Connie Skibbe is the Superintendent of Recreation at the Park District of Highland Park. She has served on several IPRA committees and is a Past Director of the Recreation Program Section. It should be noted that many of the participants in Highland Park's Youth Baseball program are girls. Although separate softball programs are offered, at the Pee Wee level both boys and girls are encouraged to participate in the same program.

EVERYBODY Bats in Highland Park

by Connie Skibbe

In our field, we know a person can expand through sports. Lives can be enriched, camaraderie can grow, fitness can be achieved and sportsmanship can be learned, all through good leadership. We have the power to create experiences that can really add to the social, emotional and physical well-being of our participants.

The much-maligned subject of youth baseball is a prime example. Playing baseball can be a super experience for a youth—that is, if a professional runs the program.

Highland Park's Youth Baseball Program began twenty five years ago. Then, as it is now, it was under the auspices of the Park District. The philosophy has always been to have fun. We want the participants to have fun, the coaches to have fun and the parents in the stands to have fun. And guaranteeing a good time means guaranteeing that any youth who want to can play, that everybody's in the batting order with no cuts or tryouts, that everybody has equal time to play, and that every youth has a chance to see if he or she likes the sport—in a non-competitive environment.

Following through on these guarantees requires a lot of time and effort on the part of the professional, and often, quite a search to find qualified assistants. But it's worth it. Parents who participated in our program 25 years ago come now to watch their own children play. These parents are as enthusiastic now as they were then. They know and appreciate the game —because they had positive experiences with it as youngsters.

No volunteers are used. Of course, most parent volunteer coaches are good. But one overbearing parent—his or someone's else's—can destroy a youth's desire to play. So we employ trained and paid coaches to teach basics and guide youths in developing baseball skills and sportsmanship. This costs more time and money, but we're sure in the knowledge that these participants are having positive, healthy experiences, because of our centralized authority.

The scenario is timeless!

This authority isn't too difficult to maintain once it becomes a habit. We're selective about the coaches we hire. We look for baseball talent and an ability to communicate and work well with, and to inspire youths. Most coaches are college students who have gone through our program and played in high school and perhaps college, who agree with our philosophy of teaching youth sports. Their knowledge of the game and understanding of the low-key philosophy makes them able to do a super job of teaching the skills of the game, sportsmanship and the fact that winning is not paramount. Two adult coaches and a league supervisor are there to provide guidance. They hold preseason meetings to lay out philosophies, discuss rules and plan for the season. Meetings are also held during the season for discussion, and afterwards for evaluation. Effective, ongoing training and supervision of coaches makes for a good program.

Another benefit of using hired coaches is the guarantee of fairness. Often this is a youngster's first experience with outside discipline, so it's important that a coach be wise and non-discriminatory. This is sometimes difficult to do with volunteer parent-coaches due to their relationships with the players.

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Unjust treatment can leave a youth hurt and rejected, turning him off to baseball, and maybe even sports altogether. It may also be difficult to avoid putting more pressure on a youth when he fails. But with a hired, impartial coach, a youth can experience failure striking out, and then come back and see success in the same game with a hit. Everybody gets a second and third chance. This impartiality also gives youths a healthy respect for authority and a positive attitude towards participating in the program.

Beginning with the program for eleven year olds, umpires are retained. Again, this guarantees fairness: the players know that there's no negotiating.

Parents are invited to come to the games. We make it very clear that they are there as spectators, and generally, there's no problem. The adult coaches and supervisors walk the stands during the games, and we've found that aggressive or overbearing parents can be settled down pretty quickly by asking for their suggestions. The coaches discourage pressure and make themselves available to answer questions and explain the program.

There are no parents or volunteers directly involved with the program, but there is a volunteer support group. The Youth Baseball Commission was begun twenty-two years ago to give financial assistance to the program, and over the years has raised funds to help pay for equipment, T-shirts, uniforms and insurance. Its contribution makes this our largest underwritten program financially.

There's never any attempt on the part of the Commission to run the program—instead, it assists us. The Commission is comprised of ten community leaders, including the high school athletic director and baseball coach. Their goal is to bring local merchant dollars and baseball together for the benefit of the youth in the community. In the process of meeting that goal, they project our philosophy to the community, help us coordinate training techniques and garner community support. Sponsors are delighted to see their names on the uniforms and are happy to contribute to a good summertime experience for local youths. The youths themselves find their uniforms a source of great pride, and, because they keep their shirts, happily wear them year round. The Commission and our coaches also cooperate with high school staff. Equipment is shared, since the program feeds into the high school.

We offer 15 different programs at a variety of times and in a number of locations all over the city, so that any youth can fit baseball into his schedule, and play in the neighborhood. We also work to avoid conflicts with our other summertime programs by scheduling them at different times. When youths are enrolled in our all-day basketball and sports camp, we provide transportation to baseball and back to camp again.

The program focuses on two weeks of practice followed by eight weeks of game situations. There's an emphasis on games due to the belief that youth learn more by doing. Youths pay only a minor fee to help cover the cost of coaches and umpires.

After the practice period, youths are divided into teams. Being chosen last for a team is an awful feeling—so coaches pick team captains, and then pick the team randomly in groups. No one is ever left standing alone, waiting to be picked. Everyone is in the batting order, also randomly chosen.

Our program begins with the Pee Wees for 7 and 8 year olds, because youths are at an age when instruction can be meaningful. We use a tee-ball to help provide children with the confidence they need not to be afraid of the ball, so that they can relax and enjoy the game.

In the nine and ten year old Minors, the coach pitches. The goal of the Minors Program is to teach youths how to hit a ball. With the coach pitching, there are no walks. If a batter gets on base, it's by a hit. Youths at this age are encouraged to play all of the positions.

The eleven and twelve year old Majors are still encouraged to play all of the positions. Special coaches are brought in to teach pitching and catching skills. The majors have umpires for their games. At this age, some of the youths are beginning to pull ahead in terms of attitude and ability. To recognize their efforts we have an All-Star traveling team that plays teams from neighboring towns once a week. Players are picked by the coaches, and an attempt is made to play only those local teams with a similar philosophy.

Time-outs are also important!

Thirteen and fourteen year old Ponies get into a little stronger competition, in preparation for high school play. Players begin to play certain field positions, and coaches help them work on specifics. An All-Star team is also chosen from among the Ponies, and games are played twice a week. To help ease players into competition, an All-Star Tourney is held at the end of the season.

Each league, from Pee Wees through Ponies, has a low-key end-of-season World Series. Very often, it's the season's most defeated team that wins the series.

One of the youths from that first summer twenty-five years ago went on to play in the major leagues for the Texas Rangers. Some have gone on to be the best college players around. Others we still see out on the field in our adult softball leagues.

Most of our youth aren't going to make the majors or play college ball. But every one of them has had the opportunity to play hardball and now has the background to enjoy the game the rest of his life.

It's harder to run a program this way, but the rewards are great. I think the best one of all is seeing a youngster who can't hit a ball in the beginning of the summer keep trying and finally get a hit during the last game. The smile on his face is what it's all about.

Illinois Parks and Recreation March/April 1981