- March 28, 2025
Your free article limit has been reached this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited digital access to our award-winning local news.
This story was updated on March 27, 2025
A mother of a Palm Coast Little League player says her son was being bullied by other players. She says they threatened to jump him in the bathroom and hit him with a fastball and told him to “unalive” himself.
But a PCLL board member said according to an incident report filed by a coach and two parents it was the woman’s child who was the bully, and that there were “vague” allegations of him bringing a knife to the field.
Amanda Belden said her son never had a knife. She has posted on social media her version of the incident, accusing the league of playing favoritism. PCLL board member Marisa Ascone, who is the league’s treasurer and communicator for disciplinary issues, said she tried to facilitate a resolution. She said she asked Belden to file an incident report, but Belden said she was never asked to do that.
“He’s been a part of the league for two years and he’s never had any issues until this season,” Belden said of her son.
She said she reported that her son was being bullied back in January when the team's were practicing for the season. Belden said her son was afraid to attend opening day and played in only one game. She said the incident report produced by the league came much later.
“I reported it over and over again, and nothing happened,” Belden said on March 24. “And then all of a sudden, about two weeks ago, (Ascone) reaches out to me and tells me that the coach and couple of the kids reported an incident report against my son for bringing a knife. He doesn't even have a knife. I was there the whole time with my other two children.”
Ascone said the allegations in the incident report fall under Little League International’s anti-bullying and no weapons tolerance policies.
“As soon as they were brought to the attention of the coaches, we went through the process of reaching out to the president of the board who attempted to reach out to Ms. Belden," Ascone said. "There was a lot of dramatics that escalated, unfortunately. So the disciplinary committee then got involved and attempted to gain clarity to find out was this true. So they spoke to the parents, and they spoke to the coaches. I did the communication with Ms. Belden, trying to find some answers and clarity. And unfortunately, it was very, very unfruitful.”
Belden’s social media posts drew a lot of attention and comments. She said other parents have messaged her to say the same things happened to them.
Peter Schoembs, the district’s administrator and former PCLL president, said he “wasn’t too thrilled” that a couple of people commenting on Belden's posts listed his name and phone number, telling Belden to contact the district administrator. But he said he never heard from her.
“It’s gotten completely out of hand,” Schoembs said, noting the situation has been going on for two months. “My issue is why wasn’t it brought up from Day 1.”
Ascone said the league was considering “sending out a cease and desist” to stop Belden from continuing to put up derogatory social media posts about the league.
“I don't want to have members of our community falsely believing things about Palm Coast Little League that would inhibit them from either coming and volunteering or having their kids come out,” Ascone said. “It's a great organization, and it's a shame that one person can get onto social media and really make either half truths or even in some cases, bold faced lies.”
Belden said the league has slandered her on social media and she said she has received threatening phone calls and may sue the league. She said she has withdrawn her son from Palm Coast Little League league, and he will play in Flagler Babe Ruth Baseball in the future.
Schoembs said the situation should never have gotten out of hand the way it has.
“If there is an issue,” he said, “you want to pounce on it right away. Having it linger on is the worst thing for everybody involved.”
Your free article limit has been reached this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited digital access to our award-winning local news.