Modified Rant

We baby our kids too much in today's society and I am annoyed with it. Case in point:

Our town only offers baseball through our park and rec system. Due to the small size of our town, I am truly grateful to have an active park and rec system. Preschoolers and kindergarteners are on the same team, which is Tee-Ball. Luke, however, is 6 1/2 and can hit the ball when it's pitched to him fairly well. We would love for him to have the option of being on a team that hits the ball instead of just putting it off of the tee. They also all run one base when they hit, regardless of any other factors. While this is adorable for your 4 year old, this can get a little boring to watch week after week. So, I sent an email to the park and rec coordinator, wondering if Luke might be able to move into the 1st and 2nd grade pitching machine group, OR, might she consider the alternative, IF the coaches all agreed, to offer a pitch to THOSE THAT WANTED A PITCH instead of hitting off of the tee, while still giving them the option of hitting off of the tee if they prefer. Here's most of her response:

I know that there are many kids who are in t-ball that can get pitched to, but we have all of our programs run by grade. It is parks and rec policy to have all kids treated the same as they are for-fun sports and recreational. Your son, since he is in kindergarten, is eligible for the tee-ball program only and will have to wait until first grade to enter into the machine pitch arena.


All the kids will have to use the tee during the games as we must treat all the kids who are out there playing for fun evenly. I am sure you can understand that a child who may not yet have that skill may feel "less important" if they are not getting "pitched" to, and so that is why all it would not be appropriate to deviate for that reason. We are a smaller community, and it would not be fesible to "judge" all the 90 plus kids to see who could be put on a team that can hit and those who cannot.

Well.

Certainly, little 4 year old Johnny or Susy would realize that they have deficits in the talent department and suffer from a very negative self image if they see that Katie is able to hit a pitch and he can only hit off of the tee. They would certainly see this shortcoming in their talent and be muddled down in self loathing, would they not? Well, this wouldn't do. What was I thinking?

Do you ever get the feeling that it's just easier to continue doing things the same way rather than rethinking structures? Even though there are 4 teams, we wouldn't consider breaking preschoolers into two teams and kindergarteners into two teams who have the option of getting pitched to.

I certainly don't want to be responsible for making anyone feel 'less important'.

Aargh!