12/21/24
February 27, 2019
Mom, don't read this! - Seth Jones:
"Oh man, she’s gonna read this. She’s going to be all over this. Players’ Tribune, you should talk to her about all this, because she’s going to say I’m lying."
Editor’s’ Note from The Players’ Tribune:
No problem, Seth. Please welcome your special guest editor, Amy Jones.
Really enjoyed that read. Reminded me of my strategies as a youth soccer coach.
I usually had a preseason scrimmage against another team in our age group. I had our team parents stay near our bench so I could listen to them during the run of play.
I figured out which kids did better with their parents hollering at them, and which did worse. That dictated which side of the field I put them on during games.
It also dictated which goal I wanted to defend in the first and second halves, so I could plan the starters and subbing based on the direction of play relative to the parent sideline.
About 4 or 5 games into an 8 game season, some of the players started to wonder what was happening.
"Coach, why do you always put me in on the left side?"
"Don't worry - I'll get you in on the right side in the second half."
Team parents who didn't speak English as a primary language and struggled in virtual silence in their daily lives came into their own during the games. Once they learned the names of all the kids on the team, they would holler at all of them in their native tongue. This international flavor would sometimes unsettle the other team.
Once during a game, an opposing coach asked me what was going on.
I told him: "None of these kids speaks English. They all came here to see what suburban youth soccer was like. I've tried coaching them in English. You see how much good that does. It's like they don't even know I'm there. So I tell Alejandra's mom what to yell at them."
posted by beaverboard at 02:59 PM on February 27, 2019
Good read, and one hell of a player.
posted by cixelsyd at 04:26 PM on February 27, 2019
I didn't realize that he was Popeye's kid; that's very interesting that he came from a basketball dad! Those of us who grew up playing hockey know that there is a strange, mostly-unspoken rivalry between those two winter sports, and very little cross-over appeal.
As the proud son of a hockey mom, reading Amy Jones' thoughts and insights really made me laugh. Great post, grum. Thanks.
posted by tahoemoj at 06:27 PM on February 27, 2019
Thanks for posting this, grum!
posted by tommybiden at 03:01 PM on February 28, 2019
Great post and worth it for beaverboard's story alone!
posted by yerfatma at 03:56 PM on February 28, 2019
+100%
posted by billsaysthis at 04:14 PM on February 28, 2019
Very much worth a read; it had me laughing heartily. When I'm working on the ball field, I hear more than a few moms like that. As well as it seems to have worked for Jones, it's funny their kids don't seem to play better for it though.