Tuesday, September 9, 2014

YOUTH BASEBALL AS WE KNEW IT!

     When I was a kid, we really never had organized sports, at least in smaller towns, until maybe junior-high. Then, it was primarily basketball. Playing other towns very close by-ten miles or less.

     The real fun was at recess time when I was in grade school. We sure didn't have "traveling teams" that are recruited locally like today and then driving to destinations an hour away.

     It was baseball totally unorganized. No parents, no umpires, and no coaches. The worst part unlike today is we didn't have concession stands. That part would have been OK.

     It was real simple. Two guys were picked to be captains and one at a time we picked our teams. I think even the guys picked last knew why they were picked last. Hopefully, they didn't have any lasting issues with it.

     It was great A tree was first base and another third base. An adjacent  farm was  out of bounds on the third base side. Score was kept with a lined tablet and score would be kept sometimes for the week. 116-82 could be the final score.

     Yes, we had disagreements, but, somehow it was always worked out among ourselves. There was always a little pressure trying to hit the "big one" over the highway that ran past the playground and in front of the school. Also, pressure on the guy who had to chase the ball over the highway and retrieve it without getting hit by a vehicle. Hopefully, an on duty teacher didn't see the kid on the highway.

     Yes indeed. Those were fun days.  Besides, we didn't know any better!

   

No comments:

Post a Comment