A Fine Example Of Class

And Sportsmanship

To the Editor:

(The following letter, a modified version of one that was sent to the parents and coaches of Newtown Soccer Club, has been received for publication in The Newtown Bee.)

As the VP of the Recreation Soccer League, I sent a letter out to all our parents and coaches regarding a new goal I have set for the league beyond my original three (have fun, learn soccer, and learn pertinent life skills). This decision was based on a baseball game.

Last week, a professional baseball game was played where a pitcher, Armando Galarraga, was one out from throwing a perfect game, only the 21st in the history of baseball. When the last batter came up the ball was hit and a play was made at first base that should have been the last out of a perfect game. Instead, the umpire called the hitter safe, eliminating Galarraga’s chance to be part of history.

To me, the best part of this story was how Galarraga reacted immediately after the call and after the game when the play had time to sink in. After the call was made, he just turned to the umpire, smiled and walked back to the mound to pitch to the next batter, got him out and won the game anyway. The only person this really affected is Galarraga and his place in history. The umpire, Jim Joyce, a 22-year veteran vmpire, realized he blew the call after the game. He felt bad and he did something rare… he apologized. He immediately asked to see Galarraga face to face and here is what ensued according to Galarraga…

“He understands. I give him a lot of credit for coming in and saying, ‘‘Hey, I need to talk to you to say I’m sorry.’ That doesn’t happen. You don’t see an umpire after the game come out and say, ‘Hey, let me tell you I’m sorry.’ He apologized to me and he felt really bad... He gave me a couple hugs… I know nobody’s perfect. What are you going to do?”

The next day, Galarraga even walked out on the field and shook hands with a teary-eyed Joyce. If the way these two gentlemen acted does not exude class and sportsmanship then I don’t know what does.

This story led me to add a fourth goal for the Soccer League. That goal is to instill in our children through coaching and parenting, good sportsmanship. Win or lose, I want our kids to act gracefully. If Galarraga can demonstrate this amazing act of sportsmanship at the professional level, then I think all of us can demonstrate great sportsmanship at the level our kids are playing at.

This is how baseball influenced me to add a fourth goal to the Recreation League. I hope we all can work together to make this goal a successful one, whether it is a coach disagreeing politely with a young referee, a parent on the sidelines cheering on their child and team in a tasteful manner, or a player not saying hurtful things to another player. We all need to work together and remember how this story helped create the sportsmanship goal for the Soccer League.

Thank you for your time,

Andrew Paley, Vice President of Recreation

Newtown Soccer Club

11 Rose Lane, Sandy Hook                                                June 8, 2010