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A little over three years ago, the former president of the Mammoth Hayden Softball League stepped down and Albert Mendibles took over the league. One of the first things Mendibles did was to take away the structure. There was no longer to be a structure for complaints or decision making. Mendibles spread very nasty and slanderous rumors about the leagues former president and told numerous people that money had gone missing to get more in donations. As a parent I stepped up and offered what help I could. I drafted and submitted many letters to different organizations asking for help. When all the rules had gone away the league was left with no order and many upset parents as rules changed from one day to the next. Many frustrated parents made the call to move their children to other towns in order for them to grow, learn, and succeed in their quest to conquer softball.
Fast forward to January of this year. I was once again approached at a town council meeting by Mendibles and asked to coach a team. I advised him that with the current structure I would help out as I could but would not coach a team. Earlier this month Mendibles advised that he did not have enough girls to make a 10 and under team. That registrations had been extremely slow and did I have any ideas. I advised him my daughter was already registered and would be playing Little League, but that if he needed girls she had stated she would love to do both.
The concern for me as a parent was that even though softball season usually doesn’t get fully underway until the middle of May, if she missed a softball practice for a little league game that she would be benched. I was advised by Mendibles that he didn’t foresee it to be a problem since it looked like he would be the one coaching, and if he got someone else he would explain the situation to the new coach and it wouldn’t be a problem. My daughter is a T.A.G. (talented and gifted) student and they meet on Thursdays. I let Mendibles know on Tuesday that my daughter would not be at practice on Thursday due to T.A.G. I received a call from him Thursday night.
According to Mr. Mendibles the new coach of the 10 and under Mammoth Softball team was a “Junior Bejarano”, the coach for the Mammoth San Manuel Unified School District. I was also told that after speaking with this new coach, a decision had to be made. My daughter would not be allowed to play softball if she was playing in little league. I was extremely upset. My daughter had already been practicing with the team, had not missed any practices, and was looking forward to playing in both leagues. We of course made the choice of a well-run league and kept her in little league.
I want to take a moment to clarify a few things, for those that may not know, in Mammoth we value our baseball/softball season. During the late spring and early summer months the areas surrounding the ball fields are filled with players, families and citizens all to support our youth. If you took a trip to the softball field last year during softball season you didn’t have to fight to find a place to park. Even now during practices the street is extremely empty compared to what it once was. Parents have pulled their children and are sending them as far away as Tucson to play ball rather than subject them to the leadership under Mendibles.
On April 16, 2015 the Pinal County Sheriff drove all the way to Mammoth and made another large donation to the league. The funds are supposed to go to help teach our young girls the value of team work, the pride that can come from accomplishing something they set out to do and to help them develop a sense of belonging to something bigger (If the same language was used in this letter as in the letter that I wrote back in 2013).
How does a San Manuel resident get to shoot that down for a 7-year-old who only agreed because others would not get the chance to play? Mr. Bejarano is NOT a resident of Mammoth. I was told that he “did not want to speak with me” and that was just how he coaches. Meanwhile his granddaughter who resides in San Manuel and has missed every practive this season will not be sitting out any games. In fact her and her mother who did not show up for practice on the 16th of April did make sure to make an appearance for the photo opportunity with the sheriff.
Mendibles is not a resident of Mammoth. In fact he resides in Oracle and has for many years. Why is his daughter not playing for the league in Oracle? Is it because Mendibles is against following the rules of anyone else? After all, in 2013 in front of a packed stand he stated that all the coaches would be A.S.A certified for the 2014 season and yet there have been no changes.
This discrimination is something truly evil and goes against everything the league was set up to accomplish. A child was hurt after trying to do some good, and all for what? The residents of Mammoth need to put a stop to this type of behavior. Mendibles needs to turn the league back over to a Mammoth resident or at the very least someone who is about all children, not his own child. If we don’t stop taking our children to other towns, there will be no more softball here.
I want to spend a moment to sincerely thank Ralph Valencia and his team. When I was young there were hardly any girls in Little League and now there are just as many girls on the teams as boys. They have provided parents in Mammoth area with another option (and a very good one) for our girls. My daughter has learned more about good sportsmanship from Little League than she ever did in softball under Albert. So again THANK YOU Mammoth Little League. And to parents and local businesses, please let the Mammoth Softball League know that discrimination of a child is wrong and should not be tolerated.
Thank you,
/s/ Annie Martinez
There are news or informational items frequently written by staff or submitted to the Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner, Superior Sun, Pinal Nugget or Oracle Towne Crier for inclusion in our print or digital products. These items are not credited with an author.
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