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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (July 8, 2004)
y FLOWERS y SALSAS y NURSERY y EVERY DAY IS EARTH DAY FOR FARMERS y JAM y HONEYS y BREADS y FLOWERS y 25 YEARS y HONEYS y PORK BERRIES, BERRIES, BERRIES... Now THREE times a week at FARMERS’ MARKET Sats, 9-4 & Tues, 10–3 Thurs, 2—7 AT 8TH & OAK, DOWNTOWN x x FAIRGROUNDS COME ON DOWN to find the Best Locally Grown Fruits, Vegetables & Herbs; Plants, Proteins, Flowers, Food & FUN! TRY THE NEW THURSDAY’S FOOD COURT, featuring farm fresh products for your table. Bring home a locally grown dinner! COM E EAR L Y F OR THE BEST SE LE CTION! STA Y FOR THE F UN! FOR MORE INFORMATION or PRODUCT AVAILABILTY, CALL (541) 431-4923 y PLANTS y VEGGIES y BUY LOCAL , BUY LANE ‘SUPPORT LOCALLY GROWN’ CAMPAIGN y FRUIT y STARTS PRODUCE y 25 YEARS y NURSERY y JAMS y BY ROBERT SPOSATO S a n d l o t S l u g g e r s N e i g h b o r h o o d b a s e b a l l l i v e s ! A s a kid growing up in Brooklyn, I watched more baseball than any human being alive. These were the days before cable TV and ESPN, but in New York every Yankee game and every Mets game was on TV, so I tended to see a game or two every day. And being the astute little baseball neophyte, I learned a great deal about the nu- ances of the game. Of course I played high school baseball and then had three sons, whose teams each needed coaches. I often coached two teams at a time — talk about a glutton for baseball. So now it’s no wonder I have this baseball camp in Eugene, where I assemble young baseball players to the loveliest of baseball di- amonds, for a full morning of skills and drills and thrills. Did I mention that I get to pitch? Yeah, and I get to tell everybody what to do. A few years ago, after five years of operat- ing the baseball camp, I got another baseball bee in my bonnet. I was hearing about all these kids staying home all day playing computer games, surfing the Internet, and watching tele- vision. Having always heard from parents that “kids never play baseball in the neighborhoods anymore,” I set out to change that. I put out the word that games will be played at Washington Park. Sandlot Baseball Camp was born. My dream was to bring back neighborhood baseball, where kids rode their bikes to the park and somehow managed to put a baseball game together. I must admit that I wasn’t sure how well today’s kids would be able to play “unstructured” baseball. I wasn’t sure that kids would respond to the quiet park, the low-tech umpire, the unglamorous attire of no uniforms. Parents weren’t sure their kids would appreci- ate the opportunity to run their own game. We adults fondly remember those neigh- borhood games where we all got along, we fig- ured out all the problems that came up, and we all had fun. Never mind that much of that is pure fantasy. Those games were less than stellar sporting events and often social disasters. I distinctly recall being bullied by the bigger kids, having to acquiesce to the demands of bigger kids or risk a punch in the nose, with many a kid cry- ing all the way home after a less-than-inspiring ball game. Maybe, I thought to myself, with my background and an active imagination, I could make it better than it was. Maybe I could iron out the wrinkles and provide a great “sandlot” baseball experience. So these days I gather 40 kids, make four fair teams, prepare the fields, provide some equipment, an umpire, and let the players fig- ure out the rest. The result is neighborhood baseball at its ideological best: multi-age (10- 14 years), multi-gender, and multi-ability (the better players often mentor the less experi- enced players). Bullies are not allowed and ar- guments die as quickly as they begin. Innings follow innings and the great game gets put into the photo-albums-of-the-mind, which is ex- actly where dreamy 12-year-old ballplayers like it. Baseball is a simple game; you’re safe or you’re out. It’s a difficult game, a game of fail- ure; players make outs and errors. Kids who play baseball mature more quickly because of having to accept failure. It’s an important game for kids to experience. The verdict? Kids today are really good young people with perhaps even greater abili- ties toward community harmony than their re- visionist parents ever had. Regardless of the many structured activities these kids have en- joyed that the older generations have not, or more likely because of so many social experi- ences, kids today have an intelligence and sen- sitivity to issues that we rarely saw in previous generations. Sandlot baseball works because kids still know how to play among themselves. They just need the chance. ew Robert Sposato operates Safe at Home Baseball Camp and Sandlot Baseball Camp in Eugene and teaches at LCC. He can be reached at robspo@hotmail.com ! !" W i ll am e t te • E ug e ne # OR ! $ % & ' (% () !* * ' LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE’S Renewable Energy Technician Program is accepting NEW STUDENTS for fall 2004 Student Dan Orleck with a photovoltaic solar panel Lane Energy Management/Renewable Energy Technician Program is funded by EWEB & BPA For information about the Renewable Energy Management program, call Roger Ebbage at (541) 463-3977. an equal opportunity/affirmative action institution JULY 8, 2004 23
