Giovino to Little League Parents: October is Important
– Ron Giovino
October. A beautiful month that includes the change in weather and color of the world around us. It is my favorite time of year.
Our beloved Patriots are on cruise control, the Bruins are getting over their Stanley Cup hangover, and the Red Sox are explaining how they got theirs. The Celtics are on hold and all is right in the world.
Locally, fall league baseball is in full swing, but for the most part, youth baseball has gone into hibernation for the winter. Everyone has packed their equipment bags as baseball moves to the back burner of their lives. Nothing important is happening in baseball this time of year. OR IS IT?
You heard it here first; October is the most important month in the youth baseball year. It is the time when local leagues reflect on the past and prepare for the future. Unfortunately for most local Little Leagues, the reflection and preparation is done by a very small percentage of the people involved. This may be the most important column you read today, so parents please pay attention.
Under little league Charters; October has been the traditional time when a league MUST provide financials to Little League Headquarters, the Secretary of State, and the membership. If this is the first time you have ever heard about a local league’s membership, you really have problems. In most leagues, the membership consists of coaches and active volunteers. Somewhere in your leagues charter are policies and procedures on how membership is created and governed.
The membership is tasked each year with electing the board of directors who in turn select officers. We know for a fact that the election of local league officials is not the cleanest of procedures. In fact, in some cases, Communist China has a more democratic process than some Little Leagues.
There is a new ground swell coming from outsiders wanting to know how their leagues are run. Like the protesters taking over Wall Street and Boston’s financial district, local parents are waking up and finally smelling the coffee. Disclaimer: We are clearly not saying that all leagues are corrupt or not following proper procedures, all we are saying is that no one cares either way.
This is not the first column we have written to wake the parents up, but until now, our pleas have fallen on deaf ears. If you wait until April, it will be too late. Right now, your league is making moves that will affect your kid. North Medford Little League has already elected their president. Did you miss it? Medford National Little League will be electing their board this week. Do you know when? West Medford Little League has apparently elected officers, but there is a meeting at Medford High School on Monday October 17th to get some answer to how the league has been run, how members are established, and financials will be presented. Are you going to that meeting?
Well if you have a kid in Little League and didn’t answer yes to one of those questions, then shame on you and you deserve whatever the league gives you.
In addition to this uprising of parents yearning for answer, there is a new interest in developing youth baseball in the city. MHS Coach, Mike Nestor, is reaching out to the baseball community to come together to improve the state of baseball in the city.
A tentative meeting has been announced for October 25th @ 7 pm at Medford High School. About ten years ago, the Medford Baseball Council was created to accomplish this goal for Medford. The original program had much early success. The Baseball Council established a system whereby the baseball permits for the city could be distributed for each baseball program, thus eliminating all the painful bickering and fighting amongst leagues. To this day, that program continues to be in place and works very well. Back in the day, the Baseball Council, raised funds to repair the parks and provide equipment, storage, and tools for each of the baseball fields in the city. They also led the unsuccessful fight for lights at Playstead Park. Ultimately, the program lost momentum as each league lost interest in the program. Hopefully, coach Nestor can bring a new energy to the cause. I believe there still is a Medford Baseball Council. I hope they get involved.
Our lesson today is clear. Get involved. Ask questions. Wait for answers. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. There is nothing like the benefits of a great baseball program. Baseball is often called the Sport of Summer, even though most of the work is done right now, in October. Please don’t miss it.
Red Sox Nation reminds us again that nothing is more important to a baseball player than himself. Drinking in the clubhouse during a game, ordering chicken from down the street during a game, and having that fat pig, Curt Shilling talk about it on national television, simply shows that these guys care only about themselves. Goodbye Tito, goodbye Theo ! Rumor is that Tom Collins will take over as GM while Jimmy Beam will be the new manager. I’ll drink to that !