Learning From the Little League Scandal

It has happened again.  A major scandal has hit Little League Baseball.  This time it is the Jackie Robinson West team from Chicago.  The team from the south side of the city captured our hearts last summer when we heard of the tough urban environment the players came from. It was also hailed as a victory for baseball, a sport that has taken a backseat to basketball in the city.  Less that 10% of the current major league players are blacks who were born in the U.S.  The Jackie Robinson West team made it all the way to the Little League Championship game before losing to a team from Seoul South Korea. The team was honored with a parade and even earned a trip to the White House to meet the President.  Now it turns out the coaches of the team bent the rules. Boundaries were adjusted to create a "super team."  The team was stripped of its title. The Illinois State Little League Championship was awarded to a team from the Tri-Cities Little League in Dundee,

I am familiar with The Tri-Cities organization.  I coached in that league for six years when we lived in Dundee.  I have fond memories of that experience.  I recall what a "tight ship" the league board ran.  Nobody bent the rules. The players and their welfare were a high priority. While competition was fierce, the coaches and players remained friends off the field.

I had a similar experience once we moved to the Dallas area.  I coached for a few years in the Farmers Branch Little League.  I always tried to keep things in perspective.  I recall one incident in particular.  A draft is always held prior to the season beginning.  The coaches select players based on their notes from the tryouts.  Obviously, the best players are off the board first and after the first couple of rounds there is not a great differential when it comes to skill.  In this case their were twin boys who had little to offer in on the field talent. Their situation was complicated by the fact that their parents had requested that both boys play on the same team.  When none of the other coaches wanted to draft the twins, I agreed to take them on.  In response, the other coaches agreed to let me finish off my roster before any another player was selected.  As it turned out, it did not make a lot of difference.  Over the course of the season the team only won one game, but the boys had a lot of fun and it was one of my favorite teams ever.

I recently read an article in Forbes that caused me to think that perhaps we needed to integrate some millennials into amateur sports,  The author reflected on some of the characteristics that millennials bring to the workplace.  It confronted some of the myths that surround today's young adults.  Some of the positive characteristics that millennials bring with them are: they value team work, they desire mentoring relationship and they do not like a competitive atmosphere in the workplace.  Translate those to amateur sports. Imagine an environment where the emphasis was on working together, learning from each other and gaining experience rather than just playing for trophies.