whats next

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Kum-Bye-YA! Kum-Bye-YA!

About time! Now that we have a good start, I have a few other suggestions as well...

- NO draft, players draw colors (not numbers, too stratifying) out of a hat.

- NO numbers, we wouldn't 1 to feel better abut himself than 12.

- No wins, No Losses, NO standings...all these things stratify and label our precious children.

- No pitching, No hitting...dangerous, unhealthy, stressful (bad for hearts)...there is always an outcome, a winner and a loser, we must not allow that.

- The term "game"...will be shifted to "gathering"...much more inclusive, and does not denote/infer and level of competition.

- Mounds will be leveled...NO ONE should EVER be above anyone else...how insensitive.

- Bases to be removed...Getting ahead by getting to a higher base is an potentially damaging emotional event...and why should home plate be More important?...sets a very,very bad example.

- WE take the lead in the race to be green...Basepaths to be planted in grass, makes our great game green and fights global warming.

- NO snackbar...lowers our Carbon Footprint.

- Now, The GATHERINGS?....here is how the Gatherings run...Everyone gets a name tag...Teams hold hands alternating between teams (Green, Red, Green...)...they skip around the field together. The team then forms a big circle in the middle of the field. A baseball (with a soft center) is given to one child randomly...while he has the ball he has to go around the circle and say he thinks each player is special. Each trip around the circle by the ball constitutes an inning.

Then, organic snacks and biodegradable trophies for all!

Now how about we have a group hug....AWWWW!


44
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I think we should all march up their and torch their river/lake again.

O44 ...

quote:

...Everyone gets a name tag...Teams hold hands alternating between teams (Green, Red, Green...)...they skip around the field together. The team then forms a big circle in the middle of the field. A baseball (with a soft center) is given to one child randomly...while he has the ball he has to go around the circle and say he thinks each player is special.

OMYGAWDDD ... that sounds just like the stupid err ahh enlightened Project Self Esteem gatherings our son had to endure in elementary school. I wanted to b-arf my lunch everytime I read or heard about one ... taking precious time from the limited class time the students had so they could sit around and feel oh so special about themselves and learn how to never hurt anyone's feelings ever again (and they probably also were learning that their mommies should never use another plastic bag for their lunch sandwiches because it was bad for the earth ... a little something extra that came with the first ever 'Earth Day'). In the meantime, the bullies were still on the asphalt during recess, still at the ball fields during baseball, still on the sidewalks traversed on the way home, and some of our youngsters were not capabale of handling any of those situations by themselves because they had learned their PSE lessons so well.

Whew ... glad that's off my chest. I have been wanting to say that since AJ was in second grade

quote:

Originally posted by JT:
I think we should all march up their and torch their river/lake again.

There hasn't been any industrial activity to pollute the NEO waters much anymore so your torch would just douse itself out. Lake Erie is a fishing mecca and its rivers and tributaries even spawn fish. JT, I didn't know you were the person who originally started the Cuyahoga river on fire?

The community involved is a suburb of Cleveland known more for its business district, is not very diverse in culture, and is considered upscale.

Mr. Mayor

(Imagine I have a picture of Charlie Brown with a Big "Good Grief" sign... it would go right here!)

"According to Mayor Gordon, so far, he has received nearly no oppositionto the cancellation of the game."

Those ticked off didn't complain. They just packed and left for travel ball. They won't be heard from again.

I'd like to thank the Mayor Gordon's of the world. They are making my kid's futures easier. My mentally tough, competitive kids will run roughshod over the kids the Mayor Gordon's of the world protect, in every aspect of life.

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quote:

Originally posted by RJM:
Those ticked off didn't complain. They just packed and left for travel ball. They won't be heard from again.

Boy you got that right!.....

I predicted this some time ago...when the more comitted and competitive players and parents leave for the greener pastures of travel ball....

Will someone please turn out the lights on community ball?

44
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quote:

I predicted this some time ago...when the more comitted and competitive players and parents leave for the greener pastures of travel ball....

Travel ball? I know I can get 12 players who pay their money and play travel ball. I recently talked to a parent who was associated with a travel team. they went to a "tournament" 16 teams. He openly admitted maybe 3 were good the rest mediocre to poor. Of course not their team.

This as baseball fan's is what we don't want.
Just a bunch of elite players playing travel ball.
Just work to change the attitude's of the people trying to be in charge of something they don't have a clue about.
And the Community ball need's the elite player to play to help the other player's learn the game. JMHO
EH

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I would suggest that that is why when the all-stars were cancelled that there was no outcry...without the passion on comitted compeititve players and yes, parents...the passion that used to drive community leagues is lessened/lost and we are left with people in charge who as EH said...have no clue...and take their cues from people who have anti-athletic-competitive agendas. As a result we get Kum-Bye-Ya baseball where we have group hugs after every batter....and no one cares.

At the same time we dilute the travel leagues as they become the "norm"...rather than the exceptional. IT woudl appear that a large % of travel is now economically based rather than ability based.

44
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quote:

And the Community ball need's the elite player to play to help the other player's learn the game. JMHO

I am always puzzled by who determines the "elite" player. There are so many names floating around out there all star elite select tournament showcase travel etc etc etc.

If you can play you can play. Been around long enough to know if you can somebody will find out no matter what name you put on it.

However it is all about competition. This self esteem stuff has nothing to do if you can play or you can not.

From the original post it seems that society is failing our kids by giving them a false sense of accomplishment. You either can or you can not. to some this sounds cold. It may be but sooner or later kids have to deal with it. How soon is a matter of debate.

I feel fortunate my son's LL was very competitive. I'm not a fan of long trips and spending a lot of money on preteen travel. The only travel he played was a local USSSA Sunday doubleheader league. The participation with the travel league was to constantly face LL all-star type pitching on a weekly basis to prepare for all-stars. Travel didn't become the main gig until he was thirteen.

quote:

Originally posted by observer44:
At the same time we dilute the travel leagues as they become the "norm"...rather than the exceptional. IT woudl appear that a large % of travel is now economically based rather than ability based.

There were a lot of weak travel teams through 13U. We didn't see as many at 14U. This year (skipped a year up) in 16U even the few weaker teams are playing OK baseball.

I want to bethe mayor of that town. It hurts my self esteem by not being able to be the mayor.

quote:

And the Community ball need's the elite player to play to help the other player's learn the game. JMHO

I don't buy into that. What makes good players better is practice and good coaching. Our league had one of these so-called 'elite' players and every team he was on, the old man always thought the teams evolved around his kid. Then the coaches get sucked in and the players see their coaches go goo-goo over him then they forget to play because mr.supserstar will carry the team only to find out that mr.stud can't win when 11 other players sit back and wait for mr.elite to take over the game.

We had that elite player on my son's tournament team some years back and during the middle of tournament play, him and the old man decided a travel tournament with his 'elite' team was more important for his kid, the the tournaments The coach of my kid's team actually was gonna try to reschedule games down the road so the kid will be back to pitch but none of the parents wanted any part of this. We wanted to play on schedule. It was near the end of the tournament season and families had vacations and other plans. Eventually, he came back and the players and coaches had another meeting and decided not to throw him off the team but the player was gonna sit in the tournaments that the team was involved in during his hiatus. The old man wasn't too happy about it but that was what the team decided to do. They did just fine without him by winning one and finishing 2nd in another.

What all too many of the people supposedly "looking out for the kids welfare" do not realize is that the kids in LL like the competition factor of ALL STAR play---we didn't even use the term ALL STAR-- we called our team a summer travel team--- the kids also can name the top 15 players in their league at the drop of the hat---they are more mature than we give them credit for---trust me on this--I ran our towns baseball, basketball and s o k k e r leagues for nearly a decade

Please, this isn't going to turn into another thread about the evil travel ball vs. rec ball is it?

This is about a milquetoast mayor and a so-called "expert" trying to create a mindless, emotionless, unmotivated generation of children.

We once had a mom who told our team that we practice too much and that we should implement more "team-building" exercises.

Huh?

Baseball is the ultimate team-building exercise. I could barely hold myself back from asking her if this involved holding hands around a camp fire singing songs.

Youth baseball is so much more than teaching kids how to play baseball. It teaches them about life. Hard work, trying new things, teamwork, dedication, cooperation, respect, working for goals, being realistic about your abilities, how to work with others, how to respect and get along with authority figures.

Gee, maybe these are all things these kids will need when they get out of school and hit the real world. And they'd better pay attention because not too many of the 1500 young men drafted last week will make it to the show for any appreciable time.

If there's no motiviation to get better and do better, then who will get masters degrees, who will start new small businesses, who will work for a cancer cure?

Milquetoast: a very timid, unassertive, spineless person, esp. one who is easily dominated or intimidated

I'll do my best to make sure my kids and the kids on their baseball teams don't end up like this.

biggerpapi ...

quote:

Youth baseball is so much more than teaching kids how to play baseball. It teaches them about life. Hard work, trying new things, teamwork, dedication, cooperation, respect, working for goals, being realistic about your abilities, how to work with others, how to respect and get along with authority figures

And one of those life lessons they learn along the way, which you have hinted at here, is that sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes you get rained out. Just like real life. Now ain't that a clever concept.

!!! someone understands me!!!!