Why A Teen Should Serve on The Youth League’s Board of Directors
By Doug Abrams In the spring of 1968, I was finishing my junior year at W. Tresper Clarke High School in Westbury, and I was also nearing the end of my Little League playing days with the Central Nassau Athletic Association. I had umpired CNAA games in the lower age divisions for three years, and … Read more
When Sports Parents Cross the Line: Writing Threatening Letters to Coaches
The recent incident involving a sports parenting mom, Janet Chiauzzi of East Meadow, NY, goes a little deeper than just her bizarre reaction to her 10-year-0ld son not making the local LL travel team. According to police and media reports, Ms. Chiauzzi was so dismayed by her son being cut that she sat down and wrote a … Read more
The “Lunacy Tax”
By Doug Abrams Last week’s column discussed how adults’ abuse of officials can endanger player safety, particularly in collision and contact sports. In youth leagues and high school programs alike, abuse dished out by parents and coaches leads officials to quit in droves, leaving some games to less seasoned replacements who might not yet be … Read more
Upset that his Daughter Wasn’t Named First-Team All County, Dad Threatens to Sue
Here’s a Father’s Day Special for you….when Ally Baskas, the Rutherford HS (NJ) soph softball player wasn’t named to the All-County first team last week, her Dad Mike was outraged – even threatening to sue the league and the coaches. Why? Not only did Mike Baskas feel that his daughter had been gypped by not being named first-team, but … Read more
How Adults’ Abuse of Officials Endangers Player Safety
By Doug Abrams From coast to coast, many youth leagues and high school conferences report chronic shortages of referees and other officials. In many places, the shortage can be so acute that some games must be postponed, rescheduled or even canceled. In other places, seasons may be shortened so that league schedules do not outpace … Read more
Respect in Sports: What High School Coaches Should Say at Their Retirement Dinner
By Doug Abrams Thank you everyone. This is my last opportunity to talk with you as Coach, a title I have cherished ever since I first put the whistle around my neck years ago. A few core principles have guided my coaching career, and I hope that they will also guide your athletic pursuits, now … Read more
Being Disqualified for Using Profanity? Was this Pole Vaulter Wrongfully Punished?
I’m eager to see what kind of feedback I get from listeners this Sunday AM on WFAN Radio on this case. That’s because about it was just about a year ago that a young HS female pole vaulter from California was disqualified from a dual track meet when the opposing coach noted that she was … Read more
NJ Governor Chris Christie: Did He Go Too Far as a Sports Parent?
On one hand, you can make a case that Gov. Chris Christie was just doing what he could to help balance his priorities as a dad along with the demands of his government job. After all, what sports parent hasn’t felt the anxious crunch of time constraints of one’s job when one’s kid is playing in … Read more
Should Youth Leaguers Receive Trophies for Participation?
By Doug Abrams A few years ago, a midwestern editorial writer criticized “the silly philosophy in youth sports that believes everyone deserves a trophy, no matter what their performance.” The writer belittled the trophies-for-all mentality for building “artificial self-esteem.” (Doug Harris, “Why Punish a Kid For the Crime of Being Too Good?,” Dayton (Ohio) News, … Read more
"The Sports Edge"
