Former boys baseball coach gets jail time for beating rival coach

[funkybutt]

Source: Times Picayune

The former coach of an 8-year-old boys baseball team was sentenced to 30 days in jail today for beating up a rival coach at the conclusion of a game last year in Slidell.

Jason Chighizola, 34, who coached the Yankees in the Slidell Bantam Baseball Association, was also fined $500 and ordered to be placed on 24 months of probation upon his release from jail. During his probation, Chighizola cannot attend any youth sports events.

-snip-

Chighizola rushed toward Johnson and punched him. Johnson fell on his face, and the infield was flush with parents and coaches trying to pull the two apart.

After the on-field brawl, Chighizola ran back toward the Yankees dugout, grabbed a bat and started swinging. No one was hit by the bat.



Read more: http://www.nola.com/crime/index.ssf/2009/09/former_boys_baseball_coach_sen.html

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See the video here --> http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/brawling_slidell_coach_is_foun.html

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[vicman]

1. Sportsmanship

the 8 year-olds have learned.......

[WriteDown]

2. Ah....good ol' Slidell....

:)

[kimmylavin]

3. Jesus.

Threatened the other coach with a bat, scared a bunch of kids, and hurt his own wife.
How did the idea of sportsmanship get thrown away in favor of pissing contests?

[hatrack]

4. Wow - good to see he got his character built - to say nothing of what the kids learned!

:eyes:

[gratuitous]

5. Okay Jason, it's decaf for you from now on!

Dang, sounds like there are some issues here way beyond what's going on between the lines.

[pampango]

6. This guy coached 8-year-olds?

8-year-olds!

I coached baseball teams from when my son was 6 until he graduated from high school. At 8 many of the players are just there because their friends are there, the uniforms are "cool", and there are snacks after the game. And that's fine. They're only little kids.

I've seen coaches and parents say things to players that were very inappropriate. Even lost players twice when I had to tell their dads to chill out (they were yelling at their own kids, not the umpire, me or any one else). The coaches all wanted to win, as did the kids, but if you can't use any sport to teach sportsmanship and "respecting the game" then you have no business being a coach of small kids.

[tularetom]

7. If an opposing coach would have started beating on our HS football coach

About half of us would have jumped in and helped him.