quote:a pastime, diversion, exercise, or other resource affording relaxation and enjoyment
If you look at the instruction book that comes with being a citizen of America it reads -
quote:Everyone should have the opportunity to do whatever it is they want
But the problem is they stop reading there and don't realize it continues to say
quote:if you are willing to put the hard work, effort, commitment and dedication into the opportunity you want
Not every kid is cut out to go as far as they can in baseball. Some kids just want to show up and throw a ball and hit a ball and field a ball. I don't have a problem with that. I think these kids should have that opportunity but the kids who want to go farther should have their own opportunity.
Rec ball should be for the kids who want to show up and have a good time. Elite, travel, high school, college should be for the kids who want to strive farther in the game (or any sport for that matter).
But here are the problems - we are letting the soft hearts rip out our natural born desire to strive for the best. These people want to homogenize everything so nobody ends up feeling left out or feelings hurt. They think it's terrible to see Little Johnny standing there not getting a trophy and he is close to tears. So instead of using this as a teaching moment they dumb things down by giving everyone a trophy. I'm not heartless because when I see Little Johnny on the verge of tears it kills me because I want him to succeed. There is nothing better than that feeling but not everyone will at all times.
Look at a typical classroom and you will find AP kids who are going to go onto college, you will find kids who are in the middle that might go to college or might go to work, you will find kids who are definately going to work after school and you will find kids with learning disabilities. Why put all these different types of levels together? It just doesn't make sense. Same with sports - why put the elite players in with the players who are just there for a good time?
Another problem is that rec ball is the only opportunity some communities offer for kids to play. So kids who have talent and desire to be better are paired with kids who want to get a sno cone later on. It hurts everyone - the talented kids aren't being challenged and the kids out for fun now have to play in pressure situations. When this happens its usually due to socieoeconomic reasons. So how do you offse this? America is huge and what we have going on in our backyard might not be what's going on in other backyards.
In my opinion HS is about striving to be the best in each sport and playing at a high level. Now let's see how many people actually agree with me because there will be a lot who disagree. This creates a problem because it happens to rec ball and travel ball and elite ball. Everyone goes in with preconcieved notions about what they should expect and when it doesn't happen we got friction. Some people think rec ball is about having a good time while others think everytime you step foot onto the field it's about being the best you can be. I hate the phrase "it's about having fun" from my HS parents and makes me want to throw up. I just now found the parent who liked rec ball. Their perception of what HS is MUCH different than my perception of HS ball. Now we will have conflict.
So if a kid wants to play at the highest level possible then give them a team but if a kid wants to show up and have a good time then give them a team as well. I'm not going to coach the rec league player because that is not what I want. I want the pressure that comes with the highest levels. To me this is fun - I get my fun from the challenge from competing against myself and other players.