so but because their environment makes them have to be that way. I guess its the classic nature vs nurture discussion. But anyway, by that line of thinking the girls on your team run around and act silly because thats how little girls are expected to act. Fathers are taught not to be too involved in the raising of the children because that could be seen as too feminine, showing too much emotion or whatever. I do think the mothers' behavior is basic maternal instinct to protect her babies from harm.Well said, and seconded, with the exception of the last sentence.

I've noticed that girls of that age tend to be scared of anything (ah, that brings back memories :D). I assume a dad's protective instincts kick in once the girl reaches puberty while the mom wants to protect the "fragile" girl at an early age.

You know that's a strange fact. A (stereotypical) father will only show concern for his daughter if there's a boyfriend involved...and the concern is usually something along the lines of: "If you have sex with her I'll kill you".

Why is it that (stereotypical) father's are like "Hey, son, you got laid! Well done!" and then (to their daughters) "If that boy even tries to go to 2nd base with you I'll rip his balls off!"

Anyway, on the original subject of this discussion: I agree with so many of the replies. The one about how people are brought up - that's something I use alot - 'Girls are weaker than boys' because of conditioning. You know those girls who are tomboys when they're young and run around playing sports and getting dirty in the mud (in a non-sexual way)? You do NOT want to get on the wrong side of them when they grow up.

too many parents live vicariously through the successes of their children, so they take it personally when their kids make mistakes. i see it all the time; i’m a parent and it drives me absolutely crazy. that’s why i could never deal with coaching or teaching young kids. their parents are insane. they ought to be made to stay an quarter of a mile away during practice and games.

as for your theory, i can’t help you there. i’m a mom, and if my daughter got hit by a ball, i can’t imagine a reason to yell at the coach. (unless you were lining them up against the backstop and hurling softballs at them or something)

as for the coordination thing, i think when kids are going through growth spurts their bodies get all out of whack and their brains don’t have a good sense of where exactly their extremities are. my daughter takes ballet classes, and i can’t figure out for the life of me how she can dance with such grace, but can’t walk across the kitchen floor without taking a header into the refrigerator. my son, who is three, has already been to the emergency room for stitches on his forehead when he fell on the metal track of a sliding glass door. i’m hoping for academic scholarships for him. ;)

My wife and her sisters played softball all through school. They are still extremely good at it.

They were taught by their mother, who also plays.

All of them were hit by the ball, and their mother yelled at them, not the coach.

My wife can hit a softball or baseball better, further, and with more control over the direction and range than most men I've met.

O
I have a theory that "sports" is genetic.

Discuss.
i think sports ability must be genetic... like having good hand-eye coordination, or plenty of mitochondria for longer anaerobic respiration (if i remember my biology right), etc etc

i mean you get 'sporty families' where most, if not all, members of the family are sporty and all that. you rarely get one really sporty kid, and their brother being a slovenly slob. that may be because of the social factors (like upbringing and parents attitudes), but i think it also boils down to this basic biological advantage (to do well in sports) that some kids have over others. when you're young, if you're good at something you'll be encouraged by others to do it more, and will enjoy doing it more - if you're naturally good at sports then that's what you're going to do more of - simple.
a uni friend of mine is, and has always been, the sporty type. he's good at all sports without even trying, picks up the rules fast, is cometitive, strives to win, and can generally just do really well at any sport i've seen (or heard) he puts his mind to. his sister is exactly the same. just inherent sporting ability.
reason: genetics.

case closed ;)

when a mother yells at you when her daughter gets hit by the ball or hurt by some other common hazard of the game, what is her theory of why its YOUR fault?

do you think that these mothers played sports themselves when they were girls?

some women are just control freaks and yell at someone when anything doesnt go the way they think it should.

There is an obvious evolutionary specialization between males and females, so I'd say yes, sports might be considered a genetic/biological thing rather than a social thing. The mother's concern about a ball hitting her son/daughter is a product of evolution as well.

I don't know. When I got hit in the head with a softball, both my parents laughed and said, "Don't close your eyes, silly!"

When I got hit in the back with a softball, the coach just told the kid who had thrown it that you can't trhow directly down the baseline when there is a runner there.

*shrug* Getting hit in the back of the neck hurt a whole lot more than getting hit in the head btw.

I'd have to agree with Pure Metal and say that yes, sports is genetic, but it has nothing to do with gender. I come from a "sporty" family, and I'm the oldest son. While I can do pretty well if I REALLY try, I'm the family intellectual. Both of my brothers and my sister are incredibly athletic. My sister was on 2 varsity sports (soccer and volleyball) as a high school freshman, and she can crush most of the guys she knows at any sport.
That being said, I think that gender is only relevant to sports if the parents decide to make it relevant. If they do, more often than not, everybody suffers, whether girls like my sis are prevented from playing, or guys like me are forced to, it does much more harm than good.

It's called "masculinity" and "femininity."

And it was discovered thousands of years ago, but liberals have been supressing knowledge of it just as vociferously as conservative christians initially suppressed cosmology, failed, and are now attempting to suppress evolutionary science.

Ditto. Keep the soccer moms at home, please. Your child's childhood will be much better.

Gender has nothing really to do with it. I can beat many guys at sports but my brother isn't too fond of sports at all, and with us coming from a big baseball/softball family I don't really think genetics have much to do with it. I'm lucky if I hit the ball. But I suppose genetics do give kids an advantage but not entirely on that sport.

And of course the mother is going to yell at you, but ignore it because she'll quickly forget about it when her daughter gets good and becomes tougher. You'll always have mothers that say things like that.