The heat of Texas in July could not prevent 90 kids from the Lake Travis Youth Association (LTYA) from showing up to the baseball fields for an evening of unadulterated, player-governed, sandlot-style baseball.   Greg Sones, LTYA baseball board member, saw a New York Times article online about the SUNY Youth Sports Institute and its idea that leagues take one day out of each season for the players to regulate their own games and call it "Sandlot Day". 

A few months later, LTYA baseball players were self-dividing among three different fields, throwing together their own teams, setting their own line-ups, and keeping their own score, kind of.  One 7-year-old participant, when asked about the score, responded, "We didn't really keep score, but we know who won."  Clearly, scorekeeping was not as important as the joy of playing for the sake of playing, and while the teams were in constant flux with players coming and going, why would it matter?  The kids who played ranged from 7 to 12 years old and some of them did not even play baseball on a team this past spring, or ever.  Sandlot Day coordinator, Sones, stated that "For some of the kids, it was their first time to play baseball."  What a great introduction to the game the way it should be played. 

This day offers the opportunity for children to do their own thing
By Don Weiskopf, Publisher, Baseball Play America

Throughout America this summer, Sandlot Day 2010 is giving young ball players in organized youth leagues the gift of pick-up baseball that their coaches and parents experienced. Sandlot baseball, backyard ball, street ball, stickball and other low organized games was the type of baseball played by generations of kids. The common thread was - no adults were involved. From this one day they will receive personal memories that last a lifetime, a sense of ownership of the game, an ability to organize themselves, and so much more.

Everybody played, rules fit the game, and ground rules fit the patch of open space. The game ended when it got dark or the ball was lost. Many coaches today would be helped by learning about, or remembering the importance of the sandlot experience. There were lessons learned on the sandlot, not just about baseball. Memories were made as well and sandlot memories last a lifetime. Most of our children's playtime is organized. When a sport can offer its players a gift like Sandlot Day, it ultimately increases their passion for the game and introduces a child to pick-up games.

Of the many youngsters who participated in the Sandlot Day 2010 Philipstown Little League, President Eddie Barry was impressed on how creative and fair the kids made the games. The only adult supervision at the games was during the Noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. time slots. Other than that, the kids had full range of the ball fields in Philipstown. The kids elected their own managers, captains and umpires. The older children even included minor league players with players from the majors.

Friday, 09 July 2010 - SyossetJerico Tribune

One of the visions of Syosset Baseball Association is to work closely with managers and coaches to ensure that they provide the proper instruction and discipline to players on and off the field, both in-game and in practice situations.

To this vision and goal, Mr. Robert Jolson, President of Syosset Baseball Association, contacted Youth Sports New York to meet with the Board of Syosset Baseball Association. After the meeting, it was determined that Syosset Baseball Association would provide, at no cost to each participating manager and coach, a Manager/Coach certification ensuring that these volunteers on the fields have been professionally guided on how to help our kids.

Youth Sports New York, through the direction of SUNY, feels that sports should be fun with guidelines in place, but that it isn't all about winning. Often, this is taken out of context and winning becomes the primary reason and motivation for kids in sports.

Youth Sports New York felt that before the world of today, many of the adults and parents who used to go to the local park to see who was playing for a pickup game would go just to have fun. Why not bring this to the kids with a designated day called "Sandlot Day"?

All Syosset Baseball Association players, from A Division through AAA Division, were invited down to the park from 11 a.m. to dusk, as the park would close for a pickup game. There would only be one adult supervisor, but the game would be put back into the kid's hands. Pick your own teams; make your own rules, no measuring of bases, no measuring of the pitcher's mound, etc.

On Sunday, June 13, Syosset Baseball Association declared Sandlot Day at Michael Lewis Wolkis Field. As the 11 a.m. time approached, the kids started walking in from all parts of the park and parents' cars started coming towards the circle to drop their kids off.

The kids were provided with the bare minimum from SBA: a few baseballs, a few bats, a set of rubber bases and a few batting helmets, just in case someone didn't have one, and most importantly, a field. Mr. Jolson addressed the kids, telling them what he used to do as a kid and this was their day to choose sides, make the rules and play to have fun. With that, the kids started pairing off as Mr. Jolson left the field to tell the parents what he told the kids, and what to anticipate as the day unfolded.

On May 29, the Carman Little League in Rotterdam, NY held a Sandlot Day that attracted around 30 kids of various ages.  Jed Ingersoll, president of the league, was introduced to the idea through a New York Times article citing the SUNY Youth Sports Institute and its idea for taking one day out of the season to give the game completely to the kids.  The league firmly believes in the need for adults to back off every once in a while so the players can build a sense of ownership and, subsequently, a passion for the game.  "Today there is so much parent involvement.  Kids are constantly told what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. We wanted to give the kids a chance to figure things out for themselves" said Ingersoll. 

To kick off this event, the Carman little leaguers picked captains, chose up sides, and took the field, some in their team uniforms but most in street clothes.  One parent, watching from the bleachers, was surprised at how capable the kids were of picking their own teams without any hard feelings.  The parents also enjoyed watching their kids play with new teammates and mixed ages.  Ingersoll was pleased to see that "the older kids gave the little kids confidence by playing with them and allowing them to play all positions.  They didn't always stick them in the outfield."  After nearly three hours of playing, they had to wrap it up, though the participants insisted that the league put another one together in August.  The day was a great success and the Carman Little League intends to make Sandlot Day a regular part of each season to come.    

Sandlot All-Stars in a league of their own; local youths keep it simple on the baseball diamond

By PHIL FORTE
For The Saratogian

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- No registration fees, insurance waivers, or expensive jerseys.

No lineups, aces, batting averages or on base percentages.

No ERA's, win-loss records, errors or state championships to worry about either.

Just some good old-fashioned baseball.

It was last summer when a few local dads decided that once their children's little league season had come to a conclusion, baseball season was not over yet.

Dan Jolie, Bill Bergan and Mike Sefransky all had the idea to advance their children's baseball season into the summer, on their own terms, though.

It was then when the Sandlot All-Stars were born.

June 13, 2010

We had a great day yesterday.  The weather was perfect, and we had about 30 kids show up for Sandlot Day.

We scheduled major leaguers from 12:00pm-2:00pm, and Minor leaguers from 2:00pm-4:00pm.  A handful of Major leaguers stayed the entire 4 hours.  We supplied a couple of bags of equipment, and even brought wiffleball sets, but the kids wanted to play hardball.

The cool thing was watching the kids, especially the major leaguers, do everything themselves - picking captains, choosing sides, setting lineups, etc.  The kids let each other hit too, rather than trying to just blow pitches past each other.  The major leaguers were really good with the younger kids - moving up to pitch to them and letting them hit as well.

The BCLL board approved funding hot dogs and drinks for the kids, so we kept everyone fed during the event.

Many parents stayed to watch, and I think everyone involved really enjoyed the day and thought it was a great concept.  I would expect more kids to participate next year.

Thanks again for the supplies and for pushing the idea.

- Derek, Bear Country Little League