When Being Too Good Sucks…at Age 9
Imagine if our future president does his job well. What if by 2010 he eliminated poverty, the economy boomed, and every nation in the world decided to be nice…and because of all that, the President was impeached. Told he could no longer be the President because he did his job too well.
If that ever happened, President McCain or Obama could find solace in calling up Jericho Scott, who would then be 11 years old.
Scott, after all, is facing the same dilemma right now. No, Scott is not the President, but the 9-year-old has been removed from his “job” because he does it too well.
“Nine-year-old Jericho Scott is a good baseball player — too good, it turns out.” (AP - John Cristoffersen)
In New Haven, Connecticut, Scott is a member of a team sponsored by Will Power Fitness in the Youth Baseball League of New Haven. The league for 8-10 year olds has said Scott can no longer pitch because he throws too hard!
Oh no! God forbid! A pitcher that throws hard? The outrage. The horror. Why’d they ever let him play in the first place? Why…he…he might…he might strikeout the other kids! NNNNoooooooooo. Anything but that.
Seriously though, league officials told the coach of the Will Power Fitness club, Wilfred Vidro, his ace pitcher could no longer pitch because he throws a 40 mph fastball. Scott played second base the following game after Vidro was notified, but when his team took the field with him on the mound last Wednesday, the opposing team promptly packed their gear and left the ballfield, forfeiting the game.
The league’s reasoning according to the AP report:
“They say his hard throws may frighten other players in the the baseball league.”
Really? The kids are 8-10. Tell them to grow up. Scott hasn’t even hit a single batter this season. He throws hard; he’s accurate; so, therefore, he can’t pitch.
All I know is that if I would have been on the team that packed up and left, I would have been pissed off. Maybe I’m different (I have always crowded the plate and enjoyed getting hit by pitched so it’s possible), but I have always enjoyed the competition of going against the best.
What does little Jericho Scott, who says he misses pitching, think about everything:
“I feel sad,” he said. “I feel like it’s all my fault nobody could play.”
And I think his Jericho’s mother has an excellent perspective as well:
“I think it’s discouraging when you’re telling a 9-year-old you’re too good at something,” said his mother, Nicole Scott. “The whole objective in life is to find something you’re good at and stick with it. I’d rather he spend all his time on the baseball field than idolizing someone standing on the street corner.”
There is also the possibility this has to do with politicking because Scott chose not to join the league’s defending champion when he signed up. You can read all of the details from the AP report in the Atlanta-Journal Constiution and make your own opinion.
What do you think? How would you react if Jericho was your son? Or better yet, how would you react if your son or daughter was on an opposing team and had to face Scott?
| 3.5 (2 people) |
August 27th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Hey there. I saw this story this morning on ESPN’s Mike and Mike and I thought it was retarded. What kind of message are we sending to our youth when being the best at your age warrants a departure of the sport? Little man should be able to play and if others can’t beat his 40 mph pitch, then the other kids should start practicing more and use his talent as a gauge on how much more better they can be at that age. And parents should use that as motivation, not bitch and complain.
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August 28th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
This one’s a head-shaker. In the end, I hope the kid finds a new team, and I think he should without a problem, if he’s that good.
Shoot, when he gets that multi-million dollar signing bonus down the road, all of those people are going to say, ‘Oh, we knew he had potential, we blah blah blah blah’ when all they’re doing is robbing a talented kid of doing something he loves. Frankly, his talent should be applauded, not punished.
August 28th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
@ Metallman I completely agree about the message it’s sending. Why would we want to tell an easily influenced child that he/she can’t do something? And then the reasoning? “Well, you’re too good.” That’s like having a child genius and holding them back a grade because they were already figuring answers out without the teacher’s assistance.
@ Eddie I hope for the kid’s sake that his entire team is able to find another league to play in. Like the kid said, he feels like it’s his fault that none of his teammates are getting to play.
And yea, those same people that are saying he might hurt their child will probably be looking for a handout down the road. It’s quite a shame.