A primer for parents of young sluggers

Because every spring there is a new group that joins the ranks of youth league baseball/softball parents, I offer a reconstituted version of a column that I have been writing for more than 20 years.

I think the subject is important because blatant disregard of your child’s well-being on the diamond will affect him/her for a lifetime. You have the potential to kill any interest in sports that he/she might have if you become the overbearing idiot parent who seems to be so prevalent.

My son, for example, fondly remembers a coach who made the experience a fun one. He also remembers a coach or two who didn’t. Had the bad ones come first, the kid might have skipped the whole experience, instead becoming good at, say, video games rather than basketball and football.

The youth league game has evolved not only from when I was a kid but also from when my kids were kids. When I was a kid parents weren’t really involved. In fact, we were lucky if our dads got to see us play one or two games a season because we played while the dads were at work.

And moms? Well, they were too busy tending to the house to pay much attention. If they did come to the games, they sat quietly in the stands and clapped at inappropriate times because, well, it was the ’50s and ’60s and moms didn’t much pay attention to baseball back then.

And now? Well, this traveling stuff has really gotten out of hand.

So, listen up, Mom and Dad. Here are a few truisms:

–Your kid is not that good. Few players who stay with the game through high school ever get invited to play on the Division 1 college level and even fewer make it to the professional ranks. The climate isn’t in our favor. Kids in the South play year-round as do the phenoms in Latin America.

–Very few people care how your 9-year-old did on the diamond last night. Certainly the kid’s grandparents do. But beyond that the fan base is iffy. Keep that in perspective.

–Outfielders love to doodle with their feet. They dig little holes when they have to stand in right field for those long 12-run innings. This is very normal behavior.

–If someone suggests that your kid ought to be on a traveling team and you say OK, be prepared for extensive travel and long days away from home. You are devoting your spring and summer to this commitment. Forget going on vacation.

–Before you confront the coach about not playing your kid the way you think he/she ought to be used, prepare yourself for the possibility that the coach might hand you his clipboard and tell you to do it.

–Not every child has the hand/eye coordination to play baseball or softball. Don’t force kids to participate if they don’t have the skill. Clues will be plentiful. Pay attention. They may strike out a lot. Or drop every ball thrown or hit to them. Perhaps their talents lie elsewhere – such as in music. There’s nothing wrong with that.

–If you’re helping to select all-star teams, ask the kids who should be on them. They’ll give you honest answers. Fathers won’t.

–Don’t coach your kids from the stands. It’s embarrassing for them. And it will kill any love they had for the sport. In fact, you could inflict a lifelong scar.

–Win or lose, the most important part of the game is … treat time. The kids have no trouble putting that tough loss behind them. You shouldn’t either.

–Youth league umpires are generally … kids. Please do not yell at them. They are trying to make some money by doing something that ought to be fun. Don’t make it a horrible experience for them.

–The best thing you can do for your aspiring ballplayers is to play catch with them. Hit balls to them. Explain the rich history of the game. Stay out of it otherwise. Don’t dwell on their mistakes. Encourage them to try their best.

So, there you go. Now it’s time to play ball.

Read more from Dick Farrell at TuscBargainHunter.com

Our top story picks say something about us (I think)

I see in the newspaper that the top local story in Tuscarawas County in 2012 was the “Great Sinkhole near Dover” (my quotation marks) as voted on by readers of that particular publication.

I think that’s pretty telling of the kind of year it was here in east-central Ohio, or of the mindset of our local citizenry.

I mean, what about the 100-degree summer days that we had? Or the election that wouldn’t end? Or all the oil and gas money pouring into town? Or the reopening of Atwood Lodge and Conference Center? Or, or, or…

Nope. The most important story – Numero Uno -- is the big hole that occurred in a mined sand-and-gravel pit which closed a rather obscure state route, and swallowed nothing other than asphalt. I mean no one got hurt and it’s going to get fixed as soon as the weather turns.

One might think that the sinkhole vote is a sad commentary on the state of our consciousness. But in Grand Forks, North Dakota (one of the coldest places on Earth in January), the top story was a review of a new Olive Garden restaurant opening by longtime Grand Forks Herald columnist Marilyn Hagerty.

According to the Herald, “The story of her review and its unexpected fame is the Herald’s top story of 2012. With nearly 1.3 million views to date, it is the most-read article in GrandForksHerald.com’s history.”

Hagerty is 86 and writes a column called Eatbeat. Over the years, Hagerty has reviewed just about every restaurant in town, including fast food outlets. So, it was a natural she would review the upscale Olive Garden. Well, people around the globe thought a review of an Olive Garden was funny, or silly, or something, which drove Internet traffic to the Herald’s website.

Let’s see if we have this straight: The Herald, which did not ask for a vote of its readers, named its story of her review and the fame it brought her (and the newspaper) as the top story of the year. Yes, that’s right. The paper went narcissistic, creating news and then deeming its news to be the most important.

I’m thinking maybe Mainstream Media does have a problem.

And now I don’t feel so badly about our sinkhole or the people who voted it No. 1. 

Perhaps we should turn it into a temporary tourist attraction.

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One of unintended consequences of reform of the State Teachers Retirement System is that it will cost school districts some terrific educators.

I know of at least two Dover educators, Mike Gunther and Beth Franz, who are opting for retirement at the end of this school year primarily because of those STRS changes. 

Gunther, a language arts teacher and coach at Dover High, and Franz, a high school guidance counselor, are among the best. Their reputations among fellow educators as well as among students and parents are stellar.

My guess is that others like Gunther and Franz at all of our school districts will choose retirement now rather than face negative financial considerations by continuing to work. I know I would if I were in their positions.

According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, some of the changes to the state public pension systems include “increased contributions for some employees; increased retirement eligibility ages and new rules for cost-of-living increases. Some of the changes take effect in January, while others are phased in over the next few years.”

The PD reported that cities and villages also are reporting an increase in the number of retirements from veteran administrators.

The situation also puts the onus on those who do the hiring to have some kind of policy in place on what jobs should or should not be filled with retirees, a practice that the public absolutely hates but one that arguably saves school districts and other government entities money because no pension contributions are required for those rehired employees.

Follow Dick Farrell on Facebook and Twitter (dfarrell_dover).

Are school resource officers the answer?

Bob Everett, a well-known member of the Dover community, suggested a few months ago to Dover’s Board of Education and City Council that the entities should combine forces to hire a school-based police officer to assist with security matters and protocol.

It’s not a bad idea really, but it came at a time when government was dealing with the financial squeeze brought on by the Great Recession. The idea was shot down with one politico calling it a “knee-jerk reaction” to the Chardon school shooting.

On his Facebook page and in the aftermath of the horrific school shootings in Newtown, Conn., Everett reiterated his call for a “school resource officer.”

“The more I watch the special reports from Connecticut, the more I realize I DID NOT have a ‘knee-jerk’ reaction after the Chardon incident last year,” Everett wrote.  

“I again renew my plea to Dover City Council and the Dover Board of Education to immediately hold discussions about a school resource officer. This is NOT a knee-jerk reaction but a request from someone who has been on both sides of the topic as a former member of the Board of Education and as a school resource officer (in Nevada).

“Before it's too late, it's time to set politics aside and consider the students, staff and visitors to the Dover City Schools. You will not be able to re-ring the bell...”

Now, for those of you unfamiliar with Facebook, all of Everett’s “friends” – he has hundreds – were subsequently “invited” to add their comments to what is commonly referred to as a “thread.” More than 100 Facebookers clicked the “Like” icon, while the thread featured more than 40 comments.

Those comments underscore the problem we have.

“Need one in all schools everywhere … sad our country has come to this,” said one.

Another said, “Bob your idea is outstanding but we should look at a countywide program for resource officers/prevention task force/and counseling. Our fire departments are a great example of this. We need to take a proactive approach from all directions in order to prevent things like this from happening.”

I couldn’t find a reasonable plan in the thread to pay for all these extra employees other than “cut some of the fat at the top.”

Sure, but “the fat at the top” is on the playground and doing lunch duty these days.

Yep, we need a proactive approach all right – from the federal top, starting with President Obama and our easily influenced Congress.

The first thing we need to do is determine what kind of country we want to be and accept some realities.

We have a gun problem in America.

We have a mental health problem.

And what about the violent video games that invite our troubled children into further isolation from society?

And the 24-hour cable news channels that pay special attention to the mass murderers who kill more innocents than the last one?

How do we protect ourselves and our children when we mix all of the above?

If the answer is a lot of school resource officers, I’m all for it. But I’m thinking we’re well beyond that point now.

I certainly don’t have the answers, but I’m ready to listen. I hope the rest of the country is ready, too.

Read more from Dick Farrell at TuscBargainHunter.com.

Lorain bunch keeps the heat on charters

Well, those feisty Lorain County public school district superintendents are at it again, blowing the whistle this time on how much money is spent on charter schools’ administrators compared to what is spent on their public school district counterparts.

Citing statistics from the Ohio Department of Education, the Lorain bunch said per pupil expenditures for public districts is $10,110. That compares to $10,165 for charter schools.

The average expenditure per pupil for charter e-schools is $8,027, so basically it would appear that we save only about $2,000 per pupil if we don’t put the kids inside a bricks-and-mortar facility.

Anyway, the administrative expenditure per pupil in public school districts is 12.69 percent of $10,110 or $1,277, while the number for charter schools is 26.2 percent of $10,165 or $2,663.

Here is a breakdown on the rest of the budget percentages with public school districts listed first and charter schools second (numbers have been rounded):

–Building operations per pupil – 20 percent, 12 percent.

–Staff support per pupil – 2 percent, 5 percent.

–Pupil support per pupil – 9 percent, 4 percent.

–Instructional per pupil – 56 percent, 53 percent.

This comes on the heels of a memo the Lorain superintendents distributed in October and was featured in this space that questions why charter schools have been given a pass on achieving academic standards while siphoning money from the state’s public school systems, which for the most part are doing the job.

Your favorite public school district – and there are a lot of good ones that serve the readers of this publication – are charged with educating all students. That means they are dealing with students who are developmentally disabled or who are autistic or who hail from homes that feature abusive and neglectful parents. And some students, because our current economy is attracting their parents, don’t speak English.

Public schools also are trying to maintain decorum in the hallways and secure the children’s safety while some parents nitpick administrators on dress codes. And, no, hoodies covering faces are not permitted. In the meantime schools are supposed to monitor the kids’ “sexting” and online bullying.

Our school districts are cutting their budgets, if you haven’t noticed, while wondering what happened to their allies in Columbus. It seems they have few these days, especially when you take into account the current Ohio Legislature, which is bent on funding the charters.

You could do something.

You could write the governor or your state senator or representative to let them know it’s time to begin respecting our public schools again so we can make them better rather than diminishing their ability to teach the kids. Only our future is at stake.

***

OK, this will be my last column in the Bargain Hunter because the world will end on Dec. 21, which should put some kind of a crimp in the BH’s distribution of its next issue. So, I’m betting that this is your last edition of the BH.

Hah! Kidding!

Seriously, I have some Facebook friends who, I think, believe the world actually will end on Dec. 21 because of some ancient Mayan calendar issue. I’m convinced that there are those among us who believe conspiracies are widespread and control our world.

Me? Not so much. I’m not a conspiracy kind of guy. Call me naïve. I just don’t believe such stuff, and I have no desire to go live in the woods.

Here’s what NASA says about the impending end of the world:

“The story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. This catastrophe was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the doomsday date was moved forward to December 2012 and linked to the end of one of the cycles in the ancient Mayan calendar at the winter solstice in 2012 – hence the predicted doomsday date of December 21, 2012.”

Apparently, there are enough people in the world who believe the end is near that the Russian government has actually issued a statement, noting that the world should be intact beyond Dec. 21. I find this encouraging.

So, I’m planning on writing, God willing, for the next issue of the Bargain Hunter. Feel better?

Read more from Dick Farrell at TuscBargainHunter.com.

Post-election vernacular: Can you say 'fiscal cliff'?

It’s always something in this country. It seems we can’t catch a break.

Instead of celebrating in the news that William and Kate are expecting a new addition to the royal family, we Americans have to worry about something that has been dubbed the “fiscal cliff.” Give me a break.

I was hoping in the aftermath of the election, that Republicans and Democrats would come together and start solving this nation’s problems the way things used to get solved back in the days of, well, Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill.

Not to be.

I contend that most of the American people don’t understand what the fiscal cliff is, nor do they much care, although they probably ought to.

A little more than half of American voters supported President Obama’s bid for re-election while a little less than half didn’t. It’s unclear how many people actually hate him, but I think there is a lot who do. Seriously, I see people grit their teeth when they talk about Obama and it’s not just a mild dislike. It’s hate. It’s kind of the way hippies used to feel about Richard Nixon in the early ’60s and ’70s.

In Dover, there’s a homeowner who has placed a white, plastic chair on his curbstrip ala Clint Eastwood at the GOP convention. A sign next to the chair urges voters to “Fire Obama!” The homeowner’s pickup truck declares that “Obama S----.”

This is just down the street from a couple of larger-than-life blow-up Santas and reindeer. At least some people have moved on from the election.

Anyway, I think if we fall off the fiscal cliff both parties will rush to the rescue and claim victories on both ends of the spectrum. We’ll get some tax increases on the rich and some tax breaks for the middle class while addressing the budget deficit in the meantime. We’ll avert recession in the nick of time.

And we’ll wonder why the politicians couldn’t figure this out a month ago.

***

As a followup to last week’s commentary, three parochial schools – Cincinnati Moeller, Toledo Central Catholic and Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary -- in Divisions I, II and III won state football championships over public schools.

Public schools earned championships in the three smaller divisions.

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Question of the week: Why is it we can safely bank online, buy goods and services online, apply for Social Security online and buy prescription drugs online, but we can’t vote online?

Why hasn’t someone figured out how to do that? It doesn’t seem to me to be that difficult a problem. I mean we went to the moon, didn’t we?

And forcing people to cast an early vote at the Tuscarawas County Courthouse is rather silly when one takes into account that there is absolutely nowhere to park and which requires a sheriff deputy to be on duty to shoo away people who might stick their cars where they don’t belong.

***

If you need evidence that the evening network news programs are dinosaurs, just watch their commercials. They are nearly all ads aimed at older Americans who have all sorts of health issues who could have even more issues if they don’t read the small print on the drugs they are being urged to buy.

Read more from Dick Farrell at TuscBargainHunter.com.