It may be that I\u2019m romanticizing the past, but I feel so fortunate that when I was younger I had limited exposure to organized sports and lots of time for sandlot sports. I fear that the tsunami of organized sports that is flooding America with Harvey-like intensity is:<\/p>\n
I remember playing one year of little league baseball, but couldn\u2019t wait for it to end because the coaches were so didactic and seemingly inhumane. Fortunately, in high school, the coaches I had were warmer (and probably more knowledgeable) but then again, my football coaches were largely shouters and sometimes beraters.<\/p>\n
When I think of playing baseball or football as a kid, I think of playing one-on-one baseball on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis, using a big tree on the quadrangle as our combination catcher, backstop. Later we moved to stickball (a great sport because it doesn\u2019t hurt when you get hit in the head with a tennis ball). We learned to umpire for ourselves and make up other rules on the fly. In the fall, we switched to touch football. We seemed to have an awareness of the beauty of making it democratic; allowing everyone into the game. We made up bizarre plays, and would draw up more of them when bored in class. It was sport based on getting along with friends, because what could be better than sports and friends?<\/p>\n
I was reminded of this a couple of weeks ago with a Harry Smith report on NBC about kids enjoying baseball in what really is a \u201cleague of their own.\u201d No adults allowed; just play ball with friends.<\/p>\n