The Little League organization in one Ohio town has decided not to hold an all-star game, since such an event can hurt a young player’s feelings.
MY FOX CLEVELAND hurls up news that the city of Beachwood has canceled its all-star game for its 9- to 12-year-old baseball players, believing that such a game would be damaging to their kids’ self-esteem.
Beachwood mayor Merle Gordon informed parents of the axed all-star event after reading an article from Fred Engh, founder of the National Alliance for Youth Sports:
The article suggested that All-Star games take away from sportsmanship and hurts the self esteem of players, especially younger players. In the article Engh states, “There’s nothing like sticking a dagger into a youngster’s self-esteem the first season he plays the sport by letting him know that he’s not good enough or considered worthy to be part of this elite group of teammates. That’s not the message we want to send to children who are already less active and more obese than any previous generation in history.”
Well, this certainly helps contribute to the continued wussification of America. John Wayne & Billy Martin must be spinning in their graves.
On the other hand, with ballplayers getting a bit too competitive nowadays, maybe such a coddling cancellation isn’t such a bad idea. And one less game featuring screaming, out-of-control Little League parents, the better.
5:44 pm on July 8th, 2008
How about, instead of viewing non-selection as “a dagger into a youngster’s self esteem” we view it as a motivation for said youngster to practice harder, improve one’s skills, and make the damn All-Star team the following year?
2:03 am on July 9th, 2008
All-stars at that age are pretty stupid. I should know…. I was one, and it was lame. You’re talking about city league here. Being selected as an all-star is about as important to the mission of city league youth sports as being named best hitter in your beer league. In the end, it doesn’t really matter.
There are plenty of outlets for all-stars now. They have travel teams, accelerated leagues, and national tournaments. Leave city league for fun play and let every kid think they are an all-star. I don’t have a problem with them even eliminating score keeping and letting everybody hit each inning for 3 innings, and rotating positions.
Sports has plenty of time to be about pressure and a-holes in the stands calling you names. When you are dealing with 9-12 year olds it is a different story. I teach those little people each day and I can fully understand where this is coming from. Call me what you will… but I agree. Kids will be stratified, sorted, picked, whatever you want to call it in junior high and high school to the point where many of them give up on life. Let’s leave it alone for a couple of years eh?
8:01 am on March 6th, 2009
BOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Thats not fair to the athletes that worked hard all year, they are taking away the reward for them! Those that make the All-Star team in the age group adds something to their unofficial resume that they would have remembered forever, while those that did not, would have went to the game and had a good time. Better luck next year, because there will be new all stars then. By making this all star team causes these athletes to know that they have skill and they work harder for the future, making them a better athlete overall. Those that didnt make it practice more and some make it the next year and some dont. This is a society where everyone can't win, otherwise this would be communism where everything is equal. By cancelling this game because of fear of hurting their feelings is only crippling every player in this league for life because they are receiving a false sense of reality where everyone on the team is equal, when it is not. The next year some of these players will get cut from the teams they try out for because they will not work as hard as they could because they now believe that hard work does not pay off.
Don't believe me? Ask Michael Jordan (got cut in 7th grade, age 12), Bill Gates (was told his ideas are garbage) and that guy that made Hersheys lol… they are now the elite group that got CUT in the past!