Sportsmanship Ebbs in This Little League

My family and I recently moved back to the Thousand Oaks area after being out of the country for five years. I was born and raised in Thousand Oaks and was looking forward to coming back to this community.

My two boys spent this past baseball season playing in Thousand Oaks Little League. I had spent many seasons at those fields while growing up and watching my brothers play for that same league.

What I witnessed this past season was unlike anything I remember from when my brothers played.

The attitude that prevails throughout the league is to win at all costs. Sportsmanship, which should be the No. 1 lesson taught, has gone by the wayside. How can sportsmanship be taught when the examples these boys see are coaches arguing among each other during and after games, adult men intimidating and manipulating teenage umpires and not showing respect for the umpires’ role on the field and coaches using inappropriate language during games? When you hear kids saying they no longer want to play baseball for those very reasons, that is very sad.

Yes, there has been success and championships won by this Little League in recent years, but the worst thing that has happened to the league is that same success.

I could not have been happier with the coaches my boys played for this season. In that respect it was a positive experience.

But I think that some of the people involved need to reevaluate why they are out there. Let’s bring sportsmanship back to Thousand Oaks Little League and maybe then they can be the champions they claim to be.

MAUREEN SAMSON

Thousand Oaks