The story was in today's Burlington Free Press.It's about a ten-year-old kid whose mother missed, by four days, the registration deadline for a 9-10 year old instructional Little League program.
Hint: Youth sports are not there for the adults.
"It is about maintaining the integrity of our rules," Tim Kaczmarek said.
The story was in today's Burlington Free Press.It's about a ten-year-old kid whose mother missed, by four days, the registration deadline for a 9-10 year old instructional Little League program.
The penalty? "Tough shit, kid, you don't get to play."
Raising two sons in Montpelier, I confess that I have occasionally been guilty of the unforgivable crime of being late for a sports registration deadline. The penalty my sons suffered? None at all. You see, in Montpelier, and in most other places, the people running the sports programs recognize that youth sports programs exist to give kids a chance to participate in sports. To, if I may use an archaic and possibly outdated concept, play.
This clearly isn't the first time this kind of thing has happened. You may recall that last year some officious track officials disqualified Minh John Lu from going to the New England track championships because he wore the wrong kind of shorts for his winning long jump. They eventually backed down, and just recently the Vermont Principals' Association changed their rules so competing coaches can't protest uniform violations.
This is a ten-year-old kid, whose mother, raising two kids and working six days a week, missed the deadline by four days.
If you live in South Burlington it might be worth giving the people who run this program a call.
If you're interested you could also join the Facebook group about it.