Brent Mayne

Unorganized Baseball Part 2

In Part I of the Unorganized Baseball series we looked at our (parental) goals for kids as they play organized sports, whether these goals are being met, and the inclusion of pick up baseball as a possible solution. In Part II let’s look at the current state of youth sports (as if we all didn’t know) and explore the ramifications. I’ll also share some of my personal baseball observations.

Let me lead off with with this quote from Don Weiskopf, author of BaseballPlayAmerica.com. “I have always believed that youngsters learn the game best in an unstructured setting. The fundamentals must be practiced continually, even at the big league level. Many kids have missed out on the simple pleasure of playing catch with a parent or sibling. Since they are not playing enough catch, the throwing skills of young children have diminished. They need to make playing catch fun and challenging. Young players need more skill-based, fun-resulting experiences, as opposed to high-pressurized organized league play.”

Here’s what Johnny Damon has to say about the subject. “I think nowadays kids are getting so worn out playing baseball year-round that by the time they get to the high school level, they’re kind of tired of it and tired of the politics of it, instead of just going out there and playing baseball.”

THE KIDS ARE ORGANIZED

I couldn’t agree more with both of these quotes. The simple fact is that today, if a kid’s playing sports in the States, he’s most probably participating in a game structured and organized by adults. David Brooks writes in his excellent article titled The Organization Kid “Kids of all stripes lead lives that are structured, supervised, and stuffed with enrichment. Time-analysis studies done at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research provide the best picture of the trend: From 1981 to 1997 the amount of time that children aged three to twelve spent playing indoors declined by 16 percent. The amount of time spent watching TV declined by 23 percent. Meanwhile, the amount of time spent studying increased by 20 percent and the amount of time spent doing organized sports increased by 27 percent. Drive around your neighborhood. Remember all those parks that used to have open fields? They have been carved up into neatly trimmed soccer and baseball fields crowded with parents in folding chairs who are watching their kids perform. In 1981 the association U.S. Youth Soccer had 811,000 registered players. By 1998 it had nearly three million.

Today’s elite kids are likely to spend their afternoons and weekends shuttling from one skill-enhancing activity to the next. By the time they reach college, they take this sort of pace for granted, sometimes at a cost. In 1985 only 18 percent of college freshmen told the annual University of California at Los Angeles freshman norms survey that they felt “overwhelmed.” Now 28 percent of college freshmen say they feel that way.”

TODAY’S SPORTING PRODUCTS

For the social development of kids, I find these stats alarming and so does Peter Gray in his article about Kids and Social Play “How sad it is that children today have less opportunity for true social play, unsupervised by adults, than we did when we were children. Not only does this loss contribute to the epidemics of childhood obesity and depression, but it also, I fear, is making it harder for children to grow up with a full appreciation of democratic values. In play we learn how to negotiate our needs, as equals, and to treat others as equals. In play, no matter what our age, we learn that we are the adults; there is no higher authority to turn to who will solve our problems.”

“Bullies persist, and so do patsies. But social play, more than any other force we know of, helps people overcome their bullying and helps the patsies become more assertive.”

Viewed from a baseball perspective, I have a sneaking suspicion that the current state of youth sports isn’t effective either. Aside from the “burn out” problem that Johnny Damon highlighted, my whole reason for diving into this subject came from watching amateur ball in the Southern California area. The stiffness and lack of improvisation when compared to their Dominican or Puerto Rican counterparts got me thinking. I don’t have any hard stats, but could it be attributed to the fact that kids in Latin American countries are playing less organized and more pick up games?

It’s just my opinion, but I think the best players in the world right now come from Latin countries. Again, this is an unscientific opinion, but I think much of their greatness comes from their improvisational, playful approach to the game. And I think much of this comes from growing up playing improvisational, playful, unorganized games. Maybe I’m wrong, but what if I’m right?

NEXT BLOG POST

In my last installation of this series, I’ll look into why we’ve drifted away from pick up games and explore some possible options. I’ll also include a bunch of rules that kids can use if they’re interested in starting some neighborhood games. Until then, keep your eye on the ball.

Unorganized Baseball Part 1

If you’ve been following this blog for any amount of time, you know that I’m a big fan of kids playing unstructured baseball. Sandlot ball, stick ball, stoop ball, 3 flies up, over the line, whatever…just so long as it doesn’t come with a written rule book and ridged structure.

This post will be the first of a series I’m going to do on the subject of pick up baseball. I’ll go into why I think it’s important, why it’s bordering on extinction, maybe sprinkle in some history, and maybe provide some solutions through examples of rules from games we played as kids.

THE GOAL

Let’s begin by stripping it down to the bone and come to an understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish here. What’s the goal? What’s the big picture? Why do we have our kids playing organized sports in the first place?

I may be going against the grain a little bit, but my goal is to have kids who grow up happy, productive, creative, citizens with decent moral compasses. I think this is sort of the American ideal or what we’d call democratic. My goal is not for them to become big leaguers. If it happens, great, but it’s not the goal. I’ve always believed baseball (and it’s hybrids) to be great platforms for learning positive life skills. Skills that might transcend the game and spill over to make one a better student, worker, or citizen.

DOES ORGANIZED BALL MEASURE UP?

Now that you understand at least what my goals are, let’s evaluate whether the organized Little Leagues, Pony leagues, etc. are meeting these ideals. To a certain extent, I think they are. Kids are certainly gonna have to learn how to deal with pressure, how to deal with failure, with success, how to be a good teammate, etc. Approached the right way, organized ball can teach us a lot.

But it can’t teach us everything. There’s a few things I want that are very hit or miss in the organized version of baseball. Again, what I’m trying to produce is a dynamic, creative, problem solver who can work well with people and bring some passion to the table.

I don’t want a robot. I could care less if you can turn the perfect double play at age 12. Give me passion, give me a risk taker, give me creativity, give me someone who can think outside of the box. If we took this to a school setting, I’m talking about creating a kid who questions the teacher, that’s interested in creating a better way, that’s hungry to learn. Not a person that is just concerned with doing well on the tests, conforming to the rules, and scoring through the roof on the SAT.

From a baseball perspective I’m trying to create a player who’s not just surviving, but pushing the game to another level. A player who plays. It’s hard for me to put into words, but you know it when you see it. It’s that kid who knows the game inside and out and plays with passion. I’m not saying organized ball can’t be the platform that produces this kind of animal, I’m just not so sure it does a great job of cultivating these qualities.

WHAT’S THE ANSWER?

So how are kids going to learn, experience, and foster that democratic ideal? How are they going to practice the balancing act between freedom and rules, or individual needs and the recognition that other’s needs are just as important (being a good teammate)?

Common sense would tell you that it needs to be an environment where the kids themselves can make up the rules. An environment where they communicate with each other as equals. Where they’re free to solve problems and challenges amongst themselves. Where they’re free to tweak the rules, push the boundaries, assert themselves, make mistakes, and learn. An environment where, if they don’t figure these things out, the game simply isn’t going to happen.

For me (and I’m sure many of the adults reading this post) these skills were learned during free play. Or for the sake of this article, pick up ball. Certainly you can remember all of the logistics that went into a sandlot game? Where to have it, when to meet up, how to choose teams, the rules of the game, how it ends, how to get the most kids, and on and on.

For that game to happen, you had to have some people skills, some organizational skills, and some creativity. You had to have the ability to think outside of the box and improvise. You had to know and negotiate the rules of the game, you had to be fair. In short, you had to be democratic. We all remember that kid who was the dictator. The kid who had to pitch every inning, who wasn’t fair, who wasn’t fun? What happened? You just bailed and started your own game. It was simple like that.

NEXT BLOG POST

So that’s it for today. Next post I’ll get into why I think these pick up games are bordering on extinction. I’ll also look towards solutions and provide some example guide lines for kids interested in starting their own neighborhood games. Until then, I’ll leave you with this excellent clip from The Fantastic Mr. Fox featuring the made-up game of WhackBat. Enjoy.

HotStove interview of Brent Mayne

Sorry for the lack of blog posts lately…I’ve been busy putting the finishing touches on some instructional video tips. In addition to the free posture video below, I have completed one on the catcher’s stances (sign, comfort, and blocking/throwing stances), one on the “off-set” technique, and one on the “drop-knee” technique. The next video after that will cover receiving mechanics.

The clips are done, now it’s just a matter of figuring out the best method to get them to you. I anticipate this happening (hopefully) by the end of the week. Here’s a question for you…I plan on charging 3-5 bucks per video. Would you be more comfortable buying these “a la carte” or would some kind of annual membership be better (assuming I could produce a couple clips a month)? I would GREATLY appreciate any suggestions or comments you might have.

I know what you’re thinking. Why don’t I just post them on YouTube for free. Answer: cause I don’t want to. Next question…why don’t I just make one full length video. Answer: because I want to get this information to you now. My plan is do a couple clips a month. In a year (or two) I should have a big enough library of information to edit them all together to create a full length video. Again though, that’s a couple years out and I want to get you on the right track now.

Let me know what you think…thank you in advance for your help. In the meantime, here’s a little interview I did with HotStove.com a couple days ago. Enjoy.

The Baseball Cleat Tongue

Here’s a random question I can’t seem to find an answer to, but has been bugging me for years. A free Art of Catching Sticker to anyone who either knows the answer or makes up a really good story. The question is this…why do baseball cleats have extended tongues? What is their origin? What do they do/accomplish?

I honestly have no idea. I never cut them off my cleats like many players did because I just liked the way they looked. As Billy Crystal used to say, “It’s better to look good than to feel good darling.” Other than that, I can’t say they made a difference one way or the other.

Tony Gwynn's "5.5 Hole" cleats.

I do remember a trend back in the 90’s where guys would get their numbers stitched on the tongue of the shoe. Guys like Wade Boggs and Eric Davis. I also vaguely remember some custom Nike’s that Tony Gwynn had that featured the number “5.5 Hole” on them. This was in tribute to the fact that 99% of Tony’s hits went through that hole between short and third. (On a scorecard the shortstop is “5″ and third baseman is “6″…a ball between the two is 5.5 hole.)

That's my boy.

The funniest thing I ever saw on the tongue of a ball players cleats belonged to Jason Giambi. It took me a while to figure out what it meant (I’m not real smart). After he came up to bat for about the fifth time and I had a chance to get a close look, it finally dawned on me. What did it say? “G .” Translation…G spot. Very fitting for Jason in his heyday.

That’s all I know…get back to me with some answers and your free sticker.

Akadema’s Yogi Berra Replica Glove

While I was at the Texas High School Baseball Convention I ran into the good folks of Akadema Sporting Goods. Akadema is a company out of New Jersey that specializes in cutting edge baseball glove design. During my playing days, I never got a chance to try their products because I was under contract with Wilson to use their catching equipment; however, over the years I’ve watched their explorations into glove hinges and materials with great interest.

To me, it seemed like Akadema was the only company who was making an effort to improve the design of catcher’s gloves. They were definitely the only company doing anything different. Well, they’re doing something different again. This time they’re going backwards and reproducing replicas of famous past gloves.

The tag off the replica glove.

They were kind enough to give me their version of Yogi Berra’s 1952 Reach glove. I need to do some more research into the subject, but it seems with this Reach model, Yogi was one of the first receivers to ever use a hinged catcher’s glove. I was under the impression that the hinge didn’t come along until the late 60’s, but obviously I’m wrong.

Yogi with his well oiled glove.

Anyway, it’s a great glove and a lot of fun to play catch with. It’s a challenging piece of equipment and it blows my mind that someone could use it in a game. Playing catch with this pud really drives home the point that equipment limitations and technique go hand in hand. There’s only so much you could have done with that thing.

As I said, playing with this glove is a blast, but it also reminds me to be grateful for the catchers that came before me (Johnny Bench, Randy Hundley) and the companies (Rawlings) that had an influence in creating the modern day catchers glove. So thank you folks of the past, and thank you to companies like Akadema for looking both forwards and backwards.

By the way, in an unrelated development, there have been a couple nice articles and reviews recently about myself and The Art of Catching. This one is from ex-Dodger GM and writer for MLB.com, Fred Claire. And this one is from Baseball Digest.

Also, check my act out Thursday mornings at 6:35AM PST on Sirius radio channel 210 or XM 175. I’ll be a regular guest for a while. Give it a listen if you get a chance and let me know what you think. Seriously, I’ve got thick skin…I wanna get better so lemme have it. Thanks.