A T-Ball tournament at the Field of Dreams in Van Buren turned contentious over the weekend, with parents claiming they were “threatened and talked down to” by an individual overseeing the games.
The account, first shared by parent Sherry Green on the Van Buren Residents Forum Facebook page, has since generated a wave of community reactions and sparked broader concerns about conduct at youth sporting events.
Green described the incident as beginning with a mix-up over scorekeeping. According to her post, the girl assigned to keep the official scorebook struggled with the rules and argued with coaches before becoming upset.
Green wrote,
“Her feelings got hurt and she started crying. Bless her little heart. You know if you can’t handle the job, find someone else to do it,”
Sherry Green
The young scorekeeper called for backup, and a man who identified himself as being “over everybody” entered the situation.
Green said his demeanor escalated tensions rather than calming them. She wrote,
“I literally did absolutely nothing to the bully of a man. Yet he jumped me… and talked big and down to coaches,”
Sherry Green
Green’s description of the exchange quickly gained attention from other parents and residents familiar with the Field of Dreams facility.
Several commenters expressed sympathy for Green and criticized the behavior she described. Jennifer Spann wrote,
“I’m sorry you were treated like this! No way for an adult to act,”
Jennifer Spann
Another parent, Wesley Harrold, reflected on his own experiences at youth games, observing that “which teams were not on the correct rules” and adults often failed to set the right example.
Others, however, suggested that the scorekeeper may have been unfairly judged. Tina Blount King pointed out that in many cases, individuals end up keeping score simply because no one else steps forward to do so.
King said,
It sounds like too me is that you can dish it out but you don’t want it coming back to you because you said that you were stepping out of your soapbox and to the little girl that was taking score she probably didn’t volunteer she was probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time I know that’s happened to me plenty of times in the past where I showed up to watch my husband play softball and got rookie dude into keeping score
Tina Blount King
Still, the majority of responses agreed that such heated disputes should have no place in T-Ball, a sport designed to be a child’s first introduction to baseball.
Brandy Nicole wrote,
“Over a T-Ball game is crazy,”
Brandy Nicole
The incident also reignited ongoing frustrations with the Field of Dreams facility itself. Parents Kaseyy Olline Price remarked,
We’ve had our issues at that field. Never again. I do not recommend them. I highly recommend the Fort Smith Youth Baseball & Softball! They have tball as well!
Kaseyy Olline Price
Similarly, Lyndsey StJohn commented that Green’s experience was not unique.
“Sadly you aren’t the only one with that issue and keeping score in T-Ball out there.”
Lyndsey StJohn
While the conversation featured criticism, it also included attempts at resolution. Jamie Gibson, another community member, encouraged constructive follow-up:
“Please reach out if you have an issue. I would be happy to help address it.”
Jamie Gibson
