So, Jericho Scott can’t pitch for his youth baseball team, because the league is “concerned” for the well-being of other players, and he’s just too good for that league.
And it has nothing to do, not a whit, with his team being 8-0, and a likely favorite to unseat the defending champions, sponsored by Carlito’s Barber Shop.
Whatever excuse makes you happy, New Haven Youth Baseball League. Just don’t expect me to buy it. Call me a skeptic, but I see motive, I see opportunity; I see a kid being blackballed for nothing more that to preserve a favored sponsor’s status in the league, and you should be ashamed of yourselves.
Jericho Scott is only trying to play baseball—he just happens to be very good at twirling a baseball that nobody can hit.
I have a major problem with the league administration, as they have not only banned Scott from pitching—they’ve disbanded his team. That a league administrator’s employer is allowed to sponsor a team in that league, and that team coincidentally happens to be the defending champion, and that team having made an offer to Scott to join with them (which he refused—after all, he’s only some kid playing ball with his friends) opens a obvious question: if Jericho Scott joins this team of champions, would he have been allowed to pitch, and would that team have been suspended?
Of course he’d be allowed to pitch, and no one would be so concerned about a 40-mph fastball. Suffice to say, they wouldn’t be all that concerned about it, if Scott was pitching for them, rather than against. That’s what this is really about, essentially—eliminating opposition that they aren’t confident or prepared to defeat on the field of play, and doing so in the appearance, no matter how feigned, of being fair.
Moreover, would anyone be making an argument that he should “move up” and play against older kids—never mind his physical development, or the fact that he has to rotate and play other positions, or face competition that he might not be ready to play against—if either he joins that team, or the team he was on goes 3-5 and misses the playoffs?
I’m thinking, no.
Scott chose to play for his own club, where his friends were, and now that club having gone undefeated with him; Scott is barred from pitching? And if they send him to the mound for his assignment, the other team just up and quits, with no punishment from the league? Then the NHYBL disbands his team and disperses his teammates?
What kind of league is this? Apparently one where the administration tries to predetermine who shall play for whom, which team gets the better players, and which team (or sponsor) gets the honor of playing in the postseason. And if you happen to have a kid that the league wanted on another team, and that kid refuses (politely), and goes on to dominate you, the league will attempt to ban him from playing you, then advocate for other teams quitting if they have to play against him, then blow the team up, and preserve the artificial order of competitive balance. Not just Jericho Scott; presumably anyone who has any talent at all, that doesn’t play for the predetermined champion of the league.
And any suggestion that he move up and play older kids, based solely on the fact of his pitching ability alone, really doesn’t comprehend sports, or the point of athletic development. That mindset is no different from every knucklehead that told a teenager in high school, based only on the fact that he ran faster than everybody else and could dunk, that he was NBA Lottery bound. There’s a lot of former potential first-round draft picks either in Europe or in one of many assorted mailrooms in the U.S. today, for they hired an agent (like a fool) based on what people—who didn’t know jack—told them, and puffed their heads up with hot air. The point: just because they have one skill at one level, doesn’t mean they’re ready to go to that level, and shouldn’t be pushed there, but by their own talents and mental capacity.
Therein lays another problem with youth sports: one kid does one thing well, and instead of letting the coaches take their time and develop that skill, we (the adults) want to rush it up to the next level, hype the hell out of it, and burn the kid out in the process. Because Todd Marinovich never had any mental development problems, and Michelle Wie just killing out on the LPGA Tour right about now.
All the hype about Scott’s pitch speed should be tempered by this fact: he’s nine, and isn’t looking for a Nike contract. Chances are, he might not play baseball five years from now, and everyone’s theories on his ability to pitch against 11-year olds at age 9 ½ will have meant zero-point-zero.
All I know is, Scott (and a great deal of other kids, lest they be forgotten) is being denied his right to play by adults who either can’t stand competition, are completely insane, or—more than likely—both. And if that’s the message they want to send to the players of this co-ed, “developmental” league, the NHYBL should fold, for the good of everyone involved. Or they can let him finish the season, in the name of sportsmanship. What kind of development is it to teach a group of kids that, when faced with adversity and challenges, it’s better to eliminate the obstacle by whatever means necessary, or just simply…quit? It’s like Ronald Reagan, as Knute Rockne, saying to the Fighting Irish:
“And the last thing he said to me, “Rock,” he said, “sometime when the team is up against it and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go out there with all they’ve got…and then walk off the field and quit.”
As parents and adults continue to take the fun out of youth sports, why do we wonder how professional athletes are so jaded, arrogant, and affected?
This who situation just exemplifies what is wrong with America, what is wrong with this generation of adults, and what is soon to be wrong with the next generation.
I almost don’t know where to start — and you have done a wonderful job of pointing out all that is wrong, and you have much more detail than I would have. But let’s just start at the very beginning…
IT’S JUST A GAME.
I’m not sure where it started, and I’m not about to point fingers, but it is a multi-generational problem. We are taking game — specifically youth games — way too seriously. Somewhere we got it in our minds that we have to have a winner every time out, and that losing is bad.
For shame. (And for this one I will point to professional sports with the blame.) For some mind-blowing reason, the professional ranks are trying to do away with ties. OK, baseball has never had ties. Football (at least the NFL) still does have ties, but you get one maybe once every five years — yet, college football has done away with ties. Basketball, as far as I can remember has never had ties… but they are the biggest source of the problem — high-scoring games with no ties… of course, high-scoring makes it easy to break ties, so there really isn’t a need for ties in basketball. Soccer, low scoring… but still has ties… and the only gripe is that there is no scoring in soccer.
Oh well, deal with it.
Hockey, for some reason (and I point to former NBA #2 and all-around idiot Gary Bettman as the villain) has decided that they want the NBA mentality, not what soccer has. Bettman wants more scoring (and I’ll agree, scoring is down in hockey) and no ties. They’ve adopted shootouts. It’s crap. Bettman has taken the most exciting play in hockey, and bastardized it for the sake of determining a winner (he’s also mandated for penalty shots during games, in an absent-minded attempt to create more scoring).
FACT: Some days nobody deserves to lose. Some days nobody deserves to win. Some days the teams are just evenly matched.
The adults need to realize this, and the kids need to know it. No shame in a tie. No shame in losing, either. What’s important in youth sports? Development. Losing seems to get the message across that there is room for improvement. Winning does not have the same effect… but… really, despite winning, there is always room for improvement.
Some of us had fathers who pushed us to do better, despite winning: “Congrats on throwing a shutout… but next time go for a no-hitter.” Read between the lines on that one. Dad’s not saying you suck. Dad is trying to keep things in perspective. He’s saying there is always room for improvement. It’s not being cut-throat. It’s simply stating fact.
FACT: You can throw a no-hitter, and still lose. You can also shutout your opponent, and still not win.
Which brings me to point number two. I completely agree that this child should not be pushed ahead. This is a good time to teach your kids patience.
First, let’s not stunt Jericho’s growth (mentally or physically). Keep him with kid’s his age. And don’t let his talent give him a benefit that will go straight to his head. Athletes do not deserve special benefits (and, yes, I am a former athlete). Further, moving him up would also force him to to try harder to keep up, or possibly put him back in his place, and maybe discourage him. It could go either way.
Which brings me to secondly… let’s allow Jericho’s talent to help those around him. To start, don’t give up because of a challenge in front of you. So Jericho strikes out your kid. OK, your kid needs to come back and try again.
Let my put it this way. I have a brother who is four years older than me. He used to kick my butt every day in baseball, or football, or soccer. Naturally, he was bigger and better than I was. But I kept at it. I didn’t quit. Personally, I think I got better because of the competition I faced. It’s small fish, big pond / big fish, small pond.
These kids who face Jericho now are eventually going to get better because of him — making adjustments, or just catching up with him physically. By letting them play together, New Haven could be looking at a state championship baseball team, who not only outscored everyone by five or six runs per game, but were led by an outstanding pitcher.
Eventually, he will get pushed to a new level. When he gets to high school, he could inevitably skip freshman ball, and go straight to JV or even varsity. That would be an appropriate time to push his talents.
Finally, stop playing politics. Who cares who wins? It’s just a game. There is no money at stake. Let the kids be kids, let them have fun, and stop putting pressure on them. This is just another example of adults taking the fun away from the kids.
Sure, there is a sense of pride for Carlito’s Barber Shop. But it is misplaced pride. The pride should not be in sponsoring championship teams. The pride should be in providing an opportunity for these children to play baseball, to have fun, and to grow. Again, no money at stake — you’re not going to win a huge payday because you sponsor a great team. (Of course, I wouldn’t put it past these people to be betting on youth baseball.) Really, it’s local baseball, and your market is anyone at the ballpark. Nobody is going to say: “well, I was going to go get my haircut at Carlito’s, but his baseball team played poorly, so I’m going to Great Clips.”
What you want is: “I need a haircut. You know what, Carlito’s sponsors a team in the youth league. They’re not very good, but at least his money goes to a great cause… I think I’ll patronize him, and maybe the money from my haircut will help the next Bob Gibson chase his dream.”
(Side note: trying to resurrect my blog.)
I’ve got another culprit: ESPN. Not so much in the most blatant way, but…for example, look at the marketing of the Little League World Series. Tell me that doesn’t affect how parents think about those games in their neighborhoods. Tell me that doesn’t affect how they administer leagues.
That said, I think that you’ve got it spot on about the concept of “winners”, and the reciprocal effect on sports in general. That now, there are some youth leagues that don’t keep an official scoresheet is a testament to that mentality of always having a winner, and how much it has affected youth sports. It’s almost an alternate reality; as adults, we (and I use that royally) expect professionals to play the game “for the fun of it”, and yet treat children playing sports as if they are on an automatic path to professional sports, or already professional athletes.
You are dead on about ESPN. Heck, they make a big deal over spelling bees, hotdog eating contests, and meaningless card games.
But here is the big one against ESPN. College athletics schedules. College football belongs on Saturdays… and maybe Friday nights. But these mid-week (Tuesday and Thursday) games are ridonkulous. On a Tuesday night, these young adults need to be in their dorms studying. Heck, on Tuesday morning (not to mention Wednesday, and every other weekday) they need to be in the classroom… LEARNING.
And don’t even get me started on college basketball, because that is an exercise in futility on so many levels.
I really question whether scholarship athletes are actually students anymore. It also doesn’t help that we constantly hear of recruiting violations, late-night indiscretions, and other behavior that suggest they think they are above anyone else.
I think they forget on major aspect of the life they live. Yes, God has given them this talent to do something better than anyone else — BUT that talent has opened the door for them to improve themselves, not in athletics, but in intangibles.
Fact is, many of the people we see on the gridiron, or on the hardwood are not typical college material. I gander many of them struggled just to meet academic requirements.
That is not to say that there aren’t some very intelligent athletes in the university system. However, the ones who make the headlines for what they do off the field are making those headlines because they have made a conscious effort to not be getting the education that their talents have earned them. They feel as if it is a privilege to play college sports. That’s only a partial truth. The other have of the equation is that it’s a privilege to have an education all but handed to you because of your talents in other areas.
Now, I will admit that I am a little biased towards college hockey. Part of it is that I love hockey, and the other part is that I was a college hockey player, so I know the system.
To start, you don’t hear much about the indiscretions of college hockey players, because there are fewer college hockey programs in the nation than most other major sports. At the same time, college hockey is not a monopoly, like football and basketball are. College hockey has stiff competition from the major junior ranks, which provide another in-road to a professional sports career. A player with professional aspirations is more likely to go play major junior, than to go to college. College hockey players want to be in school, and want an education.
In all fairness, college baseball would be a similar situation, as players are often drafted out of high school and proceed directly to the professional ranks.
But where college hockey traditionally blows the other sports out of the water in academic friendliness that that college hockey teams generally play Friday-Saturday games every week. In most of the rare occurrences that you do have a mid-week game, it is often a local rivalry that do not require the players to be off campus for more than a couple hours. It is generally not disruptive to the learning environment.
Of course, ESPN shows maybe 5 college hockey games all year. OK, ESPN-U usually has a game a week… but still — you see more high school basketball games on ESPN than you do college (or even professional) hockey. And that is a major issue, very closely related to what started this conversation.
Now, I was a walk-on. Nothing was handed to me, except a seat on the bench. It was very easy for me to talk to my coaches and tell them that academics came first to me. In fact, in my once semester as a D-1 hockey player, I was excused to be late to Tuesday and Thursday practices because I had a class that ran up to the start of ice time. But, I wasn’t the only one.
Myles Brand and the NCAA need to get out of the money-making business. Yes, college sports do bring in financial assistance that normally wouldn’t exist. But, not enough of it is going to the schools. Most of it remains within the athletic programs. If the NCAA is truly interested in the academic side of the athletes, they need to grow a pair.
Instead of wasting time telling schools like Illinois and North Dakota that they need to change their mascots, they need to take on the image crisis they have from crawling into bed with ESPN. For all intents and purposes, Myles Brand is a prostitute — he sold himself, and the NCAA, for money instead of moral decency.
The NCAA needs to put their foot down. Tell ESPN that their broadcast schedule is secondary to the academic schedules of the 300,000 athletes in affiliated instiutions of higher learning. It’s a simple fix. Friday and Saturday nights are college sports night (volleyball, basketball, football, hockey, lacrosse, lawn darts, baseball, softball, kickball, dodgeball, soccer, etc.). Sunday is NFL, Monday Night is Monday Night (yes, I meant to say that)… and the rest of the week there are plenty of PROFESSIONAL sports to air, filling the schedule: NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS, CFL, WNBA, heck — minor league game of the week.
You know, mix it up — when was the last time professional volleyball players (and I’m not talking beach volleyball) were heard of outside of the Olympics? How about putting them in the spotlight more often?
And finally, to bring us back Jericho Scott, and the pressure being forced upon the youths of this nation. I take pride in how I became a college athlete. Some know my story, others don’t. Long and short of it — I played on one select team… my senior year of hockey, the local association put together a house league all-star team. We played a whole nine game schedule. My parents never pushed me to do something I didn’t want to do. I didn’t sacrifice my social life, or my parents finances to further my career, and my parents never had to play the politics that are so often prevalent. And yet, somehow, I can say that I was a Division-1 student-athlete in college.
…and I don’t care that I never played a minute during my D-1 career.