Restoring my soul.

Some people who are reading this have the distinct experience of knowing me in real life, so this won’t come as a shock to them.

Others reading this only know me on Facebook or through this blog so this may or may not seem out of character to these people.

Hold on to your hats people I am about to get a little mad, annoyed, angry, disappointed, crude, rude and uncalled for.

My daughter was selected to play for a representative basketball team, well done to her.

However my disappointment begins now… the other girls on the team took a disliking to her whatever their reasons I don’t know nor do I care.  She has been the subject of gossip and rumor and innuendo, she has been on the receiving end of hits and kicks and disingenuous “oh sorry it was an accident” for six weeks.

The Coach does nothing, he contributes.  He has a knack for placing his hands on her shoulders to “lead her to where he wants her” she has asked him to stop, I have asked him to stop, I have put the request in writing TWICE and still he does it.  Recently at training he did it again, she left the court upset, no one asked if she was ok.

It is seemingly deemed ok for a Coach or other male adult to physically move a child into position?  Well I am a coach of boys basketball team and I don’t ever have the need to touch or move the boys physically.

Last week she was 15 minutes EARLY to her game instead of THIRTY minutes early due to an uncontrollable incident.  The Team manager decided it was his place to haul her over the coals after training this week and tell her that she would be “made to give up” anything that interfered with her basketball.  He spoke on behalf of the Lead Coach, he told her that the lead coach would “stop her refereeing” “pull her from the team” “stop her playing/training domestic”. He ranted and raged and carried on like a two bob watch.  My daughter (as she has been taught to do when faced with bullies) stood up for herself and challenged him with the facts.  To which he got louder and louder and made himself look like a damn fool.

I am mad, I am pissed off and I am willing to fight – I don’t give a damn about their “reputation” or that the coach is a “good bloke” I’m tired of excuses for these men who continually believe they can do whatever they please because they are men and they know everything.  I’m sick to death of parents who keep sweeping shit under the rug out of fear that their kid may not get chosen to play the game that week, or they are scared of the bullies themselves.  What does this teach the kids?  It teaches them that being bullied, being harassed is OK.  It teaches them that speaking out is a negative experience.  That is why things like Domestic Violence, Rape, Bullying continue to be prevalent in our society because the victims are the ones that pay the price for speaking out and the perpetrators get all the pity and the pats on the back.

So if you are a parent of a sporting child and you see other parents picking on another child or even your child – stand up, get up and stop it.  You kid might be the next Le Bron James or the next Ricky Ponting, but they won’t be if you allow them to witness you being weak arsed and sitting down in the face of a bully instead of standing up and being heard.

STOP THE VIOLENCE! STOP THE BULLYING!