The Church Of Baseball
Baseball is truly a unique sport and because of that anyone organizing or running a baseball program is faced with a unique set of challenges. Here in Stowe and Lamoille County we are no different and since we love the sport and what it provides we’ve come up with a few unique solutions.
One of the awesome things about baseball is that it requires a lot. It’s not like a sport where you can pick up a ball and find a field and court and just start playing. Sure you can play catch but we’re talking about what it takes to have a full game, let alone a season with teams from all over. This is why baseball stadiums are considered some of the most hallowed and respected venues across all sports, because you need a “stadium”. Susan Sarandon’s character talked about it in Bull Durham when she spoke about The Church of Baseball. It takes a lot to maintain a baseball field.
The other awesome thing about baseball that gives it a unique stance among major, popular sports…there are A LOT of rules. For those fanatics out there, that’s one of the things that makes baseball great but for some it can be a limitation to gettting involved but also it means in order to coach at higher levels, umpire or administer it’s helpful to have a handle on these rules and even then it can be a bit overwhelming. It may seem like calling balls and strikes is straightforward and it is, but knowing the ins and outs of the game is an endless journey and because of it, there are a limited number of people who we rely on to provide support for our seasons.
Aother big point is that baseball is really, really hard to be good at. Many in sports have said hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports. It’s something that rewards a 70% failure rate with a Hall of Fame induction at the professional level. But it’s not just hitting, it’s the mental aspect of strategy around fielding, running bases, pitching, catching and coaching. It’s a very complex game which is GREAT for kids emotional and intellectual development , because of this Baseball isn’t the greatest sport to just JOIN up at 10 years old. Not that it’s impossible but there’s so many fundamentals that are learned at the younger ages you have to be an exceptional athlete with high levels of emotional and intellectual capacity to just “Pick Up” the game.
And the final set up here is that, simply and especially in Vermont, Baseball is very limited in the amount of time it can be played, making the time it CAN be played, like gold. Any Vermont or Northern player knows the excitement and tragedy of being such a weather dependant sport. We are truly at the whim of the winds and because of that it’s vital that we make the most of what we have. This means an energetic and committed focus on the short season we have from everyone involved, not just players but coaches and parents too.
The bottom line: We have a valuable and awesome sport to offer your players but because of the limitations we are going to limit the numbers to something that is manageable, making sure we have complete and committed teams before simply just adding players. We want everyone who wants to play baseball to be able to play and we are committed to making that happen but we have to ensure that those who are most committed have the best baseball experience, that is our goal. So please come join us and get your young player into the Church Of Baseball while they’re young and you will find that there is nothing quite like the sport of Baseball.