HOUSE LEAGUE vs TIERING
Recently we were asked why we require our players who play on the provincial rep teams to also participate in the Kinsmen Baseball Program’s house league. After all, as the parent stated, “This is not required in hockey.”
Regardless of whether a person believes in the house league concept or the tiering of players in sports, current philosophy and evidence strongly supports young athletes participating together regardless of ability. During the sports sampling years, roughly ages 5 to 12/13, children should have the opportunity to play with friends as they grow both mentally and physically. As they reach their early teen years, choices are made based on strengths, interests, friends and parental guidance. The Kinsmen program strongly supports this philosophy; it always has and this will continue into the future.
For the house league to be successful, it requires the participation of our more skilled players. Not only do they bring their skills but also many intangibles such as motivation, love of the game and commitment to improve. Their modeling of these skills promotes other players to strive to a higher level of play…and of course other players will naturally improve as they age. In turn the rep players learn patience and acceptance in a less pressured environment. Therefore we must not restrict all players’ potential to grow in any sport. Much of the ‘fun’ in sport comes from the sharing of successful experiences with a wide circle of friends.
If a person can look beyond his/her own child, the most important aspect of sport is to promote fitness and personal wellbeing in our society. There are so many positives which can come from organized sport which must not be tempered by streaming athletes at an early age. Many of us wring our hands, complaining that kids just want to play video games as they grow more sedentary and overweight. In order to reverse this trend and reengage youth, it takes hard work, centered around the belief that all children have something to offer in the sports arena.
The Kinsmen Club supports accessibility, quality programming and participation above all else. We have many coaches and organizers who believe the same, evidenced by the rise in enrollment in the baseball program from 140 five years ago to 350 this year. We believe the promotion of a quality house league program is the centerpiece of that growth. Someone once wrote, “The answer to low self-esteem is success,”…worth remembering when organizing sports programming.