June 03, 2006
Saturday

When does Ketchikan Little League Minors become a battle field for KLL Officials/Board Members and coaches?

I was present tonight when Reggie Rinehardt, Ketchikan Little League President, man handled the coach of SEAPRO. This was very shameful and embarrasing to all those who were present.

The National Little League Rules of Conduct state cleary that no one is put their hands on, push etc... others in the league. However, tonight Reggie Rinehardt, Ketchikan Little League President, decided he needed to accostle Coach Tony Yeisley because he was upset about something he had not investigated concerning the players' agent, Ginger Cloudy.

The fact of the matter is that the boys, ages 8-11, on the team are not allowed to eat food during a game. They may not have it in the dugout. Well parents were unclear on what exactly the dugout is. It was unclear. Most people think, ok, the dugout is where the boys sit on the bench while waiting to play. Not the area outside where the garbage can is. Well, evidentally that is not correct. It is anywhere near the dugout where the area is fenced in.

So boys were eating cheese sticks and cheese fries outside of the area where the bench is and near the garbage can and players agent Ginger Cloudy became upset and became nasty and hostile with the coach.

KLL President Reggie Rinehardt waited until the end of the game and approached the coach to address these issues, informs him of the allegations made by the players agent and when the coach replies about this and tried to walk off the KLL President puts his hands on him and nudges him with his shoulder and is nose to nose, red-faced and threatens that if this behavior ever happens again he would no longer coach for Ketchikan Little League! The coach is shocked and this is the first he has heard from Rinehardt about this particular complaint about the boys eating outside of the bench by the garbage can and walks away.

However, in the meantime we have SEAPRO and Boyer Towing watching as they are the teams finishing up and two other teams coming on. What kind of behavior are we getting from the Ketchikan Little League President? Not to mention the board member & players agent, such as Ginger Cloudy? This person has acted inappropriately for some time. Could this have been handled better? Should all those involved acted in an adult manner? This is exactly why we see on the news that parents and league members are hurt in a physical manner over disputes in Little League.

I am appalled and concerned that my son who is 10 years old is watching this. We are trying to teach them good manners and what is appropriate. What kind of lesson did these children learn tonight while the President of Ketchikan Little League is losing his temper and accostling the coach in front of everyone present?

KLL President Rinehardt, you should be upholding the league rules you are demanding others to follow. Do you really believe that eating food outside of the dugout is nearly as bad as manhandling the coach of a team?? Or that the allegations by a players agent that can be disputed by all of the parents present are really as bad as your actions today? What kind of message are you sending the kids of Ketchikan Little League?

If we have games at 3:30, 5:00, 7:00 and the boys are not allowed to leave the dugout are they supposed to not eat at all. How does a parent tell them they cannot even stand outside of the dugout and eat , they will just have to tough it out. Sorry if you are hungry.

Regardless of all this ~ the bottom line here for me is that our Ketchikan Little League President accostled one of the coaches in front of many!

Are we running boot camps here or are we having fun and teaching our kids how to have fun and enjoy the game of baseball? I am sure that everyone will know that I am now the wife of the coach. However, I would say this same thing regardless of which coach this would have been. Keep your hands to yourself! Isn't that what we teach our kids?!

Sincerely,

Sharyl Whitesides
Ketchikan, AK - USA

About: Sharyl Whitesides is a life long resident of Ketchikan and is the mother of five children.

 

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