Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company
The New York Times


March 28, 2010 Sunday
Late Edition - Final


SECTION: Section SP; Column 0; Sports Desk; BOX SEATS; Pg. 11

HEADLINE: On Sandlot Day, Children Call Their Own Shots

BYLINE: By MARK HYMAN.

Mark Hyman is the author of ''Until It Hurts: America's Obsession With Youth Sports and How It Harms Our Kids.''



Every year, it seems, youth sports become more organized. Uniforms fit better. Seasons stretch another week or two. Even the quality of the snacks has improved at many recreation fields.

None of that would happen without the coaches, umpires, scorekeepers and concession-stand cooks who keep youth leagues running. But have adults reached a point where they are too involved?

If so, Tim Donovan may have an answer. As the director of the Youth Sports Institute, a think tank based at the State University of New York at Cortland, he travels around the state to lead training sessions for volunteer coaches. Lately, he has also been promoting Sandlot Day 2010, a concept the sports institute developed.

The idea is that adults should cede control of games to the players for one day this season. Parents are welcome to show up. But on this day, the children make the rules and run the show.

They decide what to wear (full uniform, or T-shirt and shorts). They choose sides and set the lineups. Their authority extends even to the game they decide to play (baseball or a backyard derivative like whiffle ball).

In January, the sports institute sent a three-page memo to hundreds of New York youth leagues describing Sandlot Day. Guidelines for the program give the players choices like ''coach the bases or not, umpire among themselves and make any rearrangements necessary to play.''

They are only suggestions.

''We're not the sports sheriff,'' Donovan said. ''We think organized baseball is great. But we think it's also good for kids to play home run derby, to have passion and a sense of ownership about their sports.''

A few generations ago, all youth baseball was more or less the sandlot variety. Manicured fields were few and far between. Parents were not around to hit fungoes or draw up lineups. Children were on their own to become proficient at sports and to love them.

Gradually, parents were drawn in as chief organizers in ways that have not been friendly to sandlot play. The sport sociologist Jay Coakley said he has offered groups of students $100 for a photograph of eight or more adolescent girls playing sports unsupervised by adults. In 15 years, Coakley said, ''I've never received such a photo.''

The benefits of sandlot games are many, sports researchers say. They give youngsters a chance to flex their creative muscles as they invent new rules. When they form teams and make other big decisions, they are also learning to face problems with their friends and, if they play long enough, to solve them.

''The lessons learned from choosing up sides -- negotiation, conflict resolution -- they're the building blocks of civilization,'' Donovan said.

A few communities have revived sandlot ball. Methuen, Mass., started a weekly program last summer. The town's recreation department recruited players with the catchphrase ''No parents, no coaches, no registration, no cost.''

Bayonne, N.J., runs a summer camp with a sandlot theme. The first part of each camp day features instruction from local coaches. Then the 6- to 14-year-olds take over, playing ball on their own.

''There's no pressure,'' said Pete Amadeo, Bayonne's recreation supervisor. ''It's pretty much all fun.''

He says the camp draws almost 100 players most days.

Some organizations are looking to sandlot games to renew interest in baseball. From 2000 to 2008, participation in the sport dipped 5 percent, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. Batters Up USA, a nonprofit organization supported in part by sporting goods companies, gives free bats and balls to towns interested in hosting sandlot baseball and softball games.

''We're trying to take the sport to kids who don't have much opportunity to play,'' said Jess Heald, Batters Up's executive director and a retired bat company executive.

Initially, Sandlot Day's unorthodox concept confused some youth league officials. Donovan said that a few asked how much they should charge and how to organize the event.

''The answer was, we're not going to organize it; we're going to permit it,'' Donovan said. The questions were understandable, he said, because Sandlot Day is ''outside the model of Little League.''

This year, the institute aims to have as many as 25 leagues incorporate Sandlot Day into their seasons. It is too early to predict whether it will reach the goal. But at least one seems ready to take the leap. The Pittsford (N.Y.) Little League near Rochester likes the idea.

''Everything I'm reading says that baseball's popularity is diminishing,'' said David Hester, the league's president. ''If this has a chance of making the sport more exciting to some kids, that's cool.''

Hester said he was working through logistical issues like picking a date, probably in June. Although adults will be taking a back seat that day, he still plans to put out a call for some mothers and fathers.

''The Erie Canal runs by the outfield at two of our fields,'' he said. ''I'd like a few adults around so the kids don't jump in.''