Baseball is almost here, a time to watch our favorite players play. No, I’m not talking about Shohei Ohtani or Juan Soto or anybody else playing MLB. I’m referring to our sons, daughters, nieces, and nephews.
I’ve always been a fan of year-round education, at least since I was in the 7th grade, and I can give students the best education possibleT, and it has become more important to me as I am about to turn 26. I want to settle down and find a partner to make three or four kids of my own.
After all, why shouldn’t my future children, and therefore all other children, receive instruction from experts in their fields, such Mr. Roderick Little, the Director of Bands at Jackson State, and Gordon Ramsay, a chef with 17 career Michelin Stars? Learning and playing sports are just as integral to my idea of a proper education as the 27,000 hours of academic work that would go into a high school diploma.
Doing so would reduce screen time for young people, as they would spend more time working on free throws or kicking a soccer ball around rather than on TikTok or Fortnite or what have you. That, in addition to the academic work, like reading with your child or helping them study addition and multiplication, helps your child be prepared for the future.
It is also recommended that children get 60 minutes of exercise daily, and practice (whether general or specialized) would meet at least most of that requirement. Sports also help with teamwork, an essential skill in the workplace. Sports also help people cope with failure. Accepting that you may fail even if you do your best is essential.
No matter how good you may be in sports, you can fail and lose, but you get back up each time and go again. You may not get exactly where you want to go, but you will get to a point where you will be proud of yourself.
One suggestion for connecting the two is to get schools partnered with existing organizations that run sports. USA Flag Football, USA Basketball, Little League Baseball, and U.S. Soccer are the four I would suggest. One reason is that their regular seasons line up with each academic quarter in a year-round system– flag football in October and November, basketball in January and February, baseball in April and May, and futsal in July and August.
SportsEddy.com
As there are only one or two specialized practices a week per sport, for four or five months each from the foundational (U4-U5) to the significant (U13) level, and only seven weeks of games (one to three per week), all four sports could be reasonably played by every able-bodied student under the age of 13.
The main logistical hurdle for this is that smaller towns must combine to have an entire league of 96 students, 12 per team. I also think it would be difficult for parents to have their child stay late on gamedays, as even basketball–with its six-minute quarters and two courts for the low to middle single-year level (U6-U8)–will go into the night, even with a relatively early start.
Lastly, with everything else in education, money would be required for equipment, field rental, or bond issues to create new facilities. That is the most challenging task, especially in a state like Oklahoma. Schools are already strapped for cash. Even in the early to mid-2010s halcyon days, I still had to have my parents buy most of my supplies, like wet wipes and paper towels. Adding things like a t-ball bat or a set of flags would be untenable for many parents, and districts might not be able to cover the costs even though, ideally, they should be able to. I think this would be solved quickly, as most bond voters are willing to put things like basketball facilities over the line, but I am not confident that they would do the same for a five-year-old as they would a varsity high school student.
Overall, I think that making this investment in our children’s future and having everyone play sports would benefit our children, make us happier overall, and improve our lives.
The time I played youth soccer and baseball, as well as my high school experience in cross country and track and field, are some of the fondest memories I have.
Every child should be able to look back in their adult life and have these happy memories.
