Youth Basketball: Busted Lip

In an earlier post called Youth Baseball: Hit in the Face with a Pitch, I wrote about the unwritten youth sports rule that parents should not run onto the field when their kids get hurt. When my son got hit in the face with a fastball, I resisted the urge to run on the field.

The other day, my daughter jumped in front of an opponent who was driving to the hoop. She got her feet set and took the charge. The bigger girl hit her hard and my daughter fell back and hit her head. I watched and worried from the stands. (She turned out to be OK - no concussion)

The very next game, I'm embarrassed to say that I broke my rule.

My daughter's 4th grade team was playing a much bigger 5th grade team. In the first quarter, my daughter was working the ball up the court trying to break a press. As she crossed the half court line very close to the scoring table where I was sitting, she collided heads with a defender. She immediately looked at me with fear and tear filled eyes. She was holding her mouth. She removed her hands to look at her hands. Her face and hands were full of blood. She looked back at me. Her eyes were telling me, "Daddy why aren't you helping me. I need help." I ran onto the court. I could not resist. My wife did not run onto the court.

Luckily CC only busted her lip and did not lose any teeth. My tough little girl, eventually went back into the game.

The Main Point

I am not sure why I ran on to the court when my daughter, CC, was hurt but did not run on to the baseball field when my son was hit in the face with a pitch. Perhaps because CC is my baby, perhaps because she is a girl. Girls are as tough as boys, I should have stayed on the sidelines.