The Kids Are Not Alright

Along with the rise of enrollment in travel sports leagues, travel baseball included, has come a decrease in the amount of unstructured time that our kiddos are getting.

Unstructured time is where meaningful relationships can develop. Where kids can really talk to friends. This is especially important for those that are going through a lot at home. Long chats with friends are good for the soul, but they are nearly impossible to have in between innings.

I’m worried for our kids. For so many reasons, this one among them: the lack of time that they get to learn to be in community with one another without having an adult there to guide things back to safety.

The Sandlot Was a Classroom Without Walls – We Were Our Own Teachers

The sandlot was an important place where we decided what we were going to do, with whom, and how. Without our parents within ear shot, we learned a lot about who we were and how to work with others. We learned to navigate difficult conversations – usually by sucking at them first and eventually finding more tact after hurting some feelings, and maybe a scuffle or two. We negotiated terms of agreements and considered the stakeholders involved (i.e. our friends’ ideas vs. what Mom and Dad might say vs. what we thought/wanted for ourselves). Most importantly, we learned how to “be there” for someone and how to have others “be there” for us.

All of this was part of the training academy of life for the majority of us growing up. We weren’t over scheduled being shuttled around from practice-to-practice-to-game-to-school on repeat. We had downtime. We got bored.

Boredom made us creative…and sometimes destructive…but for the most part we found ways to keep the fun going.

What We’re Building Instead

I want to find ways to bring back the magic of the sandlot. By making a place where those seeking it can find it. By making sure it’s affordable and accessible for as many people as humanly possible. I want it to feel like a clubhouse where we can connect in community over shared interests, with baseball at the heart of it.

Most of all, I want it to be a place where movement is the norm. Where sitting is NOT expected. Where being quiet and just listening is a small fraction of the time you spend there. Where people can bring their whole selves and be loved exactly as they are while they chase a healthy and more joyful life.

I’ve got the dream, but I’m working on finding the dirt.

Until then, I hope you’ll join us on this journey and support our mission by signing up for our newsletter or visiting our Etsy store to find cool gifts, baseball apparel, and coaching tools like this one:

Stay human,