The Boys of Summer in Winter

It is common knowledge that elite athletes become so through a combination of God-given talent and sheer hard work. At the youth level, there is a long-established dual track system of recreational leagues and competition leagues. Up until now, both kids have been involved only in recreational leagues, which generally require 60 to 90 minutes of practice a week plus a game on the weekend. The amount of competitive fire in the team depends solely on the motivations of the individual players. Having fun and learning the sport are the hallmarks of recreational leagues

Starting this week, Michael stepped up to a competitive league for baseball. He loves the sport and has been excited to do this ever since last season ended. We bought all the gear, attended the preseason meetings, and hit the ground running on Monday.

And running.

And running.

As he got into the car on Tuesday evening after his second 90 minute practice in as many days, Michael sighed and said "I had no idea baseball was this much work." Michael's practices have consisted of simple throwing and catching drills and footwork/running drills, all conducted at a high pace. (There are not too many other ways to keep 12 eight-year-old boys engaged in any activity for more than an hour.)

Because the school district is fanatically protective of its fields, all of the league's teams have been forced to practice on blacktop this week due to a little bit of wet weather. Given the basic nature of the skills Michael and his teammates need to develop, this has not been a serious impediment. It has not prevented them from working very hard at those basic skills.

The only kid at the practice is smaller than Michael is the coach’s six-year-old son who tags along (and, frankly, shows more skill than all but about three of the players actually on the team), but Michael's throwing and catching are among the best on the team, and the others are improving rapidly. Michael is reasonably quick as well, but he is so small that it is all he can do to keep up with some of his taller teammates (i.e., all of them). This weekend, Michael will have another four hours of practice. Weather permitting, the boys will be allowed to use the fields and start hitting for the first time. That is sure to be chaotic but great fun as well.

The progress all of the boys have made in just two days of practice is remarkable, and illustrates the most fundamental difference between recreational leagues and competitive leagues. There is simply not enough time in recreational leagues to practice enough to develop skills quickly or significantly. In a competitive league, the pace and duration of practice is dramatically higher, with corresponding results. In addition, the teams will practice for a month before games begin, so that their skills will have developed significantly before they have to learn to use them in game situations.

Thankfully, Michael loves baseball. He is tired after practice, but he plays because he enjoys the game. As long as that remains true, the extra workload will be a joy, not a burden.