In the last few years, it’s seemed like fewer and fewer kids have been going to tryouts, and teams have had to compete harder for the kids who did come out. I know of several programs (including the one I’ve been associated with for the last 14 years) that have had to fold teams, or that maybe took a couple of players they normally wouldn’t have just to be able to play.

But I thought maybe it was just an isolated program here or there. Turns out it’s not. I saw this article this morning in my local newspaper. It talks about how the numbers are down all across the area, and how that is part of a larger trend.

The culprit? For once it isn’t coaches who yell at the kids or anything like that. Instead, according to the article, the #1 reason is video games. Kids are opting to stay indoors and play video games rather than go outside and play sports.

There are a couple of reasons listed. One, of course, is the general sedentary nature of kids these days. Between texting, mp3 players, computers, etc. they’re just a lot more oriented toward sitting and playing with electronics than getting up and moving around.

But video games have had another effect too. According to the article, and the experts it quotes, the nature of video games have made real sports less appealing to today’s youngsters. Video games are relatively easy to learn, and offer instant gratification — as opposed to softball which can take years for most kids to just become competent.

They simply don’t have the patience for the constant repetition required to learn how to play softball. Throw in “cheat codes” in games that allow them to overcome their shortcomings by getting past obstacles and you can see where there’s a disconnect. There aren’t any cheat codes in softball.

The article says the younger ages — under 10U — are not being affected as much. But once kids get to the age where they have iPods, smart phones, maybe even their own laptops, and of course a choice of gaming consoles — the 10U to 14U range — the numbers drop off dramatically. And it’s even affecting high school sports, as fewer kids are going out for them and often the ones who are don’t have their skills developed quite as well as those of a few years ago.

So if you feel like your travel team or league has been struggling, you’re not alone. Apparently it’s happening all over.

Receive the message below from Bobby Simpson today and wanted to pass it along. The message is pretty much self-explanatory but I wanted to add a few thoughts anyway. Just call me Mike Brady.

The US isn’t the only country who is suffering with the IOC’s decision to remove softball from the Olympics. As you’ll see, that action has caused the removal of funding for the British National team, which means that despite qualifying for the ISF Worlds in the summer of 2010, they won’t be able to attend unless they get some help. That would be a shame, especially as we claim that softball is world sport, not just a US sport.

I’ve never been real big on those petition that go around, although I do sign them too. But they’re pretty easy to ignore, as the IOC does. But participating in this vote has the potential to actually result in something. I just did it and it took about two minutes.

One little trick once you get there: if you have a Facebook account you don’t have to sign up for anything else. You can just use that login to get to the actual voting area.

Without further ado, here’s the message. Please take the time to help the Brits participate on the International stage.

During 2001-2004, I was honored to serve as the Head Coach of the British Women’s National Team. This past summer, they qualified for the 2010 ISF World Championships, but they receive no public funding since softball has been deleted from the Olympics and it is VERY difficult to raise the type funds that they will need. They have entered a British Airways program and have been shortlisted to possibly receive 16 free flights. They need your help. Please read the item below from Bob Fromer, a man who has truly given his heart to helping this program for many. many years. Then, PLEASE VOTE NOW (contest ends in about a week) and notify others so they can help. These are very deserving people and this could make the difference for them. THANKS for your help.   Bobby Simpson

YOUR ONLINE VOTE CAN HELP THE GREAT BRITAIN WOMEN’S
SOFTBALL TEAM GET TO THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS!
 

The Great Britain Women’s Fastpitch Softball Team earned a place in the 2010 Softball World Championships by finishing second in European Championships this past summer, the team’s highest-ever European placing.

But the team receives no public funding because softball is no longer an Olympic sport. Players and staff had to pay their own way to compete for their country at the European Championships, but the cost of competing in the World Championships, which will probably be held in North America, is beyond what the players and their families can afford. So the team has entered a British Airways contest called “Great Britons”, where the prize could be 16 desperately-needed free flights that can get the players and staff to the World Championships. Now the team has now been shortlisted along with seven other entries, and the winner will be determined by public vote.

So please go online to http://www.greatbritons.ba.com/shortlists and cast your vote for the GB Women’s Team entry submitted by first base player MORGAN PARKERSON.

Just click on Morgan’s name on the Judges’ Shortlist and then hit the VOTE NOW button under Morgan’s photo. You’ll need to do a quick registration, and then you can vote. And then please get everyone you know and everyone you can reach by way of Facebook, MySpace, Twitter etc to vote as well!

Winning this contest could make all the difference between the GB Women’s Softball Team being able to go to the World Championships and having to turn down its place.

Thanks very much for your help!

Bob Fromer
GB Softball Team Manager     

I was just looking up the statistics for the blog when I noticed that yesterday (December 7) was the three year anniversary of the Life in the Fastpitch Lane blog.

Wow! I can’t believe it. Has it really been three years since my first post? It must be true, though. GoDaddy would never lie to me!

In any case, thanks to all of you who stop by to read my random musings, and who comment on various posts. A blog is only an online diary without readers!

A friend of mine sent me a very funny article today titled 7 Things Good Parents Do (That Screw Up Kids for Life).  Actually, I put it in the category of funny because it’s true.

In particular, pay attention to #5, because it directly applies to a topic I preach on often — what we’re teaching kids when we teach them to win at all costs. Here’s a quick excerpt:

“But let’s face it, you’re not sending your kid off to practice so he can have a good time and make friends. You want some goddamn trophies, so coaches are not above teaching kids how to cut corners, feign injuries and do whatever humiliating damage they can to their opponents, because hey, nothing else matters but winning, right?”

Unfortunately, many people do feel that way — they want the trophies, so whatever it takes to get them is fine by them. This article references an actual study that shows kids who play sports are more likely to cheat in other aspects of their life, such as school. So much for sports teaching positive life lessons.

There’s also a great section on the damaging effects of constantly heaping praise on them, to the point where they can’t handle legitimate criticism when it occurs. It definitely makes coaching much more challenging, because what is coaching if not saying what you’re doing now could be done better? There’s also that element of handing out trophies for participating, which totally negates the idea of having to work hard to earn your reward.

There’s a lot of truth in here, and the article even references legitimate outside studies to prove its points. Be warned, though. There is some profanity in it, so if that sort of thing bothers you approach with caution. I think there is a way to turn it off, but since it doesn’t bother me I didn’t check that part out thoroughly. Still, it’s worth checking out.

Today was a very interesting and special day for me. I was privileged to attend the opening of Camp Independence at YMCA Camp Duncan — a youth campground located in Ingleside, Illinois. I was invited because I happen to give pitching lessons to the daughter of one of the driving forces behind the camp — Kim Kiser, Sr. Vice President of Camping for the YMCA.

When those of us in the softball world think of “camp,” we tend to think “opportunity to show my daughter’s softball skills so some college coach will pay for her education.” This was a camp of a different type. It is designed to help kids from seven to 18 who have spina bifida learn to live on their own instead of depending on their parents.

While I was there I heard an interesting story from Dr. Dave McClone, the founder of the camp and a doctor at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. He said that back in the 1950s and before, no one thought much about what to do with kids who had spina bifida because the mortality rate was 95%. In the last 50 years, that figure has reversed, and now 95% of the kids born with it survive into young adulthood and beyond. In fact, they’re not sure of the length of life for those patients because this is the first generation they can really track it on, but the expectation is they will live a regular life span.

That created a new issue, though. spina bifida can be pretty debilitating, and so it makes it difficult to live on one’s own. Things we take for granted — going to the bathroom, making dinner, doing laundry and other mundane tasks — have to be learned. With many of this generation’s spina bifida patients’ parents now aging, the kids have to start learning these skills so they can function on their own and contribute to their full potential in society.

That’s what Camp Independence is about. It will be taking in kids to live and work around the camp with the goal of teaching them, as the name implies, independence. It’s a very worthy endeavor that benefits not just the kids but all of us. From a selfish point of view (as was also pointed out), imagine these kids out there working and paying taxes instead of having tax funding diverted to them.

I know Kim comes on the blog now and then so hopefully she’ll see this and let us all know what we can do to help. The building that was dedicated today was just phase one. There are plans for a second building in phase two, and if I know Kim that’s not all.

You’ll pay $100, $150, $200 or more to have your daughter attend a camp or a clinic just to spend five minutes with an Olympic player or a top-level coach. Consider taking a little of that and applying it so a young person just like your daughter can learn to fix her own dinner. And regardless of which side of that divide you’re on, hug your kids tonight!

The other day I was hanging around my local Walgreens waiting for a prescription to be filled, so I started wandering around the store. (I’m pretty sure that’s why they say it will take 20 minutes for your prescription to be filled when you drop it off, by the way — so you will walk around, look at stuff, and make a bunch of impulse purchases you never would’ve made otherwise.)

In any case, my stroll through the aisles took me past the magazine rack. As I stood there looking at the tabloid headlines, the pictures of pretty actresses I didn’t know on the covers of magazines I’d never read, and all the motorhead publications, something else caught my eye — a nearly nekkid Serena Williams on the cover of something called the ESPN Magazine Body issue.

Hmmm, I thought. That looks interesting. So I picked it up, fully expecting to find a lengthy discussion of the biomechanics of various sports. Seriously. But this was no bait-and-switch. Inside, there was page after page of photos of nekkid and near-nekkid men and women, athletes all. They had the “good parts” covered up, which is why it was available on the rack at Walgreens instead of behind the counter at your local convenience store. Still, it wasn’t your average sports magazine fare.

As I paged through, I found that our sport was well-represented. Softball may not be in the Olympics, but it was definitely in the ESPN Magazine Body issue. There, in all their glory, were Natasha Watley, Lauren Lappin, Cat Osterman, and a very pregnant Jessica Mendoza, channeling Demi Moore’s groundbreaking cover from Vanity Fare and apparently having a delightful time doing it.

The issue is interesting on a couple of levels. For one, I guess you could say “take that Sports Illustrated.” Not only did they forego the swimsuits entirely, they used actual athletes as the focus instead of the sidebar. They also put in plenty of photos of men, which may the only time some women buy ESPN Magazine. Ultimately, though, it’s that ESPN Magazine ran out of things to say about actual sporting events and so decided to fill out the year by running photos of nekkid people.

Actually, I know that last one isn’t true. Sex sells, and since the magazine industry generally is hurting it’s time to bring out the big guns, so to speak. Maybe the next step is to be like the British tabloids with their Page 3 girls and publish a photo of a nekkid athlete in every issue. Bet that would help drive subscriptions through the roof.

Ok, SI. It’s your move. Maybe Hef can offer a few pointers between takes on his reality show.