If you are a parent and you are considering spending a lot of money on a travel team, you should be asking one question before all others when it comes to the baseball. The question-"Do you have a throwing program" If the answer is yes, have them explain it to you in detail. If the answer is no, move on. The throwing program is also the catching program BTW. For those that think hitting is going to get your kid a spot, nope. Your kid may be able to hit, but if the coach doesn't have a spot for him because he lets in more than he drives in, he will be on the bench. Great article and as a coach, see it every day.
1
This has happened in other sports, too. In figure skating, the fundamental figures were actually removed from the sport. We see amazing athletic tricks done today by many skaters, but when they are asked to simply balance on an edge with ease, or skate slowly with control many of them cannot do it, and they have no understanding of how these fundamentals can support advanced skill building and make things easier to do, less forced. Serious injuries are also a problem - many hip, knee, foot and back injuries.
What came first: the scouts who ignore the fundamentals, the over zealous parents or camps pandering to both. All this to destroy the fun of the game and the joy of playing.
Would Tim Corbin give a scholarship to a kid who can throw 95 mph or hit 400 ft home runs, but can't have a catch or know his responsibilities as a cutoff man? Of course he would. That's why parents do what they do. It's a wee bit unfair to complain about the situation you've helped create.
3
What I love about this article is that the people (college coaches) who are complaining that kids can't play catch and focus on home runs and pitching velocity are the ones that recruit based on home runs and pitching velocity.
4
It's not just baseball. I just finished a whirlwind of sports for my 10 year old son. I find it disturbing that the fundamentals from some coaches are not being emphasized. My son's basketball reflected this, offense, no defense, no protection of the ball, no trust from tier 1 to tier 2 players, etc. It was all about winning. My husband and I said never again with this team. I wasn't a great athlete, yet when I was son's age, I had fun with sports, but I learn the nuances of the sport as well. My son's best experience has been football and running, because yes he is having fun, but his teachers are showing small techniques. My kid doesn't know, that but it makes it less boring. I still have a love for sports and certain players, because of the small things. Serena Williams has a great serve, but did you know her volley and soft touch at the net is great. Jimmy Rollins, yes can Rbi and hit, but he defense was something to see. Tom Brady, can throw, but he reads a defense like a surgeon. I can go on and on...I hope this article gets out to high school, middle and even youth leagues, to revamp their practices. Sports are changing, but fundamentals never go away.
5
Love hearing Coaches complaining about the system they created and continue to reinforce! How many college coaches do you see recruiting at local HS games? 20-years ago that's how it was done and it required time, effort and relationship building to be good at it. Today, coaches can show up in a big city for 5 days and see 100's of recruits, go to dinner every night with their buds, have a quick conversation with the "travel coach" (typically some tool living out his unfulfilled athletic dreams) and report back on how "great" the kid was that they saw play 2 innings. I'm in 100% agreement that the system is broken and that the fundamentals of youth baseball are gone but the kids aren't to blame, we adults are! The majority of HS coaches believe that taking 30 mins of BP is actually "practicing" and they'd rather play 50+ games vs. practicing and putting in the time and effort required to teach the basic skills, fundamentals and baseball I.Q. needed to WIN Championships (with or without college talent)! It's pathetic! There are more big foot sightings than there are successful SAC bunts in baseball these days and if they gave away cars for every player that ran full speed through 1st base....we'd all be walking and ALL of that is 100% coaching. It takes very little talent to learn how to bunt and it takes NO talent to play hard! It' not a difficult equation to solve....simply change the "demand" and the "supply" will adapt to meet the demand.
5
The hardest thing for a baseball parent to do is turn the instruction of their son or daughter over to an experienced trainer, which is a tacit admission you don't know what's "baseball best" for your kid. For every phenom in the game who makes it on raw talent, there are at least a dozen kids who make it on the daily grind, step by step, day by day attention to detail which is the true nature of the game of baseball. The nuance and subtlety of baseball are akin to golf and chess. Even a chess prodigy needs a grandmaster tutor. My experience does not reveal a host of dissatisfied burned out players working toward their parents' goals of a scholarship. Rather, the kids who have stuck with it from the age of 10 to 18 have done so for love of the Game. They just want to be on the field and they know it's not going to last forever. They'll do whatever they can or whatever it takes to extend the arrival of the inevitable day when they put up their spikes for the last time. The dream of a college scholarship for baseball is more of a numbers game than any pie in the sky dream of a free ride or financial fortune. College ball clubs carry 35 players. Of those 35 roster spots, only 11.7 are fully funded. In reality, most kids who play college ball either come out of pocket for the balance, take out student loans or if they're lucky, couple it with academic scholarship money. I used to love playing catch with my son, but now he throws too hard.
Interesting article. However, the team you featured - Jesuit High School, Tampa FL - wins games because its players have exceptional Baseball IQ. Without it, players aren't players and teams don't win.
It's easy to blame parents, modern times or the recruiting system (of which they are the primary drivers), but the real issue is their fellow coaches.
Kids don't learn to lay down a bunt or hit the cutoff man by playing catch or in a pick up game with other kids. They are taught to do those things by coaches.
The problem is all-star team coaches who aren't teaching or who give playing time to players that dazzle but don't contribute to winning.
Kids don't learn to lay down a bunt or hit the cutoff man by playing catch or in a pick up game with other kids. They are taught to do those things by coaches.
The problem is all-star team coaches who aren't teaching or who give playing time to players that dazzle but don't contribute to winning.
3
Like others, I grew up playing catch with my dad and that is among my fondest memories. Also played catch with other kids in the neighborhood and summer was the time for day-long games of baseball on a rocky sandlot right behind my house. We rarely had enough players for more than 4 or 5 on a team, so we played with special rules (pitcher's hand out - right field out). We played because we loved it.
I coached youth baseball through part of the 80's and 90's when my kids were the right age. I told the parents at the beginning of each season that I had three priorities: That the kids have fun. That they learn the basics of the game. That they learn good sportsmanship. Nice to win a game, but that wasn't on that list. To me, the path to the major leagues may require considerable talent and dedication, but it has to start with a love of the game. Very sad to me to see the over-competitive parents instilling those kinds of values in their kids early on.
Oh, can't resist: One of my proudest moments as a parent (when I was coaching). My #2 son was playing second base; the batter hit a line drive right to him. It went over his glove and hit him in the stomach. He bent over, obviously in pain and tears were starting to pour. And after a few seconds he held up the ball, still hunched over, so that the umpire could see that he caught it.
I coached youth baseball through part of the 80's and 90's when my kids were the right age. I told the parents at the beginning of each season that I had three priorities: That the kids have fun. That they learn the basics of the game. That they learn good sportsmanship. Nice to win a game, but that wasn't on that list. To me, the path to the major leagues may require considerable talent and dedication, but it has to start with a love of the game. Very sad to me to see the over-competitive parents instilling those kinds of values in their kids early on.
Oh, can't resist: One of my proudest moments as a parent (when I was coaching). My #2 son was playing second base; the batter hit a line drive right to him. It went over his glove and hit him in the stomach. He bent over, obviously in pain and tears were starting to pour. And after a few seconds he held up the ball, still hunched over, so that the umpire could see that he caught it.
4
This makes me think of what happens when you have high-stakes testing, teaching to the test. It results in distortion of the skills and knowledge that you want
6
I loved playing catch! Did it pretty much every day in the street when I was age 11-15 and growing up it Bayside, Queens. And got real good at it. I can field and I can throw well. Hitting well, we didn't do much of that. But I can catch short hops, track fly balls well and make accurate, strong throws. Just thought it was a basic part of the game. I miss playing catch. If I had a partner I'd still do it everyday.
5
Explains why there are a lot injuries for pitchers in the major leagues. Unbalanced skills set equals unbalanced muscle development.
5
"A backlash against the showcase culture is beginning to gain momentum, at least among some college coaches who say they have changed recruiting methods to try to find more well-rounded young players."
Thank you. It started in MLB with players watching their long bombs go over the wall before running the bases. Now it has infected all sports and all sports media. It's all about the celebration, which takes precedence over the action on the field, court, gridiron, course, etc. itself. It's imitated by kids from the time they're toddlers and watch all the preening and chest-beating on video. Give me a sac bunt, a well-turned double play, a Baltimore chop any day.
So many commenters have touched on so much that is wrong here. Take your pick: eventual burnout by a kid who wants to have fun playing ball and ends up experiencing the drudgery of a job, internal politics where the coaches' kids always start no matter how many errors they make or even if they fail to hit in clutch situations, while kids of the non-select parents who are just as good or better ride the pine, unrealistic expectations and relentless pressure from the parents, the excessive emphasis placed upon the jock culture by American society at large (and I'm a sports fan). If colleges lavished fraction of their attention upon academics as they did upon the pursuit of dominance in athletics, they might be capable of training young people to address all our other intractable problems.
Thank you. It started in MLB with players watching their long bombs go over the wall before running the bases. Now it has infected all sports and all sports media. It's all about the celebration, which takes precedence over the action on the field, court, gridiron, course, etc. itself. It's imitated by kids from the time they're toddlers and watch all the preening and chest-beating on video. Give me a sac bunt, a well-turned double play, a Baltimore chop any day.
So many commenters have touched on so much that is wrong here. Take your pick: eventual burnout by a kid who wants to have fun playing ball and ends up experiencing the drudgery of a job, internal politics where the coaches' kids always start no matter how many errors they make or even if they fail to hit in clutch situations, while kids of the non-select parents who are just as good or better ride the pine, unrealistic expectations and relentless pressure from the parents, the excessive emphasis placed upon the jock culture by American society at large (and I'm a sports fan). If colleges lavished fraction of their attention upon academics as they did upon the pursuit of dominance in athletics, they might be capable of training young people to address all our other intractable problems.
17
Granted, I'm old, but my memory is functioning well enough to remember when during summer vacations (that used to last forever) we'd play baseball literally all day with a break for lunch to read the box score in the NY Daily News. We'd watch baseball games in the steamy New Jersey evenings and actually know stuff about the game. There were a huge number of opportunities to play...CYO, PAL, Department of Parks along with scholastic teams. I don't think any of my friends ever played in college but everything being relative, we had pretty good competitive skills and we did actually learn to hit the cutoff man, take an extra base, bunt etc. All of which was cool but also - maybe because the world was simpler, at least to us - we had a lot of fun, which seems to have become an afterthought.
21
It seems to me like these kids are mostly killing themselves for nothing if its just scholarships they want. If they just studied hard, they could also get scholarships.
I think they arent doing it for scholarships. They are doing it to try to become famous rich professional baseball players. No need to deny it, and it sounds like these kids are motivated by those big dreams to do most anything. Good for them, but there should be a focus on majoring in something profitable (i.e. not communications) so that when they fail to be part to the 0.1% those scholarships actually mean something. What is the percentage of college baseball players that end up in the major leagues? Just looked it up, its like 10%! Damn maybe I was wrong. It does say that 0.5% of high school seniors playing baseball will go onto the majors. I dunno, maybe they should go for it though, thats way better odds than the average college biology major has of going on to be a professor, not to mention run a laboratory or win the Nobel Prize. Hmm, maybe I should have tried sports. Id have been a great curler.
I think they arent doing it for scholarships. They are doing it to try to become famous rich professional baseball players. No need to deny it, and it sounds like these kids are motivated by those big dreams to do most anything. Good for them, but there should be a focus on majoring in something profitable (i.e. not communications) so that when they fail to be part to the 0.1% those scholarships actually mean something. What is the percentage of college baseball players that end up in the major leagues? Just looked it up, its like 10%! Damn maybe I was wrong. It does say that 0.5% of high school seniors playing baseball will go onto the majors. I dunno, maybe they should go for it though, thats way better odds than the average college biology major has of going on to be a professor, not to mention run a laboratory or win the Nobel Prize. Hmm, maybe I should have tried sports. Id have been a great curler.
4
I coached youth baseball for 10 years. Of the 25 boys I coached 2 got to the major leagues, one is a Division I basketball coach and 1/3 of my players played in college. I've also umpired 2,500 games played by youngsters from 9 through the top of high school.
Everyone take a breath. Things are not as bad as this article makes it sound. In fact, things are very good out there. Today's boys play at a more advanced level than the boys that came before them. They are bigger, stronger and have better mechanics too.
This article is talking about the "showcase player." A showcase player is a young man with a canon for an arm and a sweet swing that leads to explosive "bom-bee-skees," who, when the pressure is on, can't play. In general, showcase players are not the product of "travel teams." They are players who won the physical side of the genetic lottery, but not the mental or emotional side.
Travel teams can't use them because when excellent teams play excellent teams the game is often decided on a single missed play: an overthrow at first, a booted grounder, a dropped turn at second. These mistakes give the opposition an extra out which opens the door to disaster. In high level games, showcase players are exposed quickly.
Excellent coaches know how to fix mental problems. Lesser coaches do not.
Want to know if a prospect is a showcase player? You have to go and watch him play. You actually have to do the work and scout him. If you don't do that work, the mistake yours.
Everyone take a breath. Things are not as bad as this article makes it sound. In fact, things are very good out there. Today's boys play at a more advanced level than the boys that came before them. They are bigger, stronger and have better mechanics too.
This article is talking about the "showcase player." A showcase player is a young man with a canon for an arm and a sweet swing that leads to explosive "bom-bee-skees," who, when the pressure is on, can't play. In general, showcase players are not the product of "travel teams." They are players who won the physical side of the genetic lottery, but not the mental or emotional side.
Travel teams can't use them because when excellent teams play excellent teams the game is often decided on a single missed play: an overthrow at first, a booted grounder, a dropped turn at second. These mistakes give the opposition an extra out which opens the door to disaster. In high level games, showcase players are exposed quickly.
Excellent coaches know how to fix mental problems. Lesser coaches do not.
Want to know if a prospect is a showcase player? You have to go and watch him play. You actually have to do the work and scout him. If you don't do that work, the mistake yours.
14
What's truly missing here is the priceless education in both baseball (or any sport), sportsmanship and life that one gets from unorganized sports that you play with neighborhood kids. No one is whining to mommy about things being unfair. You learn to deal with disappointment and learn that you know what? sometimes you are the goat and that's not a bad thing. Sometimes you're the star. You learn so much that way.
But alas that is gone because heaven forbid kids be allowed to head over to a park or vacant lot to play without serious supervision. Once the supervision arrives, all bets are off. A skinned knee or cut elbow is treated like the end of the world by squeamish parents, and the need to perform in front of an audience kills the experience.
I don't think the home run mentality is much about scholarship money but more about parents wanting their kid to be the standout. The oohs and ahhs of others are like a drug to these people and cements their belief that their kid-- and by extension their family-- is better than everyone else.
A few years after Tiger Woods showed up on the golf scene, there was a crop of self- and commentator-annointed young guns golfers that could drive the ball a country mile. It was amazing to watch but lost its luster once it was evident that these golfers (not Tiger!) were one trick ponies and once the ball landed, they faltered and were nowhere near even page 10 of the leaderboard week after week. Nothing new here.
But alas that is gone because heaven forbid kids be allowed to head over to a park or vacant lot to play without serious supervision. Once the supervision arrives, all bets are off. A skinned knee or cut elbow is treated like the end of the world by squeamish parents, and the need to perform in front of an audience kills the experience.
I don't think the home run mentality is much about scholarship money but more about parents wanting their kid to be the standout. The oohs and ahhs of others are like a drug to these people and cements their belief that their kid-- and by extension their family-- is better than everyone else.
A few years after Tiger Woods showed up on the golf scene, there was a crop of self- and commentator-annointed young guns golfers that could drive the ball a country mile. It was amazing to watch but lost its luster once it was evident that these golfers (not Tiger!) were one trick ponies and once the ball landed, they faltered and were nowhere near even page 10 of the leaderboard week after week. Nothing new here.
15
My daughter and a friend tried Little League when they were six. The coaches were great and tried hard to encourage them as they were the only two girls on the team.
My daughter's friend could really hit that ball. Whenever she came to bat, the whole crowd would roar their support. But she was really slow and never once in the entire season made it past first base. My own little girl would make far less exciting plays, but she almost always made it to first base and usually got all the way home.
She asked me once why nobody ever cheered for her when she was the one who scored the points. Little League was a one season sport in our house.
My daughter's friend could really hit that ball. Whenever she came to bat, the whole crowd would roar their support. But she was really slow and never once in the entire season made it past first base. My own little girl would make far less exciting plays, but she almost always made it to first base and usually got all the way home.
She asked me once why nobody ever cheered for her when she was the one who scored the points. Little League was a one season sport in our house.
22
It's the TV influence. Television wants something quick and flashy to show on the highlight reel, and fundamental baseball is neither quick (well, maybe the bang-bang double play) nor flashy. But it sure does win games. If you look at the MLB teams that win consistently - the Giants, the Cards, the Braves of 1990-2010 - they win on fundamentals. Sure they hit home runs, but they play a lot of small ball: singles, an occasional double, a stolen base, a forced error. And their pitching is the same, using solid pitchers who have a command of at least 3 and usually 4 or even 5 pitches and who can deliver strikes when required.
It's too bad the baseball writers don't feel that way. Homers shouldn't count for more than average or defensive ability, but they do. Players like Ozzie Smith, who get elected on the first ballot for their defensive prowess, are far too rare. Remember, too, that neither Babe Ruth nor Henry Aaron ever gave up a home run by letting it bounce off their heads, and they did it without PEDs.
It's too bad the baseball writers don't feel that way. Homers shouldn't count for more than average or defensive ability, but they do. Players like Ozzie Smith, who get elected on the first ballot for their defensive prowess, are far too rare. Remember, too, that neither Babe Ruth nor Henry Aaron ever gave up a home run by letting it bounce off their heads, and they did it without PEDs.
5
Last year while umpiring a high school baseball game a player made a fundamental mistake - I do not recall exactly what - and his coach lamented, "Kids today don't watch games. They watch the highlights."
11
"(W)hen have you driven around lately and seen kids playing catch for fun?"
Catch? You don't see kids playing baseball, period, for fun anymore. It only happens in organized leagues and at at school. Now, if I lived in Venezuela or the Dominican Republic or Mexico, perhaps I would see kids playing baseball for fun. But the United States? No way.
Catch? You don't see kids playing baseball, period, for fun anymore. It only happens in organized leagues and at at school. Now, if I lived in Venezuela or the Dominican Republic or Mexico, perhaps I would see kids playing baseball for fun. But the United States? No way.
8
In some sense this is good for the game. Everybody loves a good error (opposing team's of course). Remember, not every one can be a Babe Ruth or a Bill Buckner.
1
Do all of those good Cuban, Venezuelan, and Dominican ball players in the MLB have highly specialized one-on-one coaching from a young age?
And yet, they know the fundamentals and can make it to the big leagues.
And yet, they know the fundamentals and can make it to the big leagues.
13
Actually, many don't know the fundamentals. There are several MLB clubs that maintain "academies" to teach them fundamentals, and even the actual rules of baseball. Many are excellent athletes but do not have the polish or experience of playing in organized leagues.
1
A generation of robots? Professional coaching for Little Leaguers? It's not about fun
8
It's widely known that hitting a fast pitch baseball is one of the most difficult things in sports. My lack of ability in that area ruined the game for me when I was a kid. There's special camps for it now? Halleluja.
4
The priorities in youth baseball today are as follows: 1) parents 2) coaches 3) kids. I'm glad I got to play decades ago before selfish parents and coaches got in the way and drained the joy and the fun out of playing the game to make up for their own failed ambitions.
If these "private coaches and specialized camps" are so good at teaching hitting and pitching then how do you explain the astronomical increase in strikeouts per at bat and the unprecedented fragility of pitcher's arms in MLB today?
If these "private coaches and specialized camps" are so good at teaching hitting and pitching then how do you explain the astronomical increase in strikeouts per at bat and the unprecedented fragility of pitcher's arms in MLB today?
21
holy metaphor batboy!
no matter where you turn, "...the fundamentals are falling by the wayside in favor of flashier skills..." infotainers, glossed and coiffed to
movie-still perfection, show little appetite for anything past the gossip they and their handlers glean from the day's events...(no disrespect intended for actual reporters rather in the field than on the sofas or at the round tables)...in education we have the opinionators, products of the dumbdown, no longer capable of inquiry but apt for the task of indoctrination...as they audition for roles as cableklatch "contributors"
..and so on..."you could," as casey advises, "look it up."
and, like casey, we puzzle "can't anyone here play this game?"
"contributor"
no matter where you turn, "...the fundamentals are falling by the wayside in favor of flashier skills..." infotainers, glossed and coiffed to
movie-still perfection, show little appetite for anything past the gossip they and their handlers glean from the day's events...(no disrespect intended for actual reporters rather in the field than on the sofas or at the round tables)...in education we have the opinionators, products of the dumbdown, no longer capable of inquiry but apt for the task of indoctrination...as they audition for roles as cableklatch "contributors"
..and so on..."you could," as casey advises, "look it up."
and, like casey, we puzzle "can't anyone here play this game?"
"contributor"
2
There is always the separate and unequal Major League Baseball American League Designated Hitter and Designated Pitcher. There is no Designated Fielder nor Designated Thrower in either major league. There are Pinch Hitters and Pinch Runners in both leagues.
3
Fundamentals of fielding and strategy are great, but statistically rigorous analysis of major league baseball, and this is probably true of college baseball as well, consistently demonstrates that quality hitting and pitching account far more for winning and losing than does quality of fielding. Professional scouts are looking for top athleticism - ability to hit for power, a fastball that can then be moderated and adjusted, running speed. Strategy and technique can often be improved at the higher levels. Hitting the ball hard and far and being able to pitch it hard most of the time will always be the sine qua non for consistent winning.
2
Since what professional scouts (and college scouts) are looking for is seldom seen, perhaps the great majority of kids should never play? Is that where you are going?
2
Same with tennis! It's all boom boom, and no finesse or touch anymore! With the eye of getting the kid a collegiate scholarship! The love of the game and it's intracacies has gone out the window as America falls behind to the Slavs and the Spaniards in this great athletic sport!
5
I grew up playing catch all the time. It has a gentleness to it. I remember playing with my dad, with friends, with my step-brother. For some reason, I particularly remember those games played late into the evening, when the light was dying and you finally had to end it because you couldn't see the ball anymore. (Of course, that could be Hollywood making me think I remember things that never happened.) It was a great way of spending time together, cooperative rather than competitive. You'd get into a rhythm, feeling each other out, finding your distance. Sometimes you talked, sometimes you didn't. Usually, you started out talking but as the game deepened, the words would fade away, unnecessary, superfluous. The connection was the ball itself, and the magical, invisible line each throw draws between the players. Sometimes you might throw a little higher or a little harder, making your partner take an extra step or three, but mostly, you're just aiming for that sweet spot of perfect synchronicity....
27
I lost interest in baseball a long time ago, but your poetic description brought back the thousands of youthful hours of the experience of why I enjoyed playing catch. Thank you.
5
I have those same memories of playing catch with my buddies but especially my dad. Right after an early supper (he got home from work at 5pm) we would play catch for hours. It's one of my fondest memories.
5
those were the days, games all day..."how'd you do, kid?" "not bad, 26 for 42."
10
Love this article, as a baseball coach in Canada this is very true and difficult to have associations change the view of coaching. It has become all about winning versus teaching youth the skills of the game. MLB is no different look at batting averages 20-30 years ago, compared to today. It use to be 60 - 100 guys would hit over 300 now it is 20. You need a quality at bat to hit 300, the focus is not on the quality at bats.
7
'“But the lost art is how to play baseball.”
Something else has been lost.
Conspicuously absent from this article is the word 'fun'.
My happiest memories of childhood include playing catch with my dad. My least happy memories include gym class. Admittedly I was no athlete (and female in addition), and therefore got into college on my brains, as an athletic scholarship was not an option in those days.
We need to examine both the skyrocketing cost of college that apparently makes the hope of an athletic scholarship the only way these families expect to be able to afford it. (Many are called but few are chosen; achieving such scholarships is only a slightly more feasible college financing plan than buying a winning PowerBall ticket.) And the American culture in general which seems to turn everything, whether career, or sport, or sex, or any other pastime, into a grim contest for conquest and survival of the fittest.
Something else has been lost.
Conspicuously absent from this article is the word 'fun'.
My happiest memories of childhood include playing catch with my dad. My least happy memories include gym class. Admittedly I was no athlete (and female in addition), and therefore got into college on my brains, as an athletic scholarship was not an option in those days.
We need to examine both the skyrocketing cost of college that apparently makes the hope of an athletic scholarship the only way these families expect to be able to afford it. (Many are called but few are chosen; achieving such scholarships is only a slightly more feasible college financing plan than buying a winning PowerBall ticket.) And the American culture in general which seems to turn everything, whether career, or sport, or sex, or any other pastime, into a grim contest for conquest and survival of the fittest.
26
In my town, we used to go looking for a field so my son and I could have a catch on a real field. Often we found other fathers and sons already there. The only fun that was rare, was the pickup game (we did see that occur but not as often as the sandlots of many years ago). But the simple pleasure of catch is alive and well.
But joy of catch with Dad, for a rare kid obsessed with the game, would naturally lead for a desire for more as the kid grows. The fun just morphs from joy of fresh air and family time, to joy of accomplishment. A few lessons to enable the next level of enjoyment is how I looked at it. There is lots of sorrow in the game, mostly coaches who care more about winning and playing their favorites. But the joy of catch with Dad, can for some kids become joy of team, joy of results from progress. Happy to say that after more than a decade of baseball, my son is very happily part of a college team, a dream he has worked towards. He enjoys the camraderie of his new college teammates,
and he would not be there without the joyful work he put in before. Not much different from school work, studying itself does not appear fun, but good grades are enjoyable, camraderie of learning with other kids is enjoyable. So if baseball lessons are a bad thing, so is school tuition and extra help after school.
But joy of catch with Dad, for a rare kid obsessed with the game, would naturally lead for a desire for more as the kid grows. The fun just morphs from joy of fresh air and family time, to joy of accomplishment. A few lessons to enable the next level of enjoyment is how I looked at it. There is lots of sorrow in the game, mostly coaches who care more about winning and playing their favorites. But the joy of catch with Dad, can for some kids become joy of team, joy of results from progress. Happy to say that after more than a decade of baseball, my son is very happily part of a college team, a dream he has worked towards. He enjoys the camraderie of his new college teammates,
and he would not be there without the joyful work he put in before. Not much different from school work, studying itself does not appear fun, but good grades are enjoyable, camraderie of learning with other kids is enjoyable. So if baseball lessons are a bad thing, so is school tuition and extra help after school.
1
I have a masters degree in guitar performance from a major music school and have been teaching guitar for some time in addition to what I do as a performer and composer.
I find something similar in the music world in what I call the "YouTube guitarist". These kids will spend sometimes a couple years learning a complex rock guitar solo by someone like Steve Vai from a video but don't know what notes they're playing, what scale the notes come from, what arpeggios they may be sweeping through. It's all by rote. And don't get me started on the wonky technique.
So while learning other artists' songs and solos is always positive, spending two years and having almost nothing to show for it but a useless out of context shred fest is a travesty if that kid is serious about guitar playing.
I've even had a couple students go through college classical guitar programs and come out only being able to read the notation. They don't know simple chord inversions, scales, how to improvise, don't understand the fretboard.
So while you can impress Grandma by playing a Bach cello suite transcription, you'll never be able to work.
I find something similar in the music world in what I call the "YouTube guitarist". These kids will spend sometimes a couple years learning a complex rock guitar solo by someone like Steve Vai from a video but don't know what notes they're playing, what scale the notes come from, what arpeggios they may be sweeping through. It's all by rote. And don't get me started on the wonky technique.
So while learning other artists' songs and solos is always positive, spending two years and having almost nothing to show for it but a useless out of context shred fest is a travesty if that kid is serious about guitar playing.
I've even had a couple students go through college classical guitar programs and come out only being able to read the notation. They don't know simple chord inversions, scales, how to improvise, don't understand the fretboard.
So while you can impress Grandma by playing a Bach cello suite transcription, you'll never be able to work.
13
I'm not so sure that things have changed all that much. I played Babe Ruth ball in the 70s. I could catch anything, and throw a strike to home plate from deep center field. But I was a terrible hitter, and guess where I spent most of my time? Yes, on the bench. No doubt the coaches were teaching us fundamentals, but the big sticks and fireballers got the playing time and glory. No surprise those are the skills that have become most valued.
13
The one thing you can count on is that these kids know how to strike out. Proudly.
4
One thing I would like to add to my earlier comment: (that the coaches are the ones driving the obsession with hitting and lack of other skills, since once the coaches peg a kid as someone who can’t hit, the child never gets to practice or prove otherwise because he’s on the bench)
When the kid finally does get up to bat, it is very interesting to observe the coaches..
I have witnessed coaches demanding that kids NOT swing at good pitches and let them be strikes instead. They do this through hand signals even before the pitch is thrown and before it can be known whether it's worth swinging at or not.
In one game I personally witnessed a benched kid get his one at-bat, see a good pitch and swing at it ignoring the coach's prior hand signal to let it be a strike. The kid got a double and later scored. The coach was so angry that the kid didn't take the strike that he threatened to bench the kid for the rest of the season.
It makes one wonder what exactly is the point of the game if not to get on base and score.
So, I maintain that the problem of lack of skills in the youth is due to the coaches. If the coach decides a kid isn't a hitter, then the kid sits on the the bench. Even if he does get up to bat, he is likely to be instructed to stand like a statue instead of swinging at the ball. You can't blame the kids and parents for getting the message.
When the kid finally does get up to bat, it is very interesting to observe the coaches..
I have witnessed coaches demanding that kids NOT swing at good pitches and let them be strikes instead. They do this through hand signals even before the pitch is thrown and before it can be known whether it's worth swinging at or not.
In one game I personally witnessed a benched kid get his one at-bat, see a good pitch and swing at it ignoring the coach's prior hand signal to let it be a strike. The kid got a double and later scored. The coach was so angry that the kid didn't take the strike that he threatened to bench the kid for the rest of the season.
It makes one wonder what exactly is the point of the game if not to get on base and score.
So, I maintain that the problem of lack of skills in the youth is due to the coaches. If the coach decides a kid isn't a hitter, then the kid sits on the the bench. Even if he does get up to bat, he is likely to be instructed to stand like a statue instead of swinging at the ball. You can't blame the kids and parents for getting the message.
10
My son, who I wrote about in a previous post, was pegged as a non-hitter. In his last season of hitting, he was the third best hitter, stat-wise, on the team, yet the coach had him last in the batting order. He didn't seem to mind, since hitting caused him some stress and he was a valuable pitcher. But it would have been nice to see him get some encouragement and development. I have found that, at least in our area, if you want development, you have to go outside the league's coaching. And if you want to play at the high school level, you need coaching. It's as simple as that. It's a competitive cut sport. My son really wasn't interested in much else besides baseball, so we felt it was a good investment. It has kept him involved and given him a place to belong in a very large high school.
5
Kids are not taught from pee wees just play basic baseball , the rest will come. hitting the cutoff man could mean the difference in a game. I blame baseball in general all too much has put on 95mph fast balls and 400ft home runs. Man on third tie game less than two outs nothing more exciting than a perfectly executed suiside squeeze.
3
As someone else said, this is the standardized testing of baseball...the rote memorization that turns ball players into robots. Throwing 90 and hitting bombs 400 feet are two of about 100 skill necessary to play the game of baseball at the college level and beyond. And just like high standardized test scores, neither predicts future success at the college level.
Frankly, college coaches need to do what college admission officers are doing: deemphasize the dog and pony show numbers and start looking at players holistically. Because the only ones losing out in this, other than the dumb parents who are quickly parted from their money by these shyster "instructional experts," are the kids.
Frankly, college coaches need to do what college admission officers are doing: deemphasize the dog and pony show numbers and start looking at players holistically. Because the only ones losing out in this, other than the dumb parents who are quickly parted from their money by these shyster "instructional experts," are the kids.
3
if you're running a dog and pony show why would you want to de-emphasize dog and pony show numbers?
with the right numbers, parents get to keep their money and the "shysters" the instructors and the bigtime coaches (not to mention the shoe-makers and broadcaster) do just fine...the kids, of course, are the losers, (no education), and double done, (if they don't score pro careers).
with the right numbers, parents get to keep their money and the "shysters" the instructors and the bigtime coaches (not to mention the shoe-makers and broadcaster) do just fine...the kids, of course, are the losers, (no education), and double done, (if they don't score pro careers).
1
It's essentially the financial reward dangling in the future that drives this approach. Even the youngsters in the Dominican Republic adhere to the mantra, "no one walks off the island", so they arrive in the US as sluggers or hard throwers. To see a broader application of skills in various sports we need to observe how women play the game at the college level, and beyond. Since so few expect to make a living from their participation in sports, and usually stay the full four years in college, they play the game more skillfully. UCONN women, save Friday's glitch, and in the past few years, the US women's hockey team at the international level demonstrate such skills and teamwork. But few bother to watch them.
3
Why play catch when there's facebook, snapchat, world of warcraft and xbox. The scene at the end of The Natural where Robert Redford plays catch with his son seems antiquated. The pursuit of instant gratification and the addiction to our little skinner boxes is taking us away from yet another worthwile pursuit, small ball baseball.
10
It's all the fault of the aluminum bat. The game being played in college, high school, and little league, to my mind, shouldn't even be called baseball.
5
Why should sports be any different from academics? These same kids can not do simple math without a calculator, they can not cobble 5 words together to make a simple, coherent sentence, communication is limited to 140 characters of incomprehensible abbreviations, and without spell-check they would be deemed functional illiterates (mia cupla here).
Time to get back to the basics of everything -- learn the fundamentals before trying for elusive stardom.
Time to get back to the basics of everything -- learn the fundamentals before trying for elusive stardom.
4
Looks like the same thing is happening in basketball...watching the final four you see kids chucking up 25 foot Seth Curry jumpers or doing monster dunks but the little things...like free throw shooting and boxing out on free throws as per the North Carolina/Oregon game...are forgotten.
I suspect that part of this deterioration of basic skills has to do with the rise of metrics in sports where 3 pointers and home runs are calculated to be more efficient uses of limited opportunities and thus where one spends their time practicing than the "little things" like catching the ball or boxing out that are not measured.
It's probably not that far from the deskilling of craft labor that things like Taylorism did a century ago.
I suspect that part of this deterioration of basic skills has to do with the rise of metrics in sports where 3 pointers and home runs are calculated to be more efficient uses of limited opportunities and thus where one spends their time practicing than the "little things" like catching the ball or boxing out that are not measured.
It's probably not that far from the deskilling of craft labor that things like Taylorism did a century ago.
4
No wonder the Latin American players dominate now. The U.S. is on track to produce a generation of designated hitters and 1-inning relief pitchers.
6
When I was in South Korea I watch some baseball on TV and was amazed at the fielding and baserunning. Darn, I actually enjoyed watching baseball!
5
My son was a strong high school ballplayer. When it was time to think about playing college ball, we found that skills mattered very little to college coaches. They were choosing kids for their teams mostly based on body type, power, and absolute speed. Their attitude was that they could teach skills, but they couldn't coach a kid to be bigger or much faster. It was obvious at the showcases, where coaches cluster around the pitching and BP areas, and don't pay much attention to the fielding stations. High school coaches figure this out, and youth coaches learn it from the high school coaches.
4
My son is 11 and just started playing for a high-level north-eastern travel team. The main reason my son and his teammates play is because they love baseball, and they especially love being good at baseball - they want to be on a competitive team and are willing to work hard to improve and help their team improve. That being said, it seems to be true that kids who hit will play and kids who don't hit will not play, even if their defense is above average. The best kids work at both.
4
Yet another negative result from the "well meaning" idiocy that passes for parenting these days. Junior may have really high self esteem, but a generation of arrogant incompetents will not serve the species well!
3
It appears stage Moms and Stage Dads are alive and well and have become established in Baseball. As I kid I much preferred the sandlot baseball of the park over the organized youth ball where we were over coached.
I like to play the game but despise Baseball nerds (his batting average is .325 in Domed Stadiums against left handed pitchers from Cuba on full moon weekdays, etc.) and people who forget it is a kid's game. People like Bob Costas and George Will ruined watching baseball for me. Good grief, shut up and let us watch the game- more Vin Sculley and less name an announcer. Same for the obnoxious graphics and over analysis of everything.
I do not pay much attention to baseball these days (I refuse to watch Fox anything and dislike ESPN almost as much), but the really good players seem to not be American kids. Maybe the foreign kids are good because they learned the game in the sandlot and not at a Private Coaching and travel teams.
In my youth there was a book where I read a young Babe Ruth was amazed when he found out he could get paid for playing baseball. We are so far from that, sadly.
I like to play the game but despise Baseball nerds (his batting average is .325 in Domed Stadiums against left handed pitchers from Cuba on full moon weekdays, etc.) and people who forget it is a kid's game. People like Bob Costas and George Will ruined watching baseball for me. Good grief, shut up and let us watch the game- more Vin Sculley and less name an announcer. Same for the obnoxious graphics and over analysis of everything.
I do not pay much attention to baseball these days (I refuse to watch Fox anything and dislike ESPN almost as much), but the really good players seem to not be American kids. Maybe the foreign kids are good because they learned the game in the sandlot and not at a Private Coaching and travel teams.
In my youth there was a book where I read a young Babe Ruth was amazed when he found out he could get paid for playing baseball. We are so far from that, sadly.
6
I'm surprised to learn this. Two years ago I went to a summer-league game with my friend and his son, who was soon to play Division III baseball in New York State. The thing we talked about most on the drive home was how the son almost nailed a runner at home plate in a throw from the outfield. I can still see it. The throw was nearly perfect but was a split-second late. I learned that when a fielder approaches the ball, he wants to end up in throwing position, his momentum carrying him toward the plate, with the correct leg in front, so he can make the throw with no wasted movement. I was amazed at my friends' grasp of the finer points of baseball. I assumed every kid knew these things.
3
As James Michener said in "Sports In America", "Parents want their kids to be the athletes that they never were." Thanks, Dad's!
3
I suspect that a big reason why there is an emphasis on certain skills over others is precisely because they are the ones that get the attention of college and even pro recruiters. And is it possible that hitting a baseball consistently is the hardest skill in baseball to learn, even if a kid has that rare natural assets to do so? And in pitching, is it possible that the ability to throw at 90 plus is the first thing a kid has to do to even get looked at? I think maybe college coaches have done their part to create this situation so I'm not sure they have all that much to complain about. But then maybe they understand that the least difficult thing they have to do is teach a kid how to play catch.
3
Though I'm well past playing age, I now really enjoy a college game-apart from all the between inning distractions, once in a while.I do notice however, that many players do not seem to be enjoying the game.Perhaps too much pressure to hit a long one or to throw 90+.Playing pepper with team mates really seemed to inspire us to improve our skills of quickness,ball handling,and placement in hitting.
4
“But when have you driven around lately and seen kids playing catch for fun?”
In the social Darwinist Hunger Games that is the modern American economy, we can't afford to do anything for fun anymore.
In the social Darwinist Hunger Games that is the modern American economy, we can't afford to do anything for fun anymore.
3
Hardly a new thing. I stopped watching MLB during the 1994-95 players strike, disgusted at the blatant greed on all sides, but I check back in now and then. The level of play is atrocious. It has been obvious for at least a decade that MLB players never played at baseball - just played the game - when they were very young. Missed fly balls, missed cutoff men, nobody can bunt, short hopped catches are iffy at best, nobody has a clue how to run the bases, the list of poor plays goes on and on during the MLB season. It's evident that many of the players today never played catch, never played pickup games just for fun, and do not love the game. They do love the paycheck, though.
MLB has been hollowing out from the inside for a long time now.
MLB has been hollowing out from the inside for a long time now.
4
It's not just baseball, practically all sports have this same issue of turning kids into prodigies. Five year old kids have golf instructors, there are endless football, basketball camps.
In most cases it's a useless exercise. There are only so many Tiger Woods or Mickey Mantles or Larry Byrds.
In most cases it's a useless exercise. There are only so many Tiger Woods or Mickey Mantles or Larry Byrds.
7
I'm not sure how many parents realize that the college baseball isn't like football or basketball in terms of scholarship availability. Last time I checked, D1 schools can only offer up to 11 baseball scholarships per year (that covers player across all 4 class years, not just the entering class), D2 schools 14, and 0 at the D3 level. You can leverage baseball abiilty to gain access to a school that might otherwise have rejected you, but there's no big windfall for most people. While there might be a big payday for players who get drafted in round 1 of the MLB draft, the payouts fall off the cliff once you get beyond the first couple of rounds. There's nothing wrong with dreaming big, as long as it comes with a dose of realism.
4
If someone can't throw or field properly, I don't want him or her on my team. In other words, fundamentals are essential in the development and value of baseball players.
4
When I was growing up all we did was play catch. With my father, my brother, my friends. For hours at a time. Sometimes we'd lay a bat on the ground and see who could throw the ball so it would hop and roll and hit the bat, from around 200 feet away! We weren't practicing or showing off for anyone. We were just having fun. But it taught us how to throw, catch and move. Endless games of stickball taught us how to hit. And no video games or internet to distract us. Ah well, guess I'm old.
6
You can buy all the instruction you want for your little athlete, but you can't buy him or her a love of the game and superior genetics.
Little League clubs -- local leagues where a community can come together to play ball -- are dissolving rapidly in favor of high pressure travel clubs that offer a high cost, in both money and spirit.
Kids can develop just fine playing locally, but pretty soon they won't be able to. And this is happening in a number of sports -- the costs to get your kid in an organized traditional sport are getting more and more out of hand each year.
Little League clubs -- local leagues where a community can come together to play ball -- are dissolving rapidly in favor of high pressure travel clubs that offer a high cost, in both money and spirit.
Kids can develop just fine playing locally, but pretty soon they won't be able to. And this is happening in a number of sports -- the costs to get your kid in an organized traditional sport are getting more and more out of hand each year.
6
This piece was hard to read at times. Baseball players who don't know how to play catch? How do they warm up their arms before finding practice? My Dad taught me to play baseball, as well as various Cincinnati Knothole League coaches & especially Coach Paul Nohr at Western Hills High. (Google Coach Nohr's name & discover how many Major Leaguers he & Dick Hauck aided in their development.) We always played catch at all levels, whether it was short, medium, or long catch, (perhaps they could add fielding a short-hop in MLB sanctioned "Hit, Pitch & Run").
Besides "Catch", we always played games of "Pepper" where a player would choke up on a bat & hit balls thrown by 3-5 fielders 10-15 feet away to develop our fielding skills & reactions. I recall watching the Reds at Crosley Field, playing pre-game catch & pepper before taking batting practice.
When I go early to AAA games now @ Huntington Park (where we see Major Leaguers on their way up or down as well as when rehabbing in between), I notice that besides stretching & various warm-up drills, the players play all 3 distances of catch. It's too bad they no longer do that in the early stages of learning fundamental skills. Executing basic fundamental skills will take a player a long way, whether in a recreational way, as is the case for the majority, or at the professional level for the fortunate few.
Besides "Catch", we always played games of "Pepper" where a player would choke up on a bat & hit balls thrown by 3-5 fielders 10-15 feet away to develop our fielding skills & reactions. I recall watching the Reds at Crosley Field, playing pre-game catch & pepper before taking batting practice.
When I go early to AAA games now @ Huntington Park (where we see Major Leaguers on their way up or down as well as when rehabbing in between), I notice that besides stretching & various warm-up drills, the players play all 3 distances of catch. It's too bad they no longer do that in the early stages of learning fundamental skills. Executing basic fundamental skills will take a player a long way, whether in a recreational way, as is the case for the majority, or at the professional level for the fortunate few.
3
Well, those kids with real baseball skills won't get into the big leagues, or even a good college program. Sad at the loss of fundamentals, kind of like elementary education in the US.
2
I grew up playing catch all the time. It has a gentleness to it. I remember playing with my dad, with friends, with my step-brother. For some reason, I particularly remember those games played late into the evening, when the light was dying and you finally had to end it because you couldn't see the ball anymore. (Of course, that could be Hollywood making me think I remember things that never happened.) It was a great way of spending time together, cooperative rather than competitive. You'd get into a rhythm, feeling each other out, finding your distance. Sometimes you talked, sometimes you didn't. Usually, you started out talking but as the game deepened, the words would fade away, unnecessary, superfluous. The connection was the ball itself, and the magical, invisible line each throw draws between the players. Sometimes you might throw a little higher or a little harder, making your partner take an extra step or three, but mostly, you're just aiming for that sweet spot of perfect synchronicity.
5
Two thoughts: (1) My son just made the team at a pretty competitive high school. I went to a parents meeting and half the presentation was about how to get a college scholarship; and (2) If the college coaches really valued basic skills, they'd look for them when recruiting, and the instructional programs would be filled with fielders.
5
Sal Lumia hit the nail on the head: The fundamental issue is that recruiting coaches often value potential over polish, and it permeates all sports where there are opportunities for athletic scholarships and professional careers. Polished players too often look like they have maximized their potential. Visible potential offers the seductive allure of unlimited growth and the the inspiring hope of a potentially unstoppable force.
What the college coaches are criticizing about the showcases is their own doing, and is not unique to baseball. Basketball coaches and NBA scouts will continue to take flyers on 6'10" uber-athletes who can jump out of the gym and run up down the floor like a gazelle, but lack a jump shot, the ability to pivot correctly off either foot in the appropriate situation, hit the open man with the appropriate pass, etc. The visible potential in baseball just comes in a different form than the visible potential in basketball.
Coaches see the talent and convince themselves that with enough time and enough commitment, they can develop the talent into a polished product, but you can't teach someone touch, feel, reading game situations in live time, etc., when you are trying to win games.
The polish needs to be developed before the wins become the purpose of the game. Once at a level where wins matter more than player development, the visible potential can't be developed in game situations because they don't have the polish needed to deliver the wins.
What the college coaches are criticizing about the showcases is their own doing, and is not unique to baseball. Basketball coaches and NBA scouts will continue to take flyers on 6'10" uber-athletes who can jump out of the gym and run up down the floor like a gazelle, but lack a jump shot, the ability to pivot correctly off either foot in the appropriate situation, hit the open man with the appropriate pass, etc. The visible potential in baseball just comes in a different form than the visible potential in basketball.
Coaches see the talent and convince themselves that with enough time and enough commitment, they can develop the talent into a polished product, but you can't teach someone touch, feel, reading game situations in live time, etc., when you are trying to win games.
The polish needs to be developed before the wins become the purpose of the game. Once at a level where wins matter more than player development, the visible potential can't be developed in game situations because they don't have the polish needed to deliver the wins.
3
I see the same kind of thing - flashy skills on display vs. basic game skills missing - watching supposedly high-level college basketball.
Numero uno, I can't even begin to count the number of times defenders get beat on the baseline in most televised college games - whereas on my high school team three decades ago, you were out of the game and on the bench if you got beat even once on the baseline.
Numero dos: 50% free throw shooting from some supposedly star players? Anyone, including Great Aunt Martha, can get at least to 2 out of 3 if they'll take a little instruction and actually practice.
And numero tres, unfortunately demonstrated in one of the national semis last night, boxing out on rebounds seems to be hit and miss these days.
Meanwhile showcase dunking and dribbling is all the rage, even when it's just showing off and adding some risk of failure for the team.
Numero uno, I can't even begin to count the number of times defenders get beat on the baseline in most televised college games - whereas on my high school team three decades ago, you were out of the game and on the bench if you got beat even once on the baseline.
Numero dos: 50% free throw shooting from some supposedly star players? Anyone, including Great Aunt Martha, can get at least to 2 out of 3 if they'll take a little instruction and actually practice.
And numero tres, unfortunately demonstrated in one of the national semis last night, boxing out on rebounds seems to be hit and miss these days.
Meanwhile showcase dunking and dribbling is all the rage, even when it's just showing off and adding some risk of failure for the team.
1
Hey, no need to dis Great Aunt Martha--are you watching the women's basketball Final Four?
1
I am the father of a 13 year old California lefty who plays baseball year round for two basic reasons: 1. The sheer fun of playing ball with his pals and 2. Keeping that boy busy busy busy and staying out of trouble. He plays little league in the spring and travel ball the rest of the year. At 13 he is just starting to pitch. For us, the travel ball and extra lessons are nothing more than getting reps. There have been some hitting clinics and camps. His hitting is average. His pitching is coming along but his fielding and defense is superb. All were done to improve his game and keep him at the field having fun. All this on teams that have never won anything He will play high school ball but after that who knows.
I am not sure I want to see him getting into the grind of college athletics. That will be his call. I watched a daughter pull an oar for two years at a top D-3 college rowing program only to miss out on many of the other aspects of "the college experience " both academic and social due to the arduous athletic commitment. Are you joining speech and debate? No it meets from 8 pm and the rowing bus leaves at 4:30 am, I am in bed at 8:00 pm.
Baseball takes a complete skill set. Extra lessons to help improve that skill set are fine. This year's little league team is a very good team with 11 out of thirteen kids being travel ball vets. Each kid loves the game for various reasons but mostly because they like each other, like playing with each other and enjoy the game
I am not sure I want to see him getting into the grind of college athletics. That will be his call. I watched a daughter pull an oar for two years at a top D-3 college rowing program only to miss out on many of the other aspects of "the college experience " both academic and social due to the arduous athletic commitment. Are you joining speech and debate? No it meets from 8 pm and the rowing bus leaves at 4:30 am, I am in bed at 8:00 pm.
Baseball takes a complete skill set. Extra lessons to help improve that skill set are fine. This year's little league team is a very good team with 11 out of thirteen kids being travel ball vets. Each kid loves the game for various reasons but mostly because they like each other, like playing with each other and enjoy the game
2
Same as young basketball players who can dunk but can't pass. It's too bad, but sports in general are suffering from "highlight reel-itis." It's good to see utility players like the Red Sox Brock Holt getting some recognition for basic skills. But kids know that the home run hitters get the big payday.
4
I'm one of those parents who pays for a private pitching coach for my son. He plays on his high school varsity team, and last year, won the Cy Young award on his team. Ironically, he's throws the least hard of all the pitchers on his team. His work with the coach isn't to get him to throw harder; it's to get him to learn how to throw different kinds of pitches; to understand the mental game of pitching; and to deal with lapses of confidence that pitchers often deal with. My husband played catch with him (and my daughter, who plays softball) from an early age. But he never could teach him what he learns from his coach. Think of Mr. Miyagi in the movie "The Karate Kid," the master who imparts his wisdom to the pupil. That's the relationship my son has with his coach. In some ways, not being able to throw college-hard has forced my son to develop a richer and deeper knowledge of the game. He studies Greg Maddux and Kyle Hendricks, pitchers in his own mold. His high school coaches tell us he's beyond his fellow pitchers in the mental and strategic game, and in fact, he calls his own game. If he wanted to play in college, he'd end up on a small Division 3 team because the Division 1 schools want the torch throwers. My hope is that he finds a college with a good club team, where he can continue to play the game he loves without the pressure to throw 95.
5
My son took lessons, but this was for fun and to supplement the fact that most youth coaches teach nothing. He figured out the fundamentals watching videos and pro games, not from his coaches. Was first kid on his team who could bunt, no thanks to his coaches. Coaching is the issue.
And while it was not my goal, he is now playing college ball at a top academic institution. The lessons were money well spent.
And while it was not my goal, he is now playing college ball at a top academic institution. The lessons were money well spent.
I must be missing something. Young players emphasize hitting and pitching because they think being good at these skills will get them a college scholarship. Meanwhile college coaches complain their players haven't learned basics like throwing and defense.
So maybe college coaches should consider a player's throwing and defense before giving out a scholarship? That would send the message real quick.
Incentives matter.
So maybe college coaches should consider a player's throwing and defense before giving out a scholarship? That would send the message real quick.
Incentives matter.
49
Try playing catch with dad.
30
Or mom :)
7
or with mom
It's the sports version of the genius mentality. In academia, you find kids who can work scientific calculators but have no idea how to do long division much less explain the theory (the "why") behind what they need that math for; they are "tech savvy" yet have no idea how to use the now-electronic library (to search for articles for research, the default is 'google' - bad, bad idea). And in higher ed, since statistics is still god, they teach everyone to use SAS or SPSS (and if an actual decent school that teaches qual too, they teach NVIVO or, if really cutting edge, the freebie, R); yet, quiz those genius students on what they are actually doing or ask what the weakness of stats are, they're clueless.
They are all "geniuses" but they have no common sense, no practical abilities. But they will defend to the death their intelligence, their superiority.
Because Mom, Dad, and previous "teachers" have told them they are, that's why.
So, that baseball is seeing this, I am not surprised. My wife tells a story of someone at work whose kids went to soccer practice only to find an ex-pro surprise visit for instruction. He was amazed that they knew various drills, drills, drills, but when told to go scrimmage, they didn't have a clue about it.
Billions on education that centers upon stroking the ego and never ever telling a child he or she is wrong.
Brilliant.
Cattle in the making.
They are all "geniuses" but they have no common sense, no practical abilities. But they will defend to the death their intelligence, their superiority.
Because Mom, Dad, and previous "teachers" have told them they are, that's why.
So, that baseball is seeing this, I am not surprised. My wife tells a story of someone at work whose kids went to soccer practice only to find an ex-pro surprise visit for instruction. He was amazed that they knew various drills, drills, drills, but when told to go scrimmage, they didn't have a clue about it.
Billions on education that centers upon stroking the ego and never ever telling a child he or she is wrong.
Brilliant.
Cattle in the making.
27
I'm not sure I understand all your acronym alphabet soup's but your critique is excellent!
1
I coached select baseball and softball and took pride in teaching the finer points of fielding, catching, foot work, and defense. Really the fundamentals. I attended many coaching clinics by major league coaches, Perry Hill, being my go to for infield. What I learned from him, many years ago, I would teach all my players.
My daughter played D1 softball in the SEC, not a bad league for softball. But, watching games and players I noticed that 80% of the players lacked the proper fielding, catching, foot work, throwing, turning, etc., aside from Auburn whose coaches seem to teach those skills. There is no teaching going on at major D1 schools and how some of those girls made those team is a wonder to me.
Same thing with soccer.
Select baseball and soccer, with it's high cost is not producing our best players. It's producing players who's parents can afford to PAY!!!
My daughter played D1 softball in the SEC, not a bad league for softball. But, watching games and players I noticed that 80% of the players lacked the proper fielding, catching, foot work, throwing, turning, etc., aside from Auburn whose coaches seem to teach those skills. There is no teaching going on at major D1 schools and how some of those girls made those team is a wonder to me.
Same thing with soccer.
Select baseball and soccer, with it's high cost is not producing our best players. It's producing players who's parents can afford to PAY!!!
13
In our coaches meeting last week, we were encouraged to teach the one touch fast game. No mention of fundamentals. Yet, when I play over 40 and over, I get destroyed by the Latinos who never had professional coaching, but had a ball at their feet every day after school.
3
So there's no fun in baseball for these kids? That's so sad. I used to play catch with both my sons in the back yard during warm evenings (I played softball and had my own glove). It was a lovely way to have a conversation with them and get some exercise while enjoying the outdoors. Now that I think about it, I haven't seen anyone playing catch in a backyard in ages.
28
Because they are at the "trainer's" of aseball "camp" getting specialized instruction instead of just playing ball outside with friends where they would learn from each other, emulate each other, decide their differences among themselves--in short, being kids and having fun playing a game
4
You never see anything like that in suburbs anymore. Just big houses and yards, and no one ever outside.
3
I, too, played catch with my dad. But even more important, in my dad's childhood, the 1920s, the kids played sandlot and pick-up team games without adult supervision. They learned more than physical skills from that: how to formulate and follow rules; to play fair, lose gracefully, and remain friends; how to settle disputes reasonably; in general, how to behave yourself without an authority figure forcing you to do it. How to grow up. By my boomer childhood, in the early 1960s, grownups were already in the process of taking over the games and sucking all the fun and spontaneity out of them: the star athletes got to play and the less talented were shoved to the sidelines. There was a predetermined 'right way' and 'wrong way' to do everything. I, for one, came to dread gym class and any kind of team sports. Only after I escaped school did I come to enjoy sports, and even now only solitary pursuits such as swimming or biking.
7
Many here have talked of the college incentive, and even the pro ball incentive, for this 'specialized' training. But perhaps the real driver is still plain old parent ego...little Billy Bob down the street is going to a special trainer? Well, doggone it, my little Joey Bob is going to one also...who do they think they are?
Parents in the stands control what goes on in the field, from the standpoint of their own overblown demands when out of control...or, hopefully, a game that's fun for the kids when the parents show maturity, sit back and enjoy both teams and the game, and show their children how to conduct themselves. You know...parenting.
Parents in the stands control what goes on in the field, from the standpoint of their own overblown demands when out of control...or, hopefully, a game that's fun for the kids when the parents show maturity, sit back and enjoy both teams and the game, and show their children how to conduct themselves. You know...parenting.
14
If you've ever witnessed enraged, steroid-using jocks mauling each other with the deadly game of "catch", you'd likely surmise that as long as the kids are playing something and not hurting anybody, it's fine.
No different than what is going on the rest of our culture, a degradation of basic values. Power and dominance are valued more than overall skill, knowledge, and decency. No surprise this sad loss of complexity and human completeness is also showing up in baseball, what used to be our national pastime.
42
The focus on winning over learning fundamentals in youth and travel ball has had serious impact, too. But, if the college coaches have a problem with the lack of development, why are they offering scholarships to the players who hit the long ball or throw 90+ instead of the "fundamentally strong" players? The people entering the pipeline (or who have kids doing so) focus on what they see is rewarded.
This trend explains why major league players considered the best in their sport often cannot lay down a bunt when the situation requires it.
19
Parents are completely unrealistic about the odds of their kids playing an intercollegiate sport in college, never mind receiving a scholarship for it. Year after year I work with suburban parents who have poured thousands of dollars and thousands of hours into grooming their children for an athletic scholarship - travel teams, private instructors, year round focus on one sport, etc. Using baseball as an example, almost 500,000 boys play in high school. 56,000 ultimately play at any level in college (11.6%). Only 2.1% play at D1 schools offering scholarships. Of those only about 25% receive scholarships of an average of about $13,000 per player. I wonder how many parents put the same time, effort, and money into actualizing their kids' academic abilities and talents.
Television coverage of MLB also has reinforced the pitch-and-hit view of the game, with very few shots of field play and virtually no commentary on, for example, defensive positioning, or a well-played double play. Once -- just once -- I'd like to see and hear an analysis of why and how a bunt play worked (or didn't).
37
Absolutely!
1
As someone who works with young children, I can tell you that children get very little time outdoors, partly because parents have to work long hours and may not be around to supervise their children outside, partly because much leisure time is structured, and partly because children rather be playing video games than tossing a ball around. I also notice that children are not pushed to overcome obstacles or handle disappointment. For them, good results have to be easy and immediate.
21
Actually, after about age 10, who needs adult supervision to play pick-up baseball after school?
1
Growing up in Brooklyn in the early 60's we had plenty of kids to play, stick, slap and punch ball. Also, "catch a fly is up" off the Bohack supermarket brick wall on the corner was a great game when nobody was around (a rarity). We didn't win any scholarships but we could All CATCH!! At 63 I'm proud to say I still can!
8
Sounds like my neighborhood in Mill Basin. I'm also 63.
1
it's not an unusual complaint in many sports these days.....
10
I would dispute the "well-meaning" description of the parents.
12
It appears baseball will become homerun derby. With just pitchers trying to strike out batters and a driving range style balls sleep.
6
I wasn't good enough to make my high school team but learned to love the game and became a play-by-play announcer in college. I take friends to games and try to get them to appreciate the small-ball aspects of the game. Most tell me that they had never even learned to watch a game for anything other than home runs. In large part, I blame the announcers and commentators who focus on the exciting parts of the game -- the 98 MPH fast-ball, the home run, the diving catch. I wish they would explain why a 68 MPH curveball can be harder to hit than the average fastball or why an an eight-pitch at bat in the fifth inning can set up a blow-out sixth. Baseball is greater for its complexity. Yes, we need to teach that to kids, but we should also teach it to the fans or the game will indeed fade further.
26
It's all about bragging rights at the Little League game.
Parents may not have lived the life they dreamed of and tend to compensate by living thru their children.
Parents may not have lived the life they dreamed of and tend to compensate by living thru their children.
8
I have been away from baseball for a very long time. Therfore, while watching my grandson play organized baseball I thought my observation of the lack of basic skills amoung these players was, off-base.
I played baseball as a youth in the 1950's and we developed the basic skills of throwing and catching by playing amongst ourselves on a regular basis, sometimes hours on end. By the time we started playing organized baseball throwing and catching the ball was intuitive.
I am fully cognizant that the times have changed dramatically since I played and that the coaching today is more refined then I was exposed to. Maybe that is part of the problem.
I played baseball as a youth in the 1950's and we developed the basic skills of throwing and catching by playing amongst ourselves on a regular basis, sometimes hours on end. By the time we started playing organized baseball throwing and catching the ball was intuitive.
I am fully cognizant that the times have changed dramatically since I played and that the coaching today is more refined then I was exposed to. Maybe that is part of the problem.
21
Baseball is a good way to keep your kids out of trouble when growing up. And being a good hitter will always trump being a fielding phantom. I do not see the concern here.
1
"Phenom," not "phantom." And good fielding can often neutralize good hitting. A good hitter who can't catch and throw isn't going to make it in baseball. Conversely, a player who can throw and field can have a career even if he's a light hitter.
2
Baseball could be one of the best games in the world ... all you need to do is change one small rule - if the ball goes out of the park on the fly, all base-runners advance one base, instead of a home run.
As a non-American, I was immediately enthralled by baseball when I spent a summer in Florida and later when I lived in Wisconsin. The culture, the radio commentary, the strategy, the bunts and sacrifice flies and pinch-hits, the ability to make contact when you've two strikes or to hit a line drive if you get the pitch you're waiting for ... and on the other side the pitch variation, the off-speed pitch when the hitter's expecting a fastball, the amazing infielders, the double-plays and incredible hands of the short-stops and 2nd basemen. So much to think about during every at-bat.
The one thing that depressed me was the home-runs. A big guy at the plate, during the game he takes maybe 12 swings, he misses the ball 7 times, fouls four, but one time he connects and it goes out of the park. And this is the highlight you see on TV, this decides the winner. It just feels wrong. Like a soccer game where the goalie with the longest kick-off gets a 2-goal bonus.
Don't get me wrong, I know hitting home-runs is incredibly difficult. But they are over-valued, and this is to the detriment of so much that is great about base-ball.
You talk about people losing basic fielding skills - maybe that's because these days even middle-infielders are expected to be able to hit home-runs.
As a non-American, I was immediately enthralled by baseball when I spent a summer in Florida and later when I lived in Wisconsin. The culture, the radio commentary, the strategy, the bunts and sacrifice flies and pinch-hits, the ability to make contact when you've two strikes or to hit a line drive if you get the pitch you're waiting for ... and on the other side the pitch variation, the off-speed pitch when the hitter's expecting a fastball, the amazing infielders, the double-plays and incredible hands of the short-stops and 2nd basemen. So much to think about during every at-bat.
The one thing that depressed me was the home-runs. A big guy at the plate, during the game he takes maybe 12 swings, he misses the ball 7 times, fouls four, but one time he connects and it goes out of the park. And this is the highlight you see on TV, this decides the winner. It just feels wrong. Like a soccer game where the goalie with the longest kick-off gets a 2-goal bonus.
Don't get me wrong, I know hitting home-runs is incredibly difficult. But they are over-valued, and this is to the detriment of so much that is great about base-ball.
You talk about people losing basic fielding skills - maybe that's because these days even middle-infielders are expected to be able to hit home-runs.
12
Nah, homers are exciting and can change a game greatly in an instant. But teams that are overly reliant on home-run hitting batters don't do well in the long run if they don't also have the fundamentals that you mention. Look at the Cubs of 2016. They had several strong power hitters, but consistently tight pitching and defense were every bit as important to their success, if not more so.
1
I have a high school junior who both pitches and is on the swim team ( one of the few 2 sport kids at his school). High school sports tend to have large rosters and less opportunity for individual instruction.
Parents get caught up in youth baseball and get kids involved in private lessons at earlier and earlier ages now to help get on travel baseball teams. Travel teams are seen as more prestigous than Little League. While its their right to make the family mission supporting the travel team ride from age 6-14, 95% will find out that the college team slots go to the freaks of nature ( in all sports). They should also research how very few scholarships are available. And most importantly, look at the time commitment of a Division III school baseball program with its 30 or more game schedule and 4 hour bus rides, let alone the travel of a Div I program. Definitely be prepared to choose between playing a sport and getting grades that get you into grad school. My advice is enjoy it while it lasts. Most of the kids quit before 18 anyways because its not fun anymore.
Parents get caught up in youth baseball and get kids involved in private lessons at earlier and earlier ages now to help get on travel baseball teams. Travel teams are seen as more prestigous than Little League. While its their right to make the family mission supporting the travel team ride from age 6-14, 95% will find out that the college team slots go to the freaks of nature ( in all sports). They should also research how very few scholarships are available. And most importantly, look at the time commitment of a Division III school baseball program with its 30 or more game schedule and 4 hour bus rides, let alone the travel of a Div I program. Definitely be prepared to choose between playing a sport and getting grades that get you into grad school. My advice is enjoy it while it lasts. Most of the kids quit before 18 anyways because its not fun anymore.
9
I recently attended a baseball game in Tokyo, with the Yomiuri Giants playing the Chiba Lotte Marines. The only way anyone got on base was through a single or a walk. Even though it was just a spring training game, there were no errors and no hit batsmen. It was a revelation.
10
Nice piece; smart piece. But I'm begging you to chill on statements like "In modern youth baseball, where the culture has been transformed by the pursuit of the holy grail, a college athletic scholarship..." Do you know what percentage of high school athletes get scholarships from D-1 schools like U-Louisville? (Where the money is or isn't) Uh, the figure is really, really low. I think most parents - well maybe not those in Montclair - know this.
8
Actually this is the fault of the coaches and it starts in Little League and then gets worse in the Babe Ruth league. I have watched for many years now and observed that the coaches may scream and holler if the kids can't field, but the ONLY kids who sit on the bench are the ones that don't immediately get a hit. The kids are quickly sorted in this fashion, and the stigma stays for years. The kids who sit on the bench due to the coach deciding they don't hit well enough, will usually get only one at-bat in an entire game. The favorite kids get more practice at bat and in the field. And so all the kids and parents learn very quickly that the only thing the coaches really care about is whether the kid gets a hit right away. If the kid doesn't, he gets put into a situation where he doesn't get a chance.
I once asked a Babe Ruth coach how a kid who's on the bench can get to play. The coach responded that he had to earn it. I then asked how the kid earns it from the bench, with no at-bats to learn or show any skills especially since Babe Ruth teams do not have practices once the season starts––only games. The coach had no response to that, and just kept insisting that the kids had to earn it. I asked him why he didn't pull the kids making all the errors in the field and causing the team to lose so many games. He responded that they can hit. There is your answer.
I once asked a Babe Ruth coach how a kid who's on the bench can get to play. The coach responded that he had to earn it. I then asked how the kid earns it from the bench, with no at-bats to learn or show any skills especially since Babe Ruth teams do not have practices once the season starts––only games. The coach had no response to that, and just kept insisting that the kids had to earn it. I asked him why he didn't pull the kids making all the errors in the field and causing the team to lose so many games. He responded that they can hit. There is your answer.
26
How about honing their skills on their own with a few buddies in between games?
2
Don't be too sure that these are "well-meaning" parents. Such parents have been around for years: pushing their kids and trying to re-live (or live) their glory years or pump up their status through the lives of their kids. The number of college baseball scholarships is tiny, and many of the best prospects skip college altogether, so I don't think that enters into it much.
2
In the words of another American who is all show and no substance.....Sad.
7
"But the current burning desire to get noticed is driven almost exclusively by well-meaning parents of players who have become convinced it is the only way to contend for an athletic scholarship, or even a prized position on a quality high school team."
This approaches the root of the problem. Kids aren't playing to play. They're playing to get somewhere. They're pre-professionalized, maybe by their parents, but also by coaches, schools, society at large in which meaning equals monetary value. They're looking to make of a game a living, or at least a paid route through college. I imagine in the not-too-distant future one of the major networks broadcasting the Nursery School World Series.
This approaches the root of the problem. Kids aren't playing to play. They're playing to get somewhere. They're pre-professionalized, maybe by their parents, but also by coaches, schools, society at large in which meaning equals monetary value. They're looking to make of a game a living, or at least a paid route through college. I imagine in the not-too-distant future one of the major networks broadcasting the Nursery School World Series.
10
As a parent been there done that. I don't think is is the money or scholarships. I think most parents know that this is improbable and scholarships are often 1/3 scholarships since college teams only have 11. So it is not logical. Maybe like all sports, it is fantasizing about becoming famous and living out a dream.
As for the home runs and throwing 90 mph, that is what gets you noticed not how well you play catch.
As for the home runs and throwing 90 mph, that is what gets you noticed not how well you play catch.
3
My son (6) starts tee-ball in a couple weeks. Rest assured that I'll practice fundamentals with him at home for as long as he enjoys the sport - and that we'll never pay a private coach so he can chase athletic scholarships. (When he's old enough to be there on his own however will we drop him off and pick him up at the library whenever he wants if he has his heart set on getting a college scholarship;-)
10
My kid is 3. He's enjoying wiffleball with the big bat and ball. Mostly he likes to try to toss it up and hit it himself, but more and more he wants me to toss it to him to hit. It's nice to see him just enjoy it, whether he connects or not. It took me awhile to adjust, and not be willfully wanting him to hit it, and hit it hard. I know, he's 3! But I digress. I responded to your comment because t-ball didn't exist when I was a kid in the 70s. I have no exposure to it, but my gut tells me it's a shortcut that diminishes development of the gritty, scrappy skills that baseball requires - or at least used to? Do kids have to play t-ball now before little league? Is it really necessary? Meaning, does it benefit the kid, or just some new form of coddling? First I heard of it was like 20 years ago. Perhaps a connection to the changes to the sport noted in this article, which frankly makes me wonder if I want to expose my kid to this new culture of baseball. Makes soccer look like a much better option, if nothing else in terms of just having fun.
No mention of "pepper" in this article. My best little league games were the ones where I played pepper with my average dad for 15-20 minutes in the backyard before heading to a game. Any professional coaches of 10 year olds doing that?
No mention of "pepper" in this article. My best little league games were the ones where I played pepper with my average dad for 15-20 minutes in the backyard before heading to a game. Any professional coaches of 10 year olds doing that?
1
Baseball is dying. I drive around and see kids playing soccer of all things. Soccer! No wonder they can't catch.
When I was young everyone played baseball. Everyone had their own glove and bat and motley collection of worn out baseballs. And everyone knew the rules.
Kids who can't play catch? Run the bases? Bunt or hit the cutoff man? What is this world coming too?
When I was young everyone played baseball. Everyone had their own glove and bat and motley collection of worn out baseballs. And everyone knew the rules.
Kids who can't play catch? Run the bases? Bunt or hit the cutoff man? What is this world coming too?
15
Soccer became popular in part because it gave the less skilled, smaller, slower, and similarly misfit kids at least a little bit of a chance. At least, at first. I'm sure it's gradually evolving into the same kind of elite hunger-games ethos that has taken over other sports.
1
Kids today!
I had to walk 20 miles through the snow to get to my high school field, playing catch with my buddies along the way.
I had to walk 20 miles through the snow to get to my high school field, playing catch with my buddies along the way.
18
And when you got home you had to do schoolwork on the back of a shovel with a piece of coal by the light of the fire.
4
Dang, you got to walk 20 miles through the snow to play ball? We had to be satisfied with being tied to feral pigs and dragged thirty miles through a swamp, if we wanted a good game of sandlot baseball.
7
I'm sorry, but I'm not sure I can entirely buy that explanation that parents do this simply for a college scholarship for their kids, especially when one was to take the time to place a cumulative cost on what they spent to achieve said goal. I would bet that in most cases, what they spent would put a serious dent into paying for their kids' college education. Equipment costs, private instruction, camps, etc. Those things aren't cheap.
I would respectfully suggest that it has more to do with hoping to cash in if/when a kid manages to get a pro contract, but that's just me. It's happening like this in all sports, kids can no longer play the sports for fun, but are monetized from the start.
I would respectfully suggest that it has more to do with hoping to cash in if/when a kid manages to get a pro contract, but that's just me. It's happening like this in all sports, kids can no longer play the sports for fun, but are monetized from the start.
58
Have you spent any time sitting on the sidelines watching games, practice, or tournaments lately? Getting a scholarship is much, if not all, of what is talked about. The discussion of plans to cash in with scholarships is all I hear about while watching my competitive gymnast from the sidelines. And it ends up that less than 1% of these kids will score a scholarship in any sport.... We've made other plans with our daughter...529's and savings.
5
No it is very simple-- parent ego. They feel they are achieving something when their kid hits a home run.
2
My son (8) does clinics at a private facility. And he can't play catch at all. It's really pretty bad.
The biggest problem is that practice is one hour a week. And attendance is poor. And kids in the neighborhood aren't around. So there's not a lot of opportunity to play catch unless I do it with him. Catch at practice is a disaster since most of the kids can't play (I was a coach last year).
But don't worry. We keep scheduling game after game after game, even when practice is cancelled. The league president was quite unhappy when the other coach and I cancelled a T-ball game since the kids had only had one practice and didn't yet understand the fundamentals of the game. Games. Games. Games.
He's probably a better batter than I ever was though. Hitting a ball in the field is always better than a strikeout. Probably the biggest bang for your coaching hour.
The biggest problem is that practice is one hour a week. And attendance is poor. And kids in the neighborhood aren't around. So there's not a lot of opportunity to play catch unless I do it with him. Catch at practice is a disaster since most of the kids can't play (I was a coach last year).
But don't worry. We keep scheduling game after game after game, even when practice is cancelled. The league president was quite unhappy when the other coach and I cancelled a T-ball game since the kids had only had one practice and didn't yet understand the fundamentals of the game. Games. Games. Games.
He's probably a better batter than I ever was though. Hitting a ball in the field is always better than a strikeout. Probably the biggest bang for your coaching hour.
1
Well, there's many sides to the game of baseball, and I guess a college scholarship is a good incentive.
I helped train and coach the first entrant into the Little League World Series contests by a team from Hanoi, Vietnam. Before that, I spent two years teaching elementary school kids in Dong Ha, Vietnam to play Tee Ball.
None of those kids were headed to a college scholarship (it doesn't work like that over there) but seeing teams of 7-9 year old kids coalesce into teams from 6 schools, learn to play the game and then compete with each other for a school championship was a beautiful thing to see. To them, you see, it was all brand new, exciting, and an adventure.
Even the more blase kids from the big city of Hanoi, who were older, and played regulation baseball had the thrill of breaking new ground in a country city whose major entertainment for kids are football and badminton.
My last talk with those kids, in both places, had to do with the generational aspect of baseball. My Dad gave me a glove, I gave my son a glove, etc. It used to be a intense part of the fabric of American life.
Please don't tell me that it's now all about scholarships. And they can't even catch????
I helped train and coach the first entrant into the Little League World Series contests by a team from Hanoi, Vietnam. Before that, I spent two years teaching elementary school kids in Dong Ha, Vietnam to play Tee Ball.
None of those kids were headed to a college scholarship (it doesn't work like that over there) but seeing teams of 7-9 year old kids coalesce into teams from 6 schools, learn to play the game and then compete with each other for a school championship was a beautiful thing to see. To them, you see, it was all brand new, exciting, and an adventure.
Even the more blase kids from the big city of Hanoi, who were older, and played regulation baseball had the thrill of breaking new ground in a country city whose major entertainment for kids are football and badminton.
My last talk with those kids, in both places, had to do with the generational aspect of baseball. My Dad gave me a glove, I gave my son a glove, etc. It used to be a intense part of the fabric of American life.
Please don't tell me that it's now all about scholarships. And they can't even catch????
33
That's just crazy. When I was a kid playing ball we played catch for at least an hour at every practice. If you weren't actively doing something else at practice you played catch. I guess things have changed more that I thought over the last 50 years.
15
If college wasnt so expensive, maybe people could play the game for the fun of it instead of trying to ensure that their 8-year-old is on track for a scholarship. As it is now, I am reluctant to let my kids play, only because the other parents refuse to let kids play for the pure joy of it. Sad!
21