Always interesting viewpoints in this topic. People see the problem, if they feel there is a problem, differently. More importantly, rather than discuss the problem why not discuss possible solutions.
Money – Yes, it is important no matter how you look at it. Whether a low income player can afford to attend certain events or play on certain teams, it can be expensive. “The fee to play” is a very small part of that expense! Someone from the West Coast could get invited to an event on the East Coast with no player fee. However, we all know how much it costs to travel coast to coast, let alone hotel, meals and transportation once the player gets there. In fact, that is the major expense!
The Aflac All American Classic, is the only event I know of that covers everything including equipment, meals, air travel, lodging, transportation at the event, etc. And that game is nationally televised! Problem is… Only 38 players will get that opportunity.
Teams – The very best athletes/baseball players do not always need to pay to play on some of the best travel teams in the country. There are several teams that recruit the very best players and take care of all the expenses during the season. Most of these teams play in highly scouted events like the WWBA Tournaments in Marietta, GA. This means under privileged kids with exceptional talent don’t have to pay a dime, in some cases, to get maximum national level exposure. There are a lot of teams who are looking for the very best talent in the country. Most of the very best teams that do charge a fee, will still help out the very talented kid who just can’t afford it.
Major League Tryouts are events kid’s can attend at no cost and if the player is outstanding, the other things start to happen. College camps can do the same thing, but they do cost money to attend in most cases.
Then there are those out there actively promoting the game and searching for the most talented athletes and trying to get them involved in baseball. There are a lot of talented big city kids in New York playing baseball. There are a bunch of people trying to find these kids. There are a lot of people promoting the game.
My point in all this is… Our goal should be to first and foremost promote the game. Kids have to enjoy what they’re doing or they do something else. People are best doing the things they enjoy. Kids have to have fun!!! It doesn’t start when kids get to high school. It all starts at a much younger age when young kids are introduced to the game. I believe most kids do get introduced to the game at some point. Some are turned off by the initial introduction; others experience a positive memory and fall in love with the game.
My suggestion… Next time you’re driving down the road and you see a real young kid playing catch… Yell out the window… “Great Arm kid” or “Nice Hands kid”… I know it sounds stupid, but I do it all the time. It makes kids feel good about themselves! Feeling good is fun, playing baseball is fun. Someone recognizing you’re good at something is fun!
This all started 51 years ago when I was 8 years old playing on the playground. An older guy from the neighborhood stopped by to watch. I was playing in the infield and a hard groundball hit me right in the chest. I picked it up and threw it in. The old guy yells out… “Great play son”!!! Of course, later I was to understand it really wasn’t a great play at all. But I didn’t know it at the time and felt like a million bucks. I think that old man hooked me on baseball that day. It seems like that was just yesterday in my mind. I later was told by the other kids that the old guy was a former high school coach. I owe him a lot and he doesn’t even know it! I bet he did the same thing to a lot of young kids. I can't remember what he looked like, but his words stayed engraved in my mind.
I understand that we all can’t just drive around looking for kids to make feel good. However, don’t miss every opportunity you have because you might create a baseball player or at least another baseball fan. I believe this and it doesn’t really matter what the race or religion is. You just might create a life long memory in that young kid!
Sorry, if this all seems kind of corny… But I am from Iowa.
It's a coin flip to figure out which of these should be nominated for The Word Of The Day.
