More success coming for UMaine hockey program

I would like to comment on Kristi Skipper’s letter (BDN, April 25) about UMaine hockey assertiveness. If she doesn’t think that making it to the Final Four in 2006 isn’t what great hockey memories are made of, I think she is terribly mistaken.

Sure, I would love to have seen a better outcome. These guys worked their tails off and to blame it all on one player is ludicrous.

I was at many games this season, and there were times that coach Tim Whitehead did change goalies because of poor performance, and it didn’t make any difference. It takes a whole team to achieve, that is where the focus lies, not on one player.

As a longtime UMaine hockey fan, I know that to achieve greatness, one has to taste failure. I applaud this year’s UM men’s hockey team for their accomplishments, and look forward to more great years to come.

Bob Gillis

Alexander

UMaine hockey change merits serious discussion

I agree with your writer (BDN, April 25) on UMaine hockey when she describes the assertiveness of the late Shawn Walsh.

I would make one additional point. Shawn Walsh would never allow the issue of shorthanded goals to go uncorrected, game after game, throughout the entire season, contributing in no small way to Maine’s national semifinal loss to Wisconsin.

It is imperative that the team be prepared to the fullest, given every opportunity to win. Being prepared goes to the very issue of coaching. While I have great respect for coach Tim Whitehead, these are serious issues which cannot be ignored. It may be time to begin a serious discussion about a time for a change at the top.

Kevin Vickers

Carmel

All players deserve spot on a Little League team

I’ll get it out in the beginning: I’m an upset uncle. My nephew was not picked to be on one of the Little League teams for the upcoming season. Are you kidding me, are you telling me that there is not enough room for 10 to 12 more kids to be on these teams?

I don’t want to hear it that kids need to have letdowns and know what it’s like to not make a team and to work harder. I totally disagree. High school, OK, but not for 8- and 9-year-old kids. They need this team to grow and gain self-esteem, and not be told they are not good enough to play with their peers. I have been involved with working with kids and coaching for 10 years now and it just gets worse every time you turn around.

Why is it some kids make a team when their parents or aunts or uncles coach the team? I’ve been a recreation director and I’ve seen firsthand how these things work. Adults get together and hand pick who they want and everything gets hidden under the rug and nobody says anything. The world is not getting any better and there are far worse things I feel we need to worry about than having two or three more kids on a team.

Well, I’m not going to let it slide. I’ve done some research and what I’ve found is the mission of Little League baseball and softball and this is what it reads: “Little League Baseball, Incorporated, is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote, develop, supervise, and voluntarily assist in all lawful ways, the interest of those who will participate in Little League Baseball and Softball. Through proper guidance and exemplary leadership, the Little League program assists youth in developing the qualities of citizenship, discipline, teamwork and physical well-being. By espousing the virtues of character, courage and loyalty, the Little League Baseball and Softball program is designed to develop superior citizens rather than superior athletes.”

I also found in my efforts a line on the Little League Web site: “The Little League philosophy does not permit any eligible candidate to be turned away.”

Let us not forget what this is truly about. It’s not about adults gaining notoriety from their sons’ or daughters’ abilities, but by these young kids learning what it’s like to be on a team and working toward a goal and building character. Kids at this age do not need to learn lessons of failure. They need to be given the chance to grow and learn and succeed. With certain groups of people too worried about if their team is going to win a championship, some of these kids will not and may not ever be given the chance to succeed the way they should. Every kid that tries out for Little League should be given that chance.

Let’s teach them to be better on and off the field and help them gain strengths to pass on to the next batch of kids to come along. I learned a lot from Little League when I was younger and I carry many of those memories with me today. Let’s not take lasting memories away from innocent kids who just want to have fun.

Shawn Mott

Millinocket