I had fun this weekend watching the Little League World Series on television. It brought back memories of when my boys played Little League.
I remembered the Little League rules about pitch counts and making sure everybody got in a game. It was confusing to make sure your bench players got 1 at bat and three innings in the field. I especially remembered the year my son Matt’s team made it a few rounds deep as we tried to make it to Williamsport, PA and the World Series. We had some good games that year. I also liked that there was a dress code for coaches because, let’s face it, not all coaches dress their best while out there. Cargo shorts and whatever always seemed to be the rule. Once you registered your team we coaches had to wear polos (tucked in) and tan pants.
It was exciting to watch the kids play this weekend and realize they were at a great age. They weren’t teenagers yet. Maybe they liked girls but they didn’t get distracted if she was there watching. I don’t think. This was before they went to the bigger field with the longer base paths and the long throw from third base to first. And a Little League home run hitter would probably have to wait a few years before he put one out of the bigger field.
This was also before they tried out for their high school teams and learned there would be a bunch of other kids there, just as good, and if the high school coach already had a good short stop you weren’t going to play there until he graduated. Playing time was no longer guaranteed even if your dad had been a coach.
I read a fascinating article on Twitter the other day about the decline in youth sports. It was from the Wall Street Journal titled, “Youth Sports Have Gotten Too Crazy. They Should Relax.” It mentioned a number of reasons including the fact that a lot of kids are just playing one sport year round. Not only are they prone to injury because certain muscle groups never get a rest but we are seeing a number of kids who are burned out and become sick of playing by the time they’re …. wait for it ….. 14 years old!
Many pro athletes have done interviews about ow they played multiple sports and your body needs that. Those baseball muscles, basketball muscles, soccer muscles need time to rest and rebuild.
When I was still involved in youth sports we were starting to see a decline in participation. Some of us thought this was because of lacrosse developing in town. There were also kids who were playing tournament soccer. This article mentioned how many parents are paying thousands for their children to be on Travel teams and Tournament teams and that was affecting the town Rec leagues. A child whose parent didn’t have the money or was a player with undeveloped talent is having fewer and fewer chances to just play.
I think we’re going to see this have an effect on rosters soon, if we aren’t already, at the high school and college level. I guess the best will always find a way and a spot on a team. I just wonder what the longterm effect will be for the kids that just want to have some fun.
For now we just watch these Little Leaguers and enjoy the excitement of youth. As I’ve said before, when I look back on my years in the dugout I remember the people, the kids and their families. I don’t remember too many individual games but I remember the journey. I hope we never lose those adventures.
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