The latest Arizona headlines, breaking news, in-depth investigations, politics, and local community stories that matter to you. Little league teams have pulled out of the North Carolina state championship tournament after gunshots erupted during a weekend game, their organizers said Monday in social media posts. Of course our children have bents that we want to nurture, encourage and help them develop, but lets make sure we arent pursuing our own agenda. Its a fading game. In Florida, some high-level programs now cost over $10,000 a season. I needed a break, and I wanted to be a counselor at a Christian camp that summer (Kanakuk). On the other hand, if the goal is for the kid to have some fun while learning the fundamentals of baseball, Little League is the way to go. How does a big leaguer have a family? Today, that role has been mainly overtaken by travel baseball which has become the basis for young players looking to build a baseball career. As one who has three sons, two of whom played travel ball for part of their youth, and one who didnt, I can affirm everything you say here. My son (now aged 26) was approached from age 10 on to play travel ball, but we declined year after year because it would pull us away from church plus cost us a small fortune. Its not a coincidence that two of the most iconic golfers of the last thirty years, John Daly and Tiger Woods, were nothing like their peers in their own ways. Rookie is for 7 and 8 year olds. With American Specialty Express' online . I grew up wanting to be a major league baseball player, and Im so glad I never even got drafted. Every expert agreed that kids are being played too hard and too long. Little League - Character, Courage, Loyalty. Unfortunately with all the sacrifices Ive made that relocation doesnt seem likely but as usual, Ill pray about it. Travel ball, by contrast, is not cheap participation fees average about $2,000 per player per year. Nonetheless it's something that I hope that I can enjoy with her (and any future kids, too) for the rest of our lives, much as I still enjoy talking and watching baseball with my parents to this day. Lesson learned. So many kids grow up dreaming, so few put on a big league uniform. A lot of these programs operate on a business-like, almost professional, level and feature teams in all age groups. We all need to be careful that identifying with just one sport and spending most of our time with it can deter a child from gaining skills, interests and appreciation for other activities and knowledge. For millions of American families, paying private for-profit clubseuphemistically termed travel teamsthousands of dollars a year to organize athletic games for their children is now an unquestioned way of life that shapes family routines, work schedules and commutes. I was forced to purchase team-designed cleats and helmet. Copyright 2003-2023 What guides me is Paul in 1Cor9:22-23 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. (Little League, 1) Paperback - September 24, 2013 by Matt Christopher (Author) 290 ratings Book 2 of 5: Little League See all formats and editions Kindle $6.99 Read with Our Free App Audiobook $0.00 Free with your Audible trial Hardcover $7.24 37 Used from $1.28 10 New from $7.24 Paperback $7.99 66 Used from $1.29 20 New from $6.75 Audio CD Which we gladly did because we got to see our daughter develop into a top notch softball player, which would not have happened here. little league field, killing 1 . He played Little League all the way through age 14 and has wonderful memories of playoff games, sometimes leading all the way to state. But we have had a great experience with travel ball and have been able to balance our commitments to both Christ, his church, and our family. Its become a white elitist sport, Mr. Greene told me. Ive also heard more than one parent tell me that after a few years of travel ball, in some cases only one year of it, their son decided he didnt want to play baseball anymore. Most professional golfers look the same. If dads still took their kids to baseball games, played catch with their boys, played wiffleball and played baseball video games most boys would be competitive at baseball. , weakening volunteer-based programs that promise affordable sports for all children. The piece in America by John W. Miller posits that America sold out Little League through the widespread adoption of high-dollar travel baseball: The father on the phone was upset. Again, like you said, church should not be sacrificed by families of 8, 10, and 12-year olds, and oftentimes not even by families of high-schoolers. This mentally effects the kids also with so much pressure to do well. However, as parents now of three young adult children we handled sports for them in a much different way than the current culture dictates. "We spent days, months, years . He didnt make the middle school team as only travel ball kids only made it. But besides that, if you are a Christian parent, the absolute worst thing you can do is teach your kids that anything is more important than God. Additionally, every local Little League program in the United States with a team that travels 150 miles or more per one round trip to a section, state, and region level tournament receives a reimbursement from Little League Baseball of $1 per mile for one round trip to each tournament site, to help offset travel expenses. Families who thought the Sunday game was no big deal slowly dropped out of church because sports came first. I don't have to tell you that millions of Americans just simply can't afford that. Little League Internationals rules, regulations, and policies have been formulated over more than seven decades to ensure a safe, fun, and healthy environment for children. Guess what; we still talk about baseball. Think about your reasons for getting your child into a sport. Little League wants parents to understand the potential dangers of allowing a child to participate in programs in which limited rules and regulations may exist while recognizing our programs rules that are designed to protect players from injury, such as Pitch Counts and equipment rules. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Thanks for sharing them. The fear that if children dont specialize in one sport by eighth grade they will miss opportunities is unfounded. Im sure that's true for some but once kids get to high school, travel ball. We have commodified the play of millions of children into. We pretty much know that were not ready to commit to a large amount of travel and that will be a consideration as our daughter gets older. Check out: The Nehemiah Institute (nehemiahinstitute.com) Now, the league has grown a bit but has 190 kids playing travel ball, with multiple teams at 12u, 14u, 16u, and 18u. Baseball is the greatest game ever, it is exactly that, a game. As more and more kids get involved in travel ball, the best players are taken out of the rec league. and our However, the main reason weve stuck with travel is the consistency that it offers. The daily grind not only sapped the joy of the game, it was physically punishing. Falls Church Klwanis Little League. Your email address will not be published. Travel with extended families and make bonds with good people. I left registration, and pulled him from the Little League program. He was so upset. Manage Settings By your argument, we should never have church services because, if were in church and the lost people arent, how are we going to win them? As a volunteer basketball coach for 18+ years, Ive seen girls spiritually suffer by the same well-intentioned convictions of their parents. Little League International respects the rights of a parent(s), or legal guardian(s), to allow a child to participate in any Little League activity. Its only my observation of course but many areas in life are dog eat dog competitive, as it were. Very good and same principles work for hockey too. Hello, Im Paul, a 45 year old passionate baseball fan and the owner of this website. | GWG Clips #2 from GWG episode #1| Daniel Otero and Ty Osborne - YouTube Blessed to have Tyrone on with us for this episode! See caveats in opening and closing paragraphs. Dont get me wrong: I love competition. BE INVOLVED , VOLUNTEER, ATTEND MEETING AFTER MEETING, FUND RAISE, HOLD ALL ACCOUNTABLE FOR TIME, HONOR, COMMITMENT AND GET ALL THE KIDS TO ENJOY THIS LEAGUE YOU ARE A PART OF. I know that may sound weird working with a kid at such a young age, but his older brother played baseball, so he was always around. Operating Policies and Position Statements, Little League - Character, Courage, Loyalty. She got to have some really good conversations with the moms who really didnt understand the philosophy behind Upward as a result. (Answered! But they have more similarities than you think there are. Then again, some games I find my older daughter listening to her ipod while we watch the games. No player evaluations are required for the Fall season. This is the saddest quote of the entire piece, one I mentioned earlier: Alas, the father refused to make him work on defense, explaining: I am not a fielding dad., Is there a sadder quote? Voddie Bauchams Family Driven Faith. Excellence: Pursuing excellence is important, but be sure you know and your child knows what you mean by that. Is it more important than being at church on Sunday morning? And it certainly does nothing to address the issue of middle and working-class suburban residents and the expense involved in playing the game at a high level. Maybe my son will get a chance to play as long as he continues to love the game. While rec ball was enjoyable, the ever changing pool of players, coaches and parents made for inconsistent experiences for my daughter, some good and some bad. Help your kids find the joy of learning in areas other than sports. If I was in the big leagues, my summers (and falls, and springs) would be dominated by an unrelenting schedule leaving no opportunity to coach my kids teams. My arm hurt all the time, and I wasnt a pitcher. Well, this certainly diverged off the main topic of traveling versus rec sports, but I hope it provides a little more to talk about, especially among family members. And at best a professional athlete might play into his late 30s or early 40s, then what? They dont need to have baseball practice every week all year long, and you dont need to be their taxi for that every week all year long either. His, The Little League has dominated youth baseball for years, but today its unable to provide the satisfying level of coaching and skill development. There are many benefits of pursuing sports excellence, travel like any other passion filled event children can participate can be an extremely beneficial. Nevertheless, Deuteronomy 6 and Ephesians 6:1-4 still stand in Scripture as commands, not suggestions. He is 11, athletic, fast on his feet , 4'9" 75 pounds average size for his age. Archived post. Fill your childrens team with morals and role models. We dont win Non-Christians by loving them more than we love God and his glory. My husband and I were both very competitive athletes growing up (though we had a wide variety of interests), played travel ball in high school, and won scholarships to a Big 10 university. But a story did cross my timeline about something near and dear to my heart: baseball. 23 I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it. Just like you, he burned out after two years and transferred so he could pursue his other passions and, more importantly, gain much-needed work experience which benefited him tremendously when he graduated from college and was looking for a job. Just like my folks did. For us, the Orioles will always be a family affair. The nature of sport is that participants will learn in the course of their play, practice, games or meets, all about discipline, perseverance, punctuality, teamwork, goal-setting, how to handle disagreements, disappointment and failure, as well as success and recognition. Its a Jesuit-based publication with a political slant that does not agree with mine. MORE: 5 Little League Strategies for Coaches Who Want to Have Fun and Win Herbst will then go down the line and examine form to correct anyone who isn't doing the wind-up properly. Baseball exists not just because of the community's love of the game. vs. travel. Its about the fact that fewer and fewer kids are playing baseball every year. Odysseus. The Holy Spirit leads us all differently. And thats a problem for baseball at every level, all the way up to the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball. Is travel baseball killing Little League in America? Fall 2022 Season Focus. I do wonder though as a parent of a child who did play travel ball and also ended up as a D1 athlete if we arent typically just exchanging one pursuit of excellence for another. Required fields are marked *. Nowadays, a lot of young athletes choose other sports over baseball and a lot of communities are experiencing a sharp decline in baseball participation. The goal of this program is to provide additional playing opportunity for those baseball and softball players interested. With the emergence of travel baseball and its more developed infrastructure, Little League has lost its appeal as a path to higher levels of competition. Here in our area not so much. Despite the beautiful fields the travel ball team played on, the grass wasnt greener. Josh McDowells The Last Christian Generation Small town kids grow up playing lots of sports not getting burnt out playing the same one all year round. Little League, international baseball organization for children and teenagers, started in 1939 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, by Carl E. Stotz and brothers Bert and George Bebble. We only have 1 high school senior playing basketball. Fourth, travel ball is expensive, but so are the other activities in which many parents place their children like show choir and band. Our daughter played travel softball for 9 years. Please. I think the key is finding the right team and families. Is there saving Little League? There is another very sad thing that often happens as a result of a familys involvement in travel ball. Little League now includes a senior division for players age 13 to 15 and a big-league division for age 16 to 18. If thats the case, the league they participate in doesnt matter that much. Kids blossom at different ages. Ive alluded to this somewhat above. "Everyone's selling 'the dream gonna happen,' and people are making a. I could be wrong. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); on Dont Play Travel Ball: Stay in the Rec League, Great Books Selections for Fall 2015 and Spring 2016. As Ive talked to people about this dilemma, one friend proposed this to me: he said that I should start my own travel ball team, and I should commit myself to being low-key about it. Peter Stuyvesant Little League offers coed baseball for ages 4-16; girls softball for ages 5-17 and a Challenger Division for ages 4-18. The group that split from us is the same group that has ruined our little league. I was told pitching machines are good because they pitch a consistent ball, and help with hand-eye coordination. Theres also the matter of synchronizing tournaments with kids school commitments and parents jobs. Teams are 9U - 14U. Dont let one child be turned away because they cant afford registration or equipment. Now, the league has grown a bit but has 190 kids playing travel ball, with multiple teams at 12u, 14u, 16u, and 18u. Sound familiar? Thanks to all who replied. This is decided by the player's ability from the previous year of play and/or how they look in tryouts. The result: In the United States, baseball is becoming a mostly white country-club sport for upper-class families to consume, like a snorkeling vacation or a round of golf. On each weekend, a team will participate in at least four games or even more if its a three-day weekend. (No wonder God calls us to pray without ceasing!). Be a parent. The Fall baseball/softball season includes league play at all division levels. I agree, there are a ton of options. When we read books about how it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert on anything, it may wrongly motivate us to try to create little experts out of our kids by the time they graduate from high school. That ship has sailed and, realistically, there is too much money to be made. http://kristenanneglover.com/my-kids-dont-play-sports/#comment-6411. Michael Hortons Christless Christianity The best coaches and the best players stop playing rec ball in favor of travel ball, leading to fewer teams and a lower level of competition in the rec league. Other parents might be emboldened to speak up. I appreciate that. It is the most pernicious aspect of youth league sports. I recognize that although it isnt common for kids to be offered college scholarships for sports, it obviously isnt impossible. Wow this article really spoke to me. Thanks, Roy. Often, teams participate in the tournaments that take place in a city other than their own or even in another state. Little League to . Were seeing some growth in her skills and she loves the game. But it also comes back to another thing: family and community. They would have to drive to another suburb for ball games. LL was the emphasis, there were only a couple of travel teams. Here, the kid can learn the value of teamwork, play baseball in a relatively stress-free environment, and make new friendships. Not posting some long winded bs. Waiting lists for leagues. A job is not a game. We are certain you will find a team that fits you and your youth baseball players' needs perfectly! They use evangelism as a spiritual reason for not being in church. General Little League to Travel Ball and Back Again February 7, 2017 I started my son in the Little League Tee Ball program when he was four. Part. Third, most days my family enjoys family travel ball, together. The higher level of competition drives young players to work harder on their game. Listen to article. I also when I was kid play at lyndon and never traveled and loved it and still played college baseball myself for 4 yrs. We have expanded our season to now include winter training, a competitive league spring travel schedule, tournament season as well as a competitive league fall schedule. Baseball exists not just because of the community's love of the game. 6 year olds should play a season of teeball before signing up for Prep. All your doing is increasing the strain and the chance of injury for no appreciable gain. In raising our children in a world where developing a one-sport athlete is pushed to the extreme, we both were counter-culture, and we have happy, well-adjusted kids now, all of whom continue to pursue fitness as a lifestyle. In fact, Little League International pays all the expenses of the dozens of teams that reach the World Series level in Little League Baseball and Softball, including travel, meals, and lodging. Give your kid the chance to be a great person and cultivate that through sports. The physical and mental challenges of pursuing more than one sport is healthy in every respect. I dont see anything wrong with having children that play recreational sports. This question reveals how far our cultural worldview has intermixed with a Christian one. The irony is that if you dont value your commitment to church (and Christ) enough to pass on sports to commit to church, you arent likely to step out and preach the gospel at the sports events either. That would inevitably awaken the competitive impulse, leading to more practices, more effort expended, and the gradual creep to a higher key. Fairfax County, Virginia - Youth Baseball Leagues in Fairfax County. I wrote about this for Camden Chat in 2016: Orioles baseball will not be the most important thing that we teach our daughter about. Unlike travel baseball, Little League is mostly a local affair and is organized with a lot of effort and goodwill from the locals. does the drake hotel chicago have a pool . I would also ask to establish contact with you for a best practices sharing of information and spreading of the works you are enjoying. The statistics reported concerning the abandonment of the Christian Faith by christian young people before their sophomore year in college is overwhelming. The majority of coaches in the Little League are volunteers, mostly recruited of the parent ranks. In 2002, Havenwood Little League merged with Riviera Beach Little League and two other local baseball programs in Pasadena and became the Pasadena Baseball Club. I was sad when the team cut me from the roster, but I was also relieved. Fun for all, talent levels not seen before. And I hope all who read my question realize that there is no 1 correct answer for everyone. Registration is quick, easy, and FREE. But, the worst part of it all was that my son was clearly not having the same amount of fun he had in Little League last year. 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