>When Dads Attack, Preschool Edition
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As you can see, he is one devoted dad. So devoted, in fact, that when a girl on Punky’s Under-Six soccer team kept scoring goals, he lost it. Lost it. On a field full of little girls.
“I’m sick of watching this!” he shouted at Hubs, who’s coaching Punky’s team, from the comfort of his field chair. “Win at any cost, eh? Win at any cost! That girl shouldn’t be playing!” On and on he went, louder and louder, waving his coffee cup for emphasis.
‘That girl,’ a five-year-old who’d been added to our team by the league last week, looked over at him uncertainly. George’s team had a mix of three and four-year-olds, while our team had five three-year-olds and one five-year-old, so I wasn’t sure what grounds he had for complaining.
After a few minutes, Hubs decided he’d had enough. “Who’s keeping score?” he shouted back finally. “What’s your problem, man? You need to get a life!”
Hubs left the field and grabbed two league officials to deal with Crazy George. While we were waiting for the game to resume, George kept yelling. I went over to him.
“You really need to stop,” I said. “You’re losing it in front of a bunch of children. The kids on the field don’t even know whether they’re winning or losing, so what do you care?”
“Yeah,” a mom from his own team agreed. “It’s really not a big deal, George.”
“It is a big deal!” he shouted, standing up. “I’m sick of this! Sick!”
“Be quiet!” another dad from his team called over to him. At that point, his team’s coach walked over to him and got in his face. “George!” she boomed. “Sit down and SHUT UP!”
The coach, I later learned, was his wife. The league officials came over. George kept yelling.
“They have a five-year-old on their team. It’s not right! I’m sick of watching this! Get her off the field!”
“You know, maybe you should take this up with the Executive Board,” one of them suggested. “This really isn’t the time or place.”
“I don’t wanna take it up with the Executive Board!” he bellowed. “I wanna take it up now! Get that girl off the field!” Around him, the older brothers and sisters of the players stared in fascination.
Eventually, George noticed that I was taking pictures while the other parents on my team laughed. “You’re gonna write about this, right?” one mom asked.
“I apologize!” Crazy George called over to me. “I’m sorry!” He kept quiet for the remainder of the game. But George had more tricks up his sleeve. The next day, he sent out an e-mail to all of the members of his daughter’s team, accusing Hubs of recruiting a “5+ ringer” in order to “win at any cost.” “This guy’s been around the block a few times,” he assured them. “Knows every trick in the book.” To prove his point, he attached Hubs’ bio from the Internet, which said that he’d been a soccer coach for 6 seasons. The bio also contained personal information about my family. Creepy.
Luckily, George isn’t very bright. Among the people he sent the e-mail to were the parents of the “5+ ringer” from our team. Somehow, George didn’t realize that they also had a daughter on his team. Obviously, they were furious when they saw the e-mail.
As of yesterday, both daughters have been moved to our team. We’ve heard that George’s wife has stepped down as coach. We play their team again at the end of October. If George is there, I predict it will end in some kind of George vs. the parents from both teams free-for-all.
Ah, the magic and wonder of preschool soccer!
>Thats crazy, that poor five year old. My daughter is four and on a soccer team and all us parents just watch and laugh at the kids. Can you imagine his poor kids.
>It’s hilarious, that is, until you consider that some poor kids have this whack job as a father…can you imagine how he reacts to typical kid issues? God help the son or daughter that doesnt eat all their veggies or put their toys away.Maybe he should play on an adult league, so that he can get all his soccer-frustrations dealt with on his own field, and leave the kids alone.
>I was a kids soccer coach for several seasons myself. There is one near certainty about these people: they hate soccer. None of them have ever played a game, watched it on television, read about it in the newspaper, bought a ticket to a game, have a soccer player’s jersey, etc. Heck, normally they cannot name a soccer player who isn’t already famous for being married to an international hottie.If memory serves me correctly, the best memories most of these kids will have of soccer is the cookies after the game and the end of season pizza party.
>Oh great my kids who will be 5 in January will start soccer next spring. Is this what we have to look forward to??
>It’s crazy how often you hear about parents losing it at children’s games-I don’t see how they can miss the big picture…the kids are out there to have fun!Good for you for taking pictures…and reporting on it. Hopefully he will read it and gain some perspective-
>People like that make me crazy. They say they’re sorry, but you can’t really take it back once it’s out there. We had our very first soccer game last night with a bunch of 4 to 6 year olds. We got a great, laid back coach but the opposing coach was a little intense for me! I’m so glad we got the one we did because Bubba is so out in left field (sorry for the baseball analogy!) during most of the game.
>Oh mah gawd. Another reason I quit coaching soccer. And I loved the kids. Hated the parents.
>Damn! Even if such excitement happened during one of C’s games, I’d never know because I’m chasing him off other fields and out of the woods and parking lot the whole time. Well, occasionally he takes a break in someone else’s chair.
>And of course, while all this was going on, Punky was taking frequent breaks from the game to check on her two princess dolls she insisted on bringing with her. I had to tell her they were having lots of fun watching her kick the ball in order to get her to go back out and play!Trust me, none of those girls out there had any idea whether their team won or lost, unless their parents told them. That’s what made George’s behavior so surreal.
>Tales like this make me never want to volunteer to coach a team. Which is a shame, because I know every trick in the book to help our team WIN! AT! ANY! COST!
>Go, Bill Z (in picture), tell George where to put his complaints.Um, you will give me the time and field of the next game with that team, right?
>I just don’t get this concept of parents acting like jerks. I so wish I were there so I could have told him where to shove it.
>I’m a bit curious as to what George had in his coffee cup.
>I friggin love that you took his picture. As a person who spent her entire childhood at her brothers games listening to assholes like that, I’m glad that everybody stood up to him. For one full year of my brothers baseball career (he also played soccer and hockey) a guy screamed like that the entire time. We sat in the car the entire season.
>That’s it. I’m never leaving my house without my camera. At! Any! Cost!Dude, I feel sorry for his kids and his wife. I hope she gave him a good talking to after the game, though that’s doubtful considering the email. And I hope the “ringer” is okay after hearing such an outburst.Some parents aren’t cut out to watch their kids play in a sport. The zealous fans that are acceptable in pro sports and on college campuses across the nation do NOT belong at a children’s sporting event.
>It only gets worse as the kids get older a Dad at my 11 year olds game last week threatened to yank his daughter if she didn’t “straighten up and run the @#$%^& BALL!” The poor kid spent more time listening to Dad than playing the game.
>Dude, what is with people?I can’t WAIT to hear (and see) the beat down that guy gets in October.It would be in his best interest to not come. But he’s clearly not too bright.
>Wow. Maybe you should introduce him to Robin Roth, from the Martina McBride incident. Maybe they can compare prescriptions.
>That is crazy. I love how you stopped it with the simple power of having a camera and him suddenly realizing that people would see this episode of making an ass out of himself. Heh. Nothing like seeing yourself through someone else’s eyes.
>George doesn’t look like he is in any position to call the shots at a pee wee soccer match.Some people . . . and yeah, that is creepy!I wish I could say that it got better, but we’re U9 boys, and let’s just say every time we have a match I could write a stinkin’ novel about the way parents behave. Haven’t they ever heard/read the code of conduct?
>That makes me SO SAD. How dare that asshole make a little five year old girl (who probably was so proud she was doing a good job) feel bad!!! And for what? The other kids didn’t care/know what was going on. For some reason, this story makes me really really mad. You should write about it in the Nashville Scene to further humiliate this jerko.
>Please let George be there at the end of October. Please let George be there at the end of October.Please let George be there at the end of October.Thank you.
>This is so insane… fucking fabulous that you took picture…I love you for that…Every town in every state has the asshole dad. One guy in our league actually had a punch up with the ref.Poor hubs but nice outcome – eat shit Georgieboy!
>So are we sure it was coffee in his cup? What a friggin idiot!It always take one idiot to ruin a childs day and piss off a bunch of adults.Where is the steam roller when you need one?
>This is twice today that I’ve read a post that makes me EVER SO HAPPY that I convinced the kids to take a break from soccer.I wish this behavior was the exception.
>Suzanne read my mind. I was thinking, “hmmm, what kind of Gatorade is he drinking?!” ;)Speaking of downers, George needs to take a chill pill. Whew…luckily our team parents are all pretty laid back.
>Wow. Just…wow. I’m with Lar on the coffee cup mystery beverage theory.
>This doesn’t just happen in the States – there have been all out brawls at kids sporting matches with parents attacking officials, each other and players in Australia. There are George’s everywhere when kids play sports.Good on you, Linds, for calling him out!
>Oh just wait until you’re the wife of a high school or college coach. I spend half the games sitting in the stands wanting to smack parents. Some of them from our team! The college parents were the worst. Talk about a bunch of arm chair coaches. Sheesh.Soccer parents…or should I say sports parents are crazy. I did music in high school and every cheered for us just for trying. These poor sports playing kids are under so much pressure!
>We have a mom on our U12 team like that- and she’s the team mom- scary huh? Jilly’s team has lost every game so far-but she leaves the field feeling sad- not for the loses-but for her teammate. It’s bad- Our coach puts a stop to it on the field- but you know as soon as she gets in the car all hell breaks out!Punky looks out of contral adorable though- I love it.Yes, I’ve been lurking- to lazy to start up my own blog again-but I sure do love yours..C
>So sad that people cannot just chill the hell out, enjoy a friendly game and have fun watching kids run around.
>What is actually the saddest part is that any parents would actually sign up their preK kids for soccer. Kids that age should be playing at the park or kicking a soccer ball for fun. I can’t really be surprised that a parent who would put their child in organized sports at that age acts that way. The whole thing is just plain pathetic.
>Well, that’s the thing, Anonymous. Soccer at the preschool age -is- about running around on the field, kicking the ball and having fun. The players pretend to be dinosaurs, run back and forth from their mommies to the field, practice cartwheels, etc. One or two kids get the impulse to kick the ball into the goal and those same kids do it over and over again. The rest of them don’t even realize what’s going on. I think it’s great for Punky to have these two structured hours of physical activity a week (1 game and 1 practice). She seems to enjoy running around on the field and she especially enjoys the team cheer. And it’s hilarious as a parent to watch a bunch of three-year-olds “play soccer” on the field. What’s sad is that a few parents think they should actually be seeing real game play from the under six crowd.
>George had money riding on this 3 y.o. game?
>I’m thinking George won’t be getting any from the coach for quite a while.
>I hope he doesn’t decide to move his kid into pageants. But pictures? You DO live dangerously!!!
>That guy’s kids are young, so I hope there’s still time for him to learn, but…DAY-UM! And you have some serious balls, taking pictures. Good for you. ;^)
>Tell me again why we don’t check people out before allowing them to have kids? I forget the reasons. Poor, poor children of his. I’m really very sad about this.
>Good lord.
>my first thought was that he must have something stronger than coffee in that there cup. But the e-mail follow up threw that theory out the window, unless he’s a chronic alcoholic that is. Otherwise he’s just nuts.That’s great about the camera.
>i think his coffee was laced with something…or his whisky was laced with a little bit of coffee…somebody should have knocked his teeth out!!
>Ah, poor George, learning cause and effect so late in life. Glad that both those girls are on your team now!
>This is simultaneously hilarious and utterly sad. George is a caricature, the star of a SNL skit, it’s too much.When I’m watching my children loose at soccer this weekend I will be thinking of George and chuckle to think that someone somewhere is shouting, “Get that five year old out of the game!” I love that your community has spontaneously protested against George. Perhaps his wife is filing for divorce right now.
>And it’s all captured on Film! News at 11!
>Princess is not playing soccer games but is going to saturday morning soccer clinic. The kids are from 18 months to 4 years old and even there the parents can be a bit crazy. It makes no sense at all.I can’t imagine what it will be like when these preschoolers are teenagers.
>Wow, that is nuts, NUTS!!! And kudos to you for being brave enough to take pictures of the event, I would have been too scared!
>The entire time I was reading this, I couldn’t help but sing the “George of the Jungle” song. GEORGE. george. GEORGE. george. GEORGE OF THE JUNGLE! CRAZY AS HE CAN BEEEEEEEEE!
>Wow! This is so much better than daytime soaps. Thanks for sharing. I’ve been at my share of kids’ games with parents and coaches acting insane and all but this by far is the best one yet.
>What a nutjob. How could a grown adult act like that over a soccer game? He set a horrible example for all of the children on and off the field.
>On another note, how in the world do you manage to get a 3 year old to let you brush all that hair?
>OK I’m confused. Isn’t pre-k soccer really just a mass of kids running the ball up and down the field with no scoring? And really isn’t it about the snacks? At least it is in our area. Man, this guy needs to get a life and let his kids live their own!
>Egad, mad dad. Had to be said.
>Gertie, the three-year-old has had a mess of hair since birth, so she doesn’t know remember ever doing anything other than sitting still while I get it out of her face! Plus, I had hair like that as a child too, so I remember what hurt and what didn’t when someone else was fixing it.
>Oh what a jerk! His poor kids… Hopefully they grow up without the attitude. I have a daughter in U-5 soccer right now and nobody cares if they’re kicking the ball in the right goal, or even in the goal, as long as they’re having fun. And it’s all about the snack time really anyway, at this age! I figure if there are no tears on the field, it’s been a successful day. 🙂
>I don’t know anything about soccer — Younger Daughter played for a couple of years in grammar school and one in high school and that was it — but I did coach youth baseball for several years and all five of my kids played. I have one still playing in college.So: I can assure you.IT WILL GET BETTER.In general, the older the kids, the less crazy the parents. True, there was a time when Oldest Son was about 16 and the other coach lost it so badly that the (many) off duty policemen in the stands were thinking about where their weapons were… but I did say in general.Also, in general, the more competitive the league, the less crazy the parents.I know it may not make sense. But that’s been my experience.
>That poor little girl… what kind of a jerk would hassle a 5 year old? Has anyone seen that Will Ferrell movie, “Kicking and Screaming,” where he’s a crazy soccer guy? That’s all I could think about while reading this post!
>I hope some therapist had the good sense to give his kids their card and tell them to make an appointment in 15 years.
>What a big jerk. 🙁 I feel sorry for the 5+ year old. It wasn’t her fault she was put on a team with 3 & 4 year olds. Is she just supposed to stand there and do nothing because the rest of the kids are younger than her? Poor kid.
>It is sad when the children are better behaved than the parents. I actually feel sorry for his kids.
>The problem with this scenario, too, is that the five-year-old paid her money just like everyone else. She has to play a certain amount of minutes. Period. And she did. We can’t sit her out whether she’s the best player or the worst player on the team. And trust me, we’ve spent years on the other side of the equation, having to play girls who were HORRIBLE and singlehandedly making us lose, just to give them the minutes they deserved. Also, you can’t tell a five-year-old who’s playing soccer for the second time in her life “Okay, now DON’T score!” It was a miracle she figured out how to kick the ball into the goal in the first place.Gah, George!
>No way! He should be banned!Way to promote team spirit!
>what in the world?????????George is wrong on so many levels.The kids just want to run around and have a good time. I’m sure they don’t even know if they’re winning or losing. All they know, they’re playing with their friends on a field. Give me a break. It’s a shame a GROWN man would behave this way.His wife was the coach? Guess he’s sleeping in the dog house this week.*sigh*
>you know I love you and find this absoulty hysterical. however, careful with the pictures. you don’t want him to sue you for slander!however, can you sue for the truth?? lol
>Thanks, but as this is the truth, I have nothing to fear.
>When I was in high school I reffed pre-school soccer. It sucked. I had to be ready to run at 8am on a Saturday – and I was just starting my career as a smoker. My mom made me do it (she chaired the local youth soccer board)But worse than getting up with my freshly charred lungs were the parents who took the whole thing WAY TOO SERIOUSLY. I figured my job as ref was to make sure that shoe laces were tied and that little kids didn’t get hurt and learned the rules of the game and as much as possible had a good time. Some of the parents didn’t have the same view. I was only 16 myself and parents were yelling at me on the sidelines getting in my face asking me to reverse calls.I shoulda used that red card a lot more.
>Unfackingbelievable.Except I believe it. Having coached kiddie soccer for the past six years myself.When my Bug was alive, his last summer, I put him in three-five soccer. He was four. He couldn’t stand by himself for more than five seconds without landing on his ass, but he loved kicking the ball.He NEVER played in any of the games, but was always on the field for the half hour practice before the games and then sat and cheered (well, okay, drooled…) while his team mates chased the ball.Before one game an obnoxious parent came up to me, not realizing he was my kid and told me to get the ‘drooler’ off the field because he was bringing down all the other kids.He was on my team. After I chewed him out and the other parents from both sides of the field tag teamed him, he never showed his face again.But his wife always gave me the evil eye.Some children’s parents. You just want to kick ’em.
>Wow. I’m seething for you. This just begs for a column, doesn’t it? I want to get a bit further into the season, though, to see what else happens…
>came over via Second Effort…didn’t read all the 60-some comments…I have three kids….mostly grown up…all are or were in sports et cetera. I hate to say this…but it gets much worse as they get older.
>That’s nuts!That guy needs a big dose of Ativan and a drink… relax dude, they’re kids!
>I willventure an analysis of George.When someone is that out of control over something as ridiculous as kids playing a game they don’t even know they’re winning or losing, someone is:A. Not getting laid at homeB. Acting out his misery at his jobC. Hating his frigid wife and his miserablejob and acting them both out by yelling about a FIVE YEAR old.It never has anything to do with reality. I say we send him to live with O.J.
>The pictures of George make me cry. PURE AWESOME.I just love you, woman. LOVE.
>I think we should stage a soccer-in. like the nurse-ins that they talk about on other boards all the time? All of us locals could bring our wild little offspring to punky’s next game, and we will supply free Popsicles! they can then give George a GREAT! BIG! HUG! whatcha say?
>I coached an under 6 soccer team (boys) where the other team beat us 20 to 2, and their coach was yelling at his kids to score more until the very end.By the way, the kids did know the score.George may have been a jerk, but that doesn’t mean he was wrong.
>Trust me, George was wrong. Our “ringer” played the same number of minutes as everyone else and it was only her second game. Hubs is training her to be our sweeper and it’s taking a little time for her to figure out how NOT to take the ball and run for the goal every chance she gets. Because. She’s. Five. She did much better with the concept at today’s game, but it’s still going to take some time. And the parents on the other team today were very good natured about her scoring tendencies.And the three-year-olds had NO IDEA what the score was and even if they did, they wouldn’t even know what that meant.
>Yikes! George sucks! Having coached 5 year old girls and six year old boys and been team mom for another 5 teams for my three kids, what he was doing must have sucked all the fun out of what we called cluster ball. We did have infrequent parents that would scream at their own kids on the field for my son’s 7-8 year old team, after signing a code of contact, in a game where score was not kept. Luckily, it didn’t happen often. I felt so bad for their kids. They were specifically told and reminded they could only cheer positives–no directions.On the other hand, I have been on the other end where we lost a 22 to zero game of 9 and unders. Then it demoralizes the kids. I certainly feel after a five goal lead, you can take her out or employ strategies. We never kept strictly to minutes. There should be a mercy rule. Maybe after five goals, she plays goalie (if you have one at that age) or full-back and really hold her to playing her position. Sometimes, you can make it constructive and say two players must touch the ball before making a goal. Having coached, five year olds do have the capacity to understand positions while three year old–ummm–no so much. This is also a great time to teach compassion and good sportmanship. Finally, having had great players on a team not so well accomplished, it hurts the other team players when they never get to assist with the goals. Given your kids are young, it’s never too early to emphacize sharing.That said, there is no excuse for George’s despicable behavior. So impressed you took pictures. This age soccer should only be about fun and team work.
>Gah!You think that’s bad, an 11 year old’s Mom was told the child couldn’t play on “game days” because she was “a liability”. It’s not a competative team.The child has Down’s Syndrome. I blogged about it over at http://www.cookienotes.blogspot.comI kept thinking of this post while I wrote it.