SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/714252
FROM THE SIDELINES EPG Media & Specialty Information 10405 6th Ave. N., Ste 210 Plymouth, MN 55441 The Official Publication Of The Sports Turf Managers Association SALES REPRESENTATIVES Chris Pelikan Senior Account Manager - East Phone: (763) 383-4408 cpelikan@epgmediallc.com Peggy Tupper Senior Account Manager - Midwest Phone: (763) 383-4429 ptupper@epgmediallc.com Leslie Palmer Senior Account Manager - West Phone: (763) 383-4460 lpalmer@epgmediallc.com EDITORIAL Group Publisher: David Voll Editorial Director: Eric Schroder Technical Editor: Dr. Joey Young Art Director: Jean Blackmer Production Manager: Karen Kalinyak SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES Phone: (845) 856-2229 Fax: (847) 763-9569 customerservice@epgmediallc.com REPRINTS Robin Cooper rcooper@epgmediallc.com GROUP PUBLISHER David Voll dvoll@epgmediallc.com DIRECT MAIL LIST SALES MeritDirect, Jim Scova Phone: (914) 368-1012 jscova@MeritDirect.com 6 SportsTurf | September 2016 www.sportsturfonline.com Eric Schroder Editorial Director Eschroder@epgmediallc.com 763-383-4458 L ast month my son walked off the baseball field at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County campus as a member of his "travel" team for the last time. Though on the drive home I was sad because for the past four summers he and I have had some wonderful father-son bonding knocking around the Mid-Atlantic region for tournaments, a part of me was elated that we'd no longer be subjected to the idiocy that is too often on display by youth sports coaches and parents. I've seen two dads squaring off in the parking lot after a game in a confrontation that ended when one of them pulled a gun out of his truck; a mom screaming at her son to "hit him in the face" as her son prepared to pitch to a kid with whom he'd just had an encounter on the base paths; a coach saying "F--- you" to a 14-year-old in the post-game handshake line; another coach yelling at his own player "you're a [sissy]" in front of both teams and 75 or so parents and siblings; a player being high-fived by his coach after being tossed from a game for sliding into second base and spiking an opponent in the thigh; and numerous dads, standing behind home plate, giving detailed instructions to their sons while the kids are batting and then berating them as they return to the dugout after striking out. Perhaps worst of all I've seen plenty of kids playing the game without any signs of joy, before, during or after games. They might as well have just gotten off a double-shift of shoveling pig poop. At the turn of the century travel baseball meant a few regional teams would meet for several national tournaments; these teams were stocked with teenagers for whom the term "prospect" was legitimate, whether it be for college or professional baseball. But now there are tens of thousands of "travel" teams competing in tournaments year-round, most of them with rosters filled by players whose ceiling is high school ball. And from what I've witnessed even that might be a stretch for some of these kids. Of course, since there are plenty of tournaments for boys who are only 9 or 10 years old, who can be sure! The upside of course is a lot more boys are playing baseball, and all these tournaments have resulted in more facilities being built, like the new Ripken facility in Myrtle Beach, SC, or the new facility now being constructed near the Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, OH, which reportedly will cost $24 million. This means more sports turf management jobs and economic benefits for communities; the downside is more boys (and their parents) being subjected to pressure, unsportsmanlike behavior, as well as injury risk. Should a 16-year-old really be undergoing Tommy John surgery? The horse has left the barn on this topic though; once folks start making money and many organizations certainly are, the question of "Why?" is gone and replaced with "How much?" And our family was happy to contribute; I estimate we spent about $12,000 to cover all the costs associated with our son's playing travel ball. When we started I was as guilty as the next dad who thought maybe his son was talented enough to earn a scholarship; I told my wife it was "an investment in his future." That $12K sure would look good in his 529 account about now! Because of the quality time I spent with my son, especially in view of his going off to college in a year, I don't regret his playing travel ball. But I sure won't miss it, either. I WON'T MISS TRAVEL BASEBALL