The Importance Of Little League For Your Kids
Spring might just be my favourite season. I live in the Chicago area, so, boy, do I know winter! Birds chirping, allergies, the ability to do outdoor activities without freezing your buns off — I love everything about spring, but my favourite thing is gearing up for playoff basketball, playoff hockey and opening-day baseball.
I mentioned in my profile my affinity for Chicago sports, but it all started with baseball. There is something mythical about home run chases, batting titles, Cy Young awards, World Series trophies (as a Cubs fan, something I know very little about) and my personal favourite — baseball trading cards. On any given day when I was young (weather permitting, of course), I would practice fielding ground balls and pop flies with my cousin. It was our zen. It was how we dealt with straddling the two worlds of being Desi kids as well as being North American kids. In essence, baseball was like religion.
One regret I've held onto, though, was that my parents really had no interest in putting me into private sports clubs like little league baseball. The Desi way is education first, second, and last — then, after you get your A's, summer vacation is your time to relax. It seems simple enough. If our parents are going to give us the stability that some families don't get, then we kids must be a part of this social contract and our job essentially is school. But does that approach prepare our kids for the everyday social interactions that they will face? Do our kids have the self-confidence they need to thrive in a world where they may or may not be seen as “other” or as a “minority”? These are all important questions to ask. We want to raise leaders, not just employees working in tech fields.
I think a danger of this article (I told you all in my first article, I will be honest) is my gross generalizations of the Desi experience. But the thing is that we do a remarkable job at maintaining our culture, so much so that some behaviours are predictable. And the reality is that our kids' first exposure to sports typically is gym class, school intramurals and school-sponsored sports teams, while our North American counterparts are learning concepts of teamwork, leadership and self-confidence by entering into little league at age five. As a community, we must step up and recognize that teaching our kids self-confidence and teamwork are just as worthwhile as their getting A's in their math and science classes.
One thing I look forward to when I eventually become a father is being my son or daughter's little league coach. There is something magical about stepping onto a baseball diamond — whether it's at little league, Wrigley Field or Fenway Park. But even then, the magic is so much more when you are providing a young person with a place they can fit in — a place where they belong.
Image Courtesy of New York Post, features actors Madhur Mittal and Suraj Sharma (from left to right) playing Dinesh Patel and Rinku Singh, the first two Indian-born guys that played in minor-league baseball.
Satnaam Mago
Author
Satnaam S Mago is a Chicago sports fanatic who loves to watch sports and read a good book, but he most of all enjoys his nights out with friends and family. Educated in business marketing, Satnaam is an account executive for a logistics company...but perhaps missed his true calling as a journa...
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