Youth baseball can be one of the most memorable and beneficial activities in which a child participates. Youngsters get a chance to play a game they enjoy and adult coaches can help them make steady improvements in their game. While they are playing a game, youngsters will have the opportunity for substantial growth.
Function
As a youngster participates on a youth baseball team in an organized league, he will receive instruction in all aspects of the game from qualified adult coaches. This gives the youngster a chance to improve as a hitter, fielder, base runner and pitcher. Coaches will also help teach such strategies of the game as bunting, hitting and running, and when to steal bases. This will help youngsters learn the fundamentals of the game.
Signficance
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says youth obesity in the United States tripled between 1978 and 2008. Participating in organized baseball will help a youngster stay active and avoid the problem of childhood obesity. In most organized leagues, players do exercises that help burn fat and calories prior to every game and practice.
Features
Players have a chance to make new friends and maintain those friendships by participating on organized baseball teams. Players share the common goal of wanting to play, improve and win the games. By sharing these experiences they have a chance to make friendships that will last many years.
Benefits
Players will get to understand on a first-hand basis the concepts of teamwork and work ethic. In a baseball game, a player may be asked to put down a sacrifice bunt to help a base runner advance on the base paths. If the next batter gets a hit to drive in that run, it could mean the difference in the ball game. The player who bunted may not have scored or driven in the winning run, but he helped build the run and played an important role in the team's performance.
By practicing every day, the player and his coaches will see improvement in his play. This helps teach the lesson of work ethic. Players who work hard and put the most into their game tend to improve the most.
Warning
While youth baseball can be a positive experience, it can turn into a painful one if a youngster is associated with coaches or parents who place more importance on winning and individual glory than a child's growth and development. If a coach registers anger or disappointment with a player who struck out in a key situation, it can damage that child's self-image. If a parent tells a child that "we are all counting on you" when he steps to the plate in a crucial situation, that puts undo pressure on the youngster. These issues can ruin the experience of participating in youth baseball leagues.
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