Baseball, Ray, it's Baseball...

OK, not the Field of Dreams, but something quite nice nonetheless. The League my kids play in is totally volunteer organized and run. It is Middle America - the local high school girl's teams run the concession stand to raise funds for their activities, the parents and volunteer organizers create the schedule, maintain the fields, coach the teams, provide umpires and keep a website running.

The kids are all from the same neighborhoods, go to school together, and their parents all know each other. So far, I have seen no evidence of the out-of-control parents you see in occassional news stories. The coaches are almost all experienced, patient and good sports to boot.

The one thing that was stressed at the Opening Day ceremony was "make sure this experience is good for your children" - it isn't about the parents, it isn't about winning at all costs (there are All-Star teams and a traveling squad - the league isn't allergic to competition mind you...).

The best part has been watching the kids get better each week - and have fun too.