Monday, September 12, 2005

Little League Online

Little League Online: "Too Much Baseball is Not a Good Thing

(TexBall Ed. Note: This column by Little League International President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen D. Keener, is reprinted from the 2005 Little League Baseball World Series Program. While Keener does not address pitch count and selection, a recent email response indicates LL is about to address these issues)

Each August, the Little League World Series celebrates children playing baseball, and families and fans of Little League Baseball come to Williamsport to trumpet the success of these champions, but the final score and world championship banner are certainly not the most important things.

Little League is about playing, having fun, and learning some of life's lessons along the way. Too many times in recent years stories have been told about children playing and sacrificing for baseball where the only thing that seems to matter is the outcome.

That is most definitely not what Little League is about.

Terms like "overuse," "burnout," and "epidemic," have been unjustly linked to the Little League program when these stories surface involving children as young as 10 who are playing dozens... click on link above to continue "