Youth baseball tries to play fair
This weekend marks the opening of the Agoura Pony Baseball spring season. It's sunny and it's warm; we only hope parents' attitudes are the same.

A few years ago, an experienced sportswriter said something that astounded us. "Kids will have fun and play their hearts out. It's the parents," he said, "who ruin things."

His comment was made in the aftermath of an ugly incident regarding officiating. An umpire made a call that caused a near riot in the stands. It eventually spread onto the field where even the coaches got involved.

Believe it or not, the kids who were actually playing the game weren't part of it. They stood back and watched as parents, fans and coaches thoroughly thrashed the concept of sportsmanship.

And this was a contest that involved young children. The situation could get worse as children get older.

You'd be amazed at how much time volunteer sports coaches and instructors spend helping our children. Ten or more hours a week working with a program isn't uncommon for some of these unselfish men and women. With several practices a week plus games on the weekends, their sacrifice can be huge.

There's no question about it: Youth baseball, basketball, softball and football take time and commitment, not to mention patience. A coach who's in charge of a group of 7-year-olds must be parent, babysitter and teacher all rolled into one.

Unfortunately, the scene at any ball field can turn ugly when a dissatisfied parent complains about the lack of playing time or attention their child is getting. Sometimes a coach will come home from a long day at work and find a phone message waiting from a parent who's upset that their child wasn't treated like a star athlete. Some parents stage protests and have even been known to yank their kids off the field in the middle of a game.

Our coaches and their assistants give their time freely because they love their sport and care about the kids. It's also no secret that coaches want to win and sometimes play favorites, but in the end, most of them try to be as fair as possible.

Reporter Stephanie Bertholdo writes on page 32A about a renewed effort by the Agoura Pony Baseball league to make parents accountable for their actions and to teach them to follow the same rules of sportsmanship as their children. This season, Bertholdo, whose son plays in the league, will become a Pony Baseball "culture keeper," a parent whose job is to help make sure the game stays between the lines, where it belongs. We hope she hits a home run.