Ok....here's my sitch from yesterday's tournament.....

12U girls FP ASA Rules

What do you do when you have a spectator (from your own team) sitting outside the dugout fence that consistantly hackles the coaches decisions on EVERYthing they do. When the coach went over to ask her to shut up, she then threatened to come into the dugout and kick the coaches butt if she didn't leave her alone that she could sit there and say whatever she wanted. She wasn't being rude to the team or umps but just was a royal pain in the you know what to us coaches and would NOT shut up.

I've never wanted to just call a game and leave the field but I wasn't going to do that to the rest of the team. This "fan" was an aunt of one of the players on the team. The parent of this player was told that if the aunt came to anymore games and her behavior was the same that the player would be benched until the situation is under control. Ump said there wasn't anything in his power to do about it.

9-1-1

Opinion:
Stay away from the "knuckle-head" you described. Try to ignore her. Possibly tell her that she is a poor example for all the players, especially her niece.
I see no reason for the coach to bench the player because of her aunt's actions.
How come the players parents did not try to control this individual's comments (someone's sister)? Seems like a deeper situation than we need to know.
I am quite sure I would not do anything as an umpire based on the situation described.
Hope this helps!

The umpire was correct. Not a rule or umpire issue.

Sometimes, there's just those people that you can't please. You play so-and-so, they're mad. You bench them, they're mad. You sacrifice when you should have swung away, they're mad. You can't win. Pay no attention to her at all, eventually others will get sick of her as well and tell her to shut up. As far as the umpire goes, we've got enough of our own problem between players, coaches and fans directing comments at us, we can't be focusing on what the parents/relatives are saying to the coaches as well.

-J

You are correct....it is all racial...

"The parent of this player was told that if the aunt came to anymore games and her behavior was the same that the player would be benched until the situation is under control."

That's the way to handle the situation. Punish the child because the 'adults' don't know how to control the situation. These types disgust me.

Bob

Childish and petty comment.
mick

Please understand that there were no racial comments presented by me.
Hopefully most of the parents will help the situation by addressing the "aunt" or just by ignoring her. Maybe then she will get the idea that her actions are not needed. In our area, we call these type of adults "frustrated athletes". They tend to complain almost non-stop during athletic events.

This sounds more like you are looking for problem resolution help than umpire help. How about pulling that player's parent aside and letting them know that their accompanying fan is very distracting and threatening a coach is unacceptable. You have already asked the "site supervisor" to keep an eye over her but that this fan should leave the premises. You to the parent "we are trying to teach respect and sportsmanship to the kids and that fan is not supporting our goals". Essentially, delegate the problem to someone who's (on the inside). Then as she leaves you should stick your tongue out and call her a frog face.

I don't know what the "racial" thing referred to - nothing in this thread hints of anything racial.

But, anyway, if a beligerant fan at a youth game was being disruptive to the game, I would suspend the game until the situation is dealt with by either the coaches, the other fans, or whatever park officials may be present. Beyond suspending the game and informing the coaches why, I would not otherwise intervene. I would consider a continuing stream of loud, disparaging remarks directed at players or coaches to be disrupting the game.

If this was a travel team, then I would also consider the coach's solution of sitting the player whose relative is being disruptive to be entirely within bounds. Next step would be to cut the player from the team.

If this is a rec team, then different standards apply. It should probably at least be taken to the league officials if it continues.

Some things (and people) should never be tolerated at a youth sports event. Have the Park supervisor throw this woman out. Maybe that will get the message across. As for saying "whatever she wanted", well, threatening physical violence is a crime (assault) and can be dealt with by the police if the need arises. I've only ever had to call police 1 time in about 15 years of officiating but I can tell you it will shut most people up very quickly.

This is not the umpires problem unless it disrupts the game.

I'm sorry for the confusion......

the "its a racial thing" comment was directed at the "Seems like a deeper situation than we need to know." I didn't want to get deeper into that aspect of it because to me that doesn't make a difference at all. I was just defining what the "deeper situation" was without going into details.

I'm sorry if I made it seem that you were the one that said something racial......that was not what I meant at all and I apologize.


This is a travel team and that is why the head coach told this parent what she did.

That is why I asked my question because I don't feel that it is fair to punish the child for something out of her control. What disgust me is the relative that can't control her mouth and is not only a bad example for her niece but for every other player on the field too.

I guess I should have started my question out by saying...."is there anything in the rulebook that could help this situation" instead of "what do you do".

I apologize for the confusion and didn't mean to upset anyone......Question is now closed........Sorry.

Sunny crawls back into her corner tucking her tail between her legs :(

When I coached Little League we had a meeting prior to the season with all the parents and we went over this kind of behavior. We inserted a clause that covered both the parents and any one they were seated with in the stands. We only had one problem the three years I coached but this was over a call not at the coaches directly. The Umpire was a volunteer and the parent was giving him a hard time about an interference call. I asked the parent to leave and gave him a speech about how he we teaching his son good sportsmanship by being a complete jack@&#.

I never did fast pitch coaching but I am positive that they also attempt to have this kind of focus on sportsmanship.

Speaking for myself and several others, just because someone responds the way we do, it's not automatic that we're angry or offended, it's just the comment. These are good situations that some have not came across yet and it's good to know how to handle just in case.

Well Sunny, if you are still looking in,

In your situation, nothing that an umpire could do, but you or the coach could call a league rep or tournament director or whoever is in charge and tell them to look in on the game, and then they can take care of any problem fans. And as some have said, maybe talk to the parents and ask them to talk to the aunt about what is going on.

asked a fan this weekend where she worked, she asked why, I tlod her that I wanted to come to her work and yell at her and tell her what a bad job she did. she did not like it to much but the people around her sure did

Pray tell, under what rule support would you reference suspending the game? How was the game disrupted that would compel you to suspend play? Sure a heckler can be unnerving to the hecklee but absent profanity or unlawful threats I cannot see how it would concern the umpire. Please, tell me, convince me, teach me!

[Edited by Robmoz on May 31st, 2005 at 03:00 PM]

I'd use ASA 10-8-A: "Umpires may suspend play when, in their judjement, conditions justify such action."

Then I would use ASA 10-1: "The umpires are the representative of the league or organization by which they have been assigned to a particular game and, as such, are authorized and required to enforce each section of these rules. They have the power to order a player, coach, captain or manager to carry out or to omit any act which, in their judgment is necessary to give force and effect to one or all of these rules, and to inflict penalties as herein prescribed, The plate umpire shall have the authority to make decisions on any situations not specifically covered in the rules."

Adressing a heckler is not one of them.

The umpire isn't suspending the game to address the heckler. S/he will address BOTH coaches and allow them to address the heckler.

BTW, there is also nothing in the rule book that dictates an umpire to work a game. If it is bad enough to stop, I just as well walk away and deal with the consequences at a later date.

The rule has already been quoted. 10-8-A. I was speaking in generalities since what was going on exactly was not entirely revealed (and probably properly so). But there was this:Making physical threats against the coach sounds pretty disruptive to me, and would fall under "when ... conditions justify..." in MY judgment.

And, as Mike pointed out, I never did (in my hypothetical)address the fan.

As to sitting the player. Sure it is unfair to the kid, but a travel team does not have to, and should not, put up with disruptive relatives. Most travel teams can choose the players at the coach's discretion, and the coach (among other things) has to consider the good of the team as a whole.