Soccer Balls Allowed in the Club Swimming Pool? (live, dangerous)

[staywarm2]

I had an incident at our swim/tennis pool yesterday. Two groups of boys were playing in the pool with soccer balls. 3 boys were taking up most of middle of the 4' section and were pitching the ball back and forth quite forcefully, and sometimes it would come up near my grandkids and me (and 2 other smaller little girls). I politely asked them to move down the pool and they did, but only about 10'. They were still in the 4' water. It was still dangerous and scary, to my mind.

Finally, Adult Swim was called and I was swimming along the side when one of the bigger boys/men, ages 18-20, from the other group, stood on the side of the pool, removed the filter cover, turned it over, "teed up" the soccer ball, and kicked it right past me. If I had not seen him and stopped swimming, it would have gone right over (or onto) my head. When I said something to one of the boys, he just laughed.

I think soccer balls are a bit too much in a pool. Does your swimming pool allow soccer balls in the water?

[K'ledgeBldr]

Obviously your gripe is not about soccer balls- it's about wild, unbehaved kids; or it Should Be!
Your pleasantries were too soft for those idiot kids. They are a true reflection of their parents.
What's done is done- if there is a next time, just be more forceful.

[staywarm2]

Originally Posted by K'ledgeBldr

Obviously your gripe is not about soccer balls- it's about wild, unbehaved kids; or it Should Be!
Your pleasantries were too soft for those idiot kids. They are a true reflection of their parents.
What's done is done- if there is a next time, just be more forceful.

I agree.

But also, I think soccer balls are inappropriate for a swimming pool. There are plenty of other balls that would be more appropriate for kids to play with in the water.

I contacted the swim club board and they are reviewing the situation. I am hoping they ban soccer balls. They already ban tennis balls, so why not soccer balls in a pool?

[roxyrn]

Maybe they should ban unruly teenage boys.

[arjay57]

That's pretty annoying. A soccer ball kicked by an athletic young man can deliver quite a wallop, especially to a kid or to an adult at close range. That's dangerous and inappropriate in a pool setting like you've described.

I applaud you for trying to deal with it yourself, but since they chose to blow you off you did exactly the right thing by taking it to the board. Way to go.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by roxyrn

Maybe they should ban unruly teenage boys.

It would just as inappropriate if 50 year old grandmas or a bunch of 40 year old CEOs were doing it. It's always stupid and selfish to endanger others.