Kids Baseball, A Great American Tradition
Kids’ baseball is a really great American tradition. Fathers can relate to their kids who play Little League because male adults remember the experience as something vital that taught them life-skills and socialization during their youth. Little League is as American as apple pie and now the rest of the world is finally wonderfully acclimated to enjoying everything American including baseball.
Even an institution as wonderful as Little League has its critics. Some complain that it emphasizes competition too much and that the lesser skilled kids ought to get more playing time. Others cite that the risk of injury is all too real.
I believe that Little League is a terrific “coming of age” growth experience. It teaches kids organizational skills, division of labor, cooperation and competition. By organization I mean nine kids have to function like one unit working under one main coach. In division of labor those same nine kids must perform different tasks and responsibilities. They must cooperate with each other in order to defeat the opposing team in competition. Varga’s Drugstore versus Kiwanis is a small-scale version of Compaq going up against IBM or General Motors taking on Ford. That’s what makes Little League so uniquely American and why it helps to perpetuate this country’s unparalleled “free enterprise” value system.
For those critics who claim LL is dangerous, there is danger and risk everywhere. If every young boy or girl lived in a protective bubble, no kids would ever interact. Those vocal LL critics should not cross streets, should not walk down crowded aisles in Wal-Mart and should not mow their lawns or drive to Wildwood on summer vacation because something threatening might unexpectedly happen.
Dangers are all around us, and in Little League competition, injuries happen by accident and they are not deliberately or maliciously inflicted. I guess that’s one particular reason I absolutely love Little League’ baseball. I have always been quite fascinated by physical danger and by competition, especially in sports.
In 1953 I played Hammonton Little League ball for the town Exchange Club. My coach was Mr. Reid, and his son Bruce was also on the team. Frank Reid would come to the practices and help his dad work with the players, and ironically, Frank’s son Scott wound-up working for me in my boardwalk arcade in Ocean City, Maryland two decades later. From my own life experience, there’s no doubt in my mind that LL promotes an appreciation of the American free-enterprise economic system.
Martin Luther King and Malcolm x are both strong representations of two different approaches to a common goal. Martin Luther King Jr. preferred a nonviolence approach to the situation. Whereas, Malcolm X handled racism in a violent approach. However, both man believed African Americans deserved their human rights and equal say. Martin Luther King Jr. believed in an integrated society while Malcolm X wanted African Americans to have their segregated neighborhoods just as good as the whites.
Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were both great role models and had a great impact on the African American youth. Their methods may have been different to each other but both of the ways that were used resulted in being extremely effective and contributed to towards the end of racial discrimination in America. Although, they are both very famous historical figures, Martin Luther King’s method is believed to be better than Malcolm X because of the excessive recognition and appreciation he received. This theory is proposed because King received a Nobel Prize for his work, there is a National Holiday in American commemorating him and Martin’s “I have a dream” speech that he gave on the March of Washington is still remembered by many American to this very day. In the end Malcolm finally agreed with Martin’s approach and also expressed his beliefs on how they both wanted to live in society full of freedom, peace, justice and equality. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were both assassinated and died at very young age, trying to make their country a better place filled with love and acceptance for all and hatred for none.
Kids are playing in a pressure pot full of stress and this is dangerous. They feel over-responsible toward team mates, parents and coaches and in consequence, are playing with chronic pain and even concussions.
Baseball has for a long time been a staple in the American sporting culture as baseball and America have grown up together. Exploring the different ages and stages of American society, reveals how baseball has served as both a public reflection of, and vehicle for, the evolution of American culture and society. Many American ways including our landscapes, traditional songs, and pastimes all bear the mark of a game that continues to be identified with America's morals and aspirations. In this paper I will be addressing the long residuals of baseball as it specifically relates to the emergence of the American nation and its principles of nationalism. This is a particularly important issue because baseball seems to be a perfect representative system having many comparative analogies to the larger system of development, America. Since the sport first emerged, baseball and America have shared the same values, responded to the same events, and struggled with the same social and economic issues. To learn of the ideals concerning the sport of baseball in America, is to know the heart and mind of America.
I chose this piece because it’s the beginning, the reason why baseball got started. Also because I am learning about a sport that began so early and evolved into a major league sport. Many people find baseball can be boring because it is so long, its nine innings and that can last a while. The way the sport is, it is set up in a way that when your favorite team is winning, you tend to forget about how long the actual game is. This first inning takes place as early as the 1800’s and going into the 1900’s, explaining who started baseball. One interesting fact that I took heed to be the fact that baseball was not called “baseball”, it was actually called “base”, the game of ball.
Sports are the biggest source of entertainment around the world. There are many sports in America, but baseball is our pastime. Baseball is what started America’s interest in sports, and millions of people love the sport to this day. A baseball game is a very special event. Attending a game makes you realize that baseball really is more than a game.
Baseball. A word americans have known for almost 200 years. All throughout the years, the sport has produced numerous famous heros for little kids like me. One of those heros, probably one of the most famous athletes ever, Babe Ruth. Babe made baseball baseball, he put a twist on the game that nobody has ever seen, and probably will never be seen again. Before baseball players broke records from cheating and steroids, there was a man so special he did it on “beer and hotdogs”, which is now the two most popular bought foods at at a baseball game. Babe could do almost anything on the field, weather that's pitching, or fielding or hitting. Babe’s strugles at anearly age are belived to have helped him perform better, as he let all his
A travel of over 3000 miles for some, a 210 mile drive for me, just to arrive at the biggest gathering of over 1,500 twelve year olds; all just to play baseball. The only place that would be suitable for such an event is Cooperstown Dream Parks, every baseball players heaven. Cars have come to Cooperstown from everywhere for this week long tournament. I met children my age from all over the United states. I became friends with kids from Ohio, Illinois, California, I even met a player from Puerto Rico who barely spoke any english. The windows of everyone 's car decorated with the names and numbers of teams and players. Excited baseball teams spill from their Barracks and hustle toward the already crowded seating area. Festive music played over
Spring is full of transformations and changes. Flowers blossom, the temperature rises, and those with allergies begin a long journey of pain and agony. The start of spring also brings with it the beginning of baseball and softball. By carefully analyzing two teams representative of each sport at the University of Arizona a sociological analysis based on the similarities and differences between the sports was conducted. Despite the relative similarities between the two sports a number of differences were also identified showing that both sports are interconnected with cultural aspects and elements that may not immediately be observed on the surface.
MLK and Malcolm X had different ideas on how the civil rights movement should be handled. MLK wanted to be equal to whites not be segregated and to be free.Malcolm X wanted to be free just like MLK but had different ideas on what to do. MLK’s philosophy was a peaceful way to lead the civil rights movement. He followed the same kind of ideas that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Malcolm X had a lot of good points that made sense. Such as the fact that he kinda went ff of the universal law or the Golden Rule “Treat upon others as you would like treated to yourself”. He thought that if MLK wanted to preach non violence that was great but until the people who look down on African americans also went through the path of nonviolence. MLK and Malcolm X were raised very differently MLK was raised in a religious household by a father that was a pastor. While Malcolm X was raised on the streets and was into drugs and lived a
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X are probably the two best known African American leaders of the last century. Both men were ministers but represented very different philosophies using religion to provide morality, structure, determination and of all, unity in African Americans. Dr. King directed himself to a nonviolent audience during the civil rights movement, however, Malcolm X’s approach to civil rights differed. He held suspicion of whites and their social statues and was willing to achieve equality however necessary. Throughout Dr. King and Malcolm X’s speeches, they spoke on injustice acts happening all over the world. The speeches were effective because Dr. King and Malcolm X formally presented their issues and clearly stated their proposition.
This game of a stick and ball has captivated the United States during good and bad times. In either time most of us today can remember stories of players from the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. These are legendary figures in the sport of baseball that have are celebrated as hero’s and in scandal, i...
The American Civil Rights movement was a time of great calamity in our nation’s history. African Americans revolting against the segregation and subordination inflicted by the White man in America, often met by brutality and coercion, in an attempt to honor the long-lasting traditions bestowed upon us by the South. When battling second-class citizenship and oppression there is an array of avenues to take. Like every revolt, there are leaders, the Civil Rights Movement welcomed Martin Luther King JR. and Malcolm X as the two heads and leading activist of the Civil Rights Movement. Although both leaders had the goal of achieving and spreading equality amongst diverse races, both had opposing views on how to achieve the common goal. Martin Luther King believed that promoting a world of peaceful, non-violent protest was the way to lure people in your favor. Malcolm X on the other hand believed that violence should be fought violence, that the only way to stop violence was with more violence until eventually an opposite force is forced to withdrawal. Which, in my opinion, is a very bigoted
Jessica Statsky, in her essay, “Children need to Play, Not Compete” attempts to refute the common belief that organized sports are good for children. She sees organized sports not as healthy pass-times for children, but as onerous tasks that children do not truly enjoy. She also notes that not only are organized sports not enjoyable for children, they may cause irreparable harm to the children, both emotionally and physically. In her thesis statement, Statsky states, “When overzealous parents and coaches impose adult standards on children's sports, the result can be activities that are neither satisfying nor beneficial to children” (627). While this statement is strong, her defense of it is weak.
The economy and technology of late decades has grown with leaps and bounds. Mobile phone, Internet reduce the space and time between human beings. The globe is getting smaller, the way of people thinking is changing which means the whole society is experiencing a profound evolution. However, in this information explosion age, human society has to face unprecedented crisis- The gradual depletion of global natural resources and the sharply deteriorated of human’s living environment. People begin to have a strong feeling of losing control of these crisis. Therefore, sustainable development is being highly regarded.