| Author |
Message |
    
Justmelaura
| | Posted on Thursday, January 25, 2001 - 12:42 pm: |     |
I heard that South Orange belongs to Little League. Anyone know how or where to sign up my son for this spring? |
Villagenative
| | Posted on Thursday, January 25, 2001 - 2:14 pm: | |
Call the Baird Community Center at 762-0359 for info. |
Soda
| | Posted on Friday, January 26, 2001 - 7:37 am: | |
It's been about six years since my kid was in the S.O. Little League, so things may have changed, but I do not recall S.O. belonging to the national Little League organization. This was, I believe, a deliberate choice made some time ago, but the bottom line is that kids in our league are not potential contenders for Williamsport. If this is still the case, I'd like to know how the player families feel about it. |
Librarylady
| | Posted on Friday, January 26, 2001 - 9:13 am: | |
Come on Soda, even when our kids played, and even if they were in the national Little League, they NEVER would have been contenders for Williamsport. South Orange is just too Soccer orientated to field a strong Little League. But it sure was fun for the kids (and the parents.) |
Justmelaura
| | Posted on Friday, January 26, 2001 - 11:52 am: | |
On that note, any recommendations for a kid who is a "contenda"? We moved from a town that had a very competitive National Little League and he was a star player (sorry about the boasting). I was very shocked to find out that there wasn't Little League here, I thought it was a given in every town, USA. Are there any decent day sports camps over the summer? He is presently in Cougar Soccer (our old town soccer league worked with the baseball league to try and avoid conflicts...) Thanks all! |
Kathy
| | Posted on Saturday, January 27, 2001 - 11:30 pm: | |
I think that the Little League (9-to 12-year-olds) in South Orange may be affiliated with the national Little League, although the younger and older age groups are not. At the end of the Little League season there are tryouts for the all-star team, which plays teams from other towns.
Soccer is definitely the local sport, but there is baseball at all age levels for those so inclined. |
Soda
| | Posted on Sunday, January 28, 2001 - 3:23 pm: | |
The All-Star teams Kathy refers to do in fact play travelling teams from other towns, but again, unless (I'm wrong and) things have changed in the past few years, there is no affiliation with national Little League.
On a more general theme, it's worthy of note that the strangle-hold which soccer has on our town has resulted at least in part from the requirement for early parental buy-in to the "single focus" approach to that game, fostered years back by CHS's highly-successful soccer coach. In effect, he has created a solid "farm system" for his varsity teams, keeping pressure on players and parents to forsake serious time involvement in any other sports. This is not inconsistent with a trend nationally towards early specialization in one sport.
The bottom line here has been that even promising young baseball, football, and lacrosse prospects have been discouraged from exploring interests in those and other sports once they get even marginally involved in the Cougar Soccer program. When was the last time you heard of any "three-letter men" in our high school? (If you know one, he's the exception who proves the rule...)
Back to baseball: The lack of affiliation with National Little League simply makes the dominance of soccer here even more of a sure thing. It's a self-fulfilling prophesy: There is in place what amounts to an attitude of "It doesn't really matter, so let's forget about a baseball work ethic (based on drilling of the fundamentals), and concentrate on just having fun." The problem is, our kids end up on "All-Star" Teams which regulary get creamed when they meet serious competitors from other towns. This is not fun. It is no incentive for the kids to work harder, and it's no wonder that parents, newly-arrived in South Orange, are told by older, more experienced hands that "this is a "Soccer Town".
Looking for somebody besides "Coach C" to blame for this situation? Try the coaches of other varsity sports (including baseball) at CHS (for not getting more involved in outreach and early creation of enthusiasm/recruitment/retention of athletes for their programs). Try local parents (for lacking the initiative to take the administration of Little League away from S.O.'s Recreation and Cultural Affairs Dept., and join the National Little League organization).
We've all become increasingly pressed for leisure time, but we parents need to get more personally involved in teaching and reinforcing the basics of sports to our children. We need to insist on hard work as the way to win in (even) youth-level sports (other than just soccer), and to get High School coaches on the stick. The long-term betterment of our athletics programs isn't a job we can leave to "the professionals" any more. Not if we hope to enjoy successful results as more than a fluke. |
Melidere
| | Posted on Sunday, January 28, 2001 - 10:14 pm: | |
Ummm...soda
i don't have all the facts at my fingertips...but i think our 11/12 year old 'all-star' team (baseball, packers, i think) had a 20-5 record which was the best in the league. I think they lost the championship by one run. |
Melidere
| | Posted on Sunday, January 28, 2001 - 10:28 pm: | |
Justmelaura
I've had a child in the baseball program since he could hold a bat. Both the Maplewood league and the South Orange league have wonderful intramural (sp?) programs that are delightful weeknight/weekend outings in our beautiful parks with interesting people. Many of the more devoted kids play both leagues.
There is a try-out for the all star baseball team sometime in june. The committment level is really high...you pretty much have to agree not to take a vacation until the season is over. I think they played something like thirty games in july last year...so kiss your weekends goodbye.
The volunteers involved in all of the above are a group of wonderfully pleasant and deeply committed people. I think you'll be pleased. |
Soda
| | Posted on Monday, January 29, 2001 - 8:10 am: | |
Meli-You're right abouth the Packers, but my comments and the above discussion were about South Orange, not Maplewood. And, notwithstanding the successful history of the Maplewood squads, my comments stand.
BTW, I'm told that South Orange used to have a solid, ranked baseball program (say, 20 years ago). My theory, alluded to in my previous post, is that the last two decades have brought more of a "white-collar" mentality to our communities, leaving less interest and time for laying solid groundworks for sports success through direct parental involvement in drilling basics in the back yard; however, because Mplwd has a broader demographic spectrum than S.O., the old school "blue-collar" work ethic regarding sports persists there more than in S.O.... result: the Mplwd-based teams rock, and the S.O. teams don't.
Sure, there are some exceptional players coming from both towns, but over the last ten years I've seen some of the best S.O. baseball prospects either become demotivated and move on to (gasp!) soccer and other activities, or leave our public school system altogether and end up on Seton Hall Prep, MKA, or Newark Academy teams. (I could site examples, but many of these kids would have been put into private schools by their parents for other reasons anyway...)
Justmelaura: If your kid's a "contendah" in baseball, get (and stay) involved in the local baseball program, but be aware that you'll face an unrelenting pull on your time and commitment to baseball from your son's Cougar Soccer league.
They play hardball. |
Melidere
| | Posted on Monday, January 29, 2001 - 8:26 am: | |
Soda,
don't both maplewood and south-orange kids try out for that same 'all-star' team? (I really don't know, i thought they did).
Also, at least in the last 10 years...the general 'word' is that the south orange teams are more competitive than the maplewood teams. The Maplewood teams adhere to fairly strict rules about making sure all kids play, whether they are stars or not..and i think the south orange league puts more emphasis on winning, letting some kids sit on the bench.
There are other ways to keep kids in soccer and still play baseball...there is another soccer league besides cougar soccer. As someone put it to me once, cougar soccer isn't a sport, it's a 'lifestyle' alternative.
My son plays both soccer and baseball, but he doens't play cougar. |
Kws
| | Posted on Monday, January 29, 2001 - 2:27 pm: | |
Melidere,
What is the other soccer league you are talking about and do they have a decent girls program??
I for one have a problem with this single sport focus for young kids.
My youngest is a very aggressive little soccer player. Parents were coming up to me after games and telling me she should be playing Cougar soccer.
But she also enjoys softball and I'd like her to try tennis sometime soon and probably basketball next winter.
I think my job is to expose both of my girls to as many sports as I can with the hope that they will grow up with an appreciation of sports and continue to enjoy participating in said sports for as long as they can.
Anybody out there care to come back with the value of single sports??
Am I missing something here??
As someone who grew up playing boys club and later high school soccer in the autumn and club soccer in the spring...
It got awfully boring after several years of that. |
Melidere
| | Posted on Monday, January 29, 2001 - 11:36 pm: | |
my son tells me it's a south orange soccer league that he plays in..(i'm really the worst person to be putting myself up as an expert...my part in all this is to show up and cheer) There are girls teams out there that i assume are part of the same league. Check the baird center. They have volunteer parent coaches...and then hire expert coaches for some of the practices. (parent volunteers are at a big disadvantage here..a lot of us don't even know the rules).
For the younger ones...we always loved the ymca soccer teams...and the tennis classes, and now basketball.
I think a wide variety of sports for the younger ones keeps them active year round.
Don't underestimate the ymca programs. All my son's coaches have been reasonably impressed at the basic skills he brings to the game...and he learned most of it at the y. Dave is a real master at teaching the young ones the rules and sportsmanship. Oh, and in basketball...i love the way the girls and boys are still playing together at the 5th and 6th grade level. The girls really hold their own.
Also, back to baseball, Mott-Leeney camp which is held at Newark academy is a camp he's attended from time to time. I have no idea how they hooked up with that. My son loved it tho. |
Justmelaura
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2001 - 12:10 am: | |
Thanks everybody for all the info. KWS - my son is playing for the South Mountain League and it is nowhere as demanding as the Cougars (which he is now also playing for), so I would recommend this for those whose life doesn't center around the black and white ball. He's too experienced for the SM team as none of the other kids had played before and he has 3 years of experience (he's in 2nd grade). You do sign up at the Baird. I also have just discovered the Y and both my boys (8 and 6) are taking Karate there. Thanks for all the baseball tips, I'll look into all of them and I am sure I will find a place for him. Hopefully, I can keep him in both soccer and baseball because I know that he can't choose between the two. Now what do I do about basketball.... |
Fatmartie
| | Posted on Friday, June 8, 2001 - 11:50 am: | |
south mountain soccer club through the rec dept in so is the alternative to cougars less travel and less training but a middle of the road approach especially for the up to ten age boys and girls |
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