A quick disclaimer before I go any further with this column…it is not about you, so please do not think I am directing it at anyone in particular, which I probably am, but still, it is probably not about you. I cover sports on all fronts for our small hometown newspaper and enjoy every minute
of it. I love to watch the young athletes succeed at the highest levels and try my best to keep up with those that have moved on to play in college and beyond.
I love all sports in their purest form, whether it be at Hugh Ellard Park, Landrum Field, Vaught-Hemingway or Wrigley Field. The venue or level of expertise does not make it more or less enjoyable for me.
Watching the youngsters play their hearts out for a Tuesday night summer league game or a mid-May MHSAA quarterfinal game is really enjoyable to watch, which gets me to the point of what I want to discuss for a moment. Now bear with me; I do understand the time and money it takes for a kid to play both travel ball and summer league ball.
It can be a hassle with all the practices and traveling that goes along with it. I have done it and I can tell you that I could never really afford it, but I did it anyway. It was and still is a great experience for my son. We have pretty much moved on from summer league ball due to his age and now playing at the varsity level, but we trudged through with summer league games on Tuesday and Friday nights, and would then play all weekend with his travel ball team.
My son could (would) play every day of his life if afforded the opportunity to do so, and I am sure there are many other youngsters that would do the same. My son played every position on the field at one time or another in summer league action and he loved every minute of it, but he was relegated to two or three positions on his travel squad. It was still really fun for him, but there was no doubt in my mind that his long, lanky self would ever be a catcher or a second baseman.
Playing summer league ball was a 12-game stretch of “not the most fundamentally sound” baseball on the planet, but it was fun for all who were involved and if they played well enough, they were rewarded with an all-star selection and the chance to play in some fairly challenging tournaments all over the state to determine a champion. As a matter of fact, our 9-year old All-Star squad won the Dixie Youth World Series in Searcy, Ark. last year. What a thrill that was.
Now, I do understand that work schedules and other factors are involved with decisions to let your child play only travel ball, but if you have just a sliver of time to fit summer league into that schedule, do it. It doesn’t matter if your child is playing in a vacant lot in your neighborhood, or in my case a pasture, he or she is playing ball. I had a wise old coach tell me one time after I asked him if stepping down in competition during the week to play summer league ball would stump the development of a child and he just looked at me, smiling, and said, “Just playing, wherever it may be, will make them better ball players. How is getting extra swings during the week and playing different positions a bad thing? I let my child play wherever he wants.” Now mind you, it was nice to step up in competition during a travel ball weekend, but we wouldn’t take anything for the memories that we have of summers spent at Hugh Ellard and an All-Star Dixie Youth State Championship several years ago.
Whether it is wiffle ball, travel ball, showcase ball, the elite of the elite daddy money ball or summer league action at the local park with kids that probably have no idea what the infield fly rule is or where to throw it with runners at second and third with one out ball, just let them play and do your best to help support our local parks. You never know; that kid that was not elite as a little leaguer and was relegated to summer league action only may be striking your kid out when he is an all-region player on the varsity level. Just let them play…let us not forget that it is still just a child’s game.
