Little League Baseball In Trouble?

My youngest son Kevin is playing baseball in the Portland North Little League this season. It’s been fun going to his games and practices, but I am wondering how long baseball will survive at this level. I’ve noticed that more and more kids are gravitating to lacrosse (which I have nothing against, but really don’t know much about). The erosion is noticeable-as the number of teams in our league has dwindled considerably.

Who knows why this is happening? I hope that adult behavior is not a factor. As long as there have been organized sports, there has been disagreement between coaches and parents on how their kids are played (or not played), the level of instruction-sometimes it is completely absent—and the general handling of the kids by the coaches, all of whom are parents volunteering their time.

For the most part, I have no gripe against the coaches-those in charge of Kevin’s team are good guys with their hearts in the right place. I have noticed some miserable behavior on the part of adults—coaches and parents in the stands--in the past-and I sometimes think that there are coaches who want victory more than the players. The pressure that is imposed on the kids to perform is often what makes them exit the sport.

Failure is baseball is a very solitary experience. Unlike a missed shot in soccer, hockey, lacrosse, or other fast-paced game, a player walking back to the dugout from the plate is very aware that EVERYONE in the park witnessed the strikeout. Same too with a dropped fly or errant throw. Basketball’s free throw is the only common example of solitary failure that comes to mind.

Cultivating fun and sportsmanship while improving skills should be the goal of Little League. The coaches are directly responsible for demanding sportsmanship—and failure to instill these values leads to the incident below, where, in the handshake line after a game, one kid sucker punches another. It’s unbelievable to witness:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQPoTSjLIeI

Coaches everywhere can make practices fun while instilling the values of sportsmanship. There are MANY resources out there for youth coaches—and adults have to take FUN seriously---the absence of FUN and the ability of kids to really participate is sure to drive more kids to lacrosse and other sports where the action is nonstop.