a radical proposal

My son has a radical proposal.

First, some background: Off the field, it's been a nasty season in our league. Moms and dads are criticizing the coaches, the league commissioners, the kids, the umps, etc. The coach of the league-leading team has been accused (with some justification) of manipulating the draft to pack his team with stars. On every team, at least one mom is vowing never to let her kid play for Coach So-and-So again. Unfortunately, this sort of bile spills onto the kids. And they're fed up with it.

Last weekend, I asked my 12-year-old son what he thought of this mess, and he said, "Why can't everybody just let us play baseball and have fun?"

I asked him when he'd had the most fun playing baseball.

He said, "At camp." (A week of all-day baseball at the local university last summer.)

I asked him why the baseball at camp was so much fun.

He said, "Because there weren't any set teams. We got to play games, but every day you played with a different bunch of guys. So you got to make a lot of friends, and play a lot of different positions. And they're weren't any parents around to show off [his words exactly] and cause trouble."

He pointed out that at camp, all of the kids (70 or 80) were spread out around the two fields at once. "So we could practice a lot longer we didn't have to take turns using the field with just 12 kids at a time."

During these practices, each coach took a small group and taught the skill he knew best. The groups rotated, and each kid practiced each skill daily. (And each kid got the benefit of each coach's strength.) Then, in the evening, the kids chose up sides and played games, with some coaches coaching and the others umping. These were usually close, exciting games, and we parents were allowed to watch. No politics, no power structure. Just spectators enjoying the games.

In short, the kids got to compete, but the adults didn't. My son also learned more baseball in one week than he had in the previous season.

My son wonders why our league can't operate in a similar way. I can't answer him. Has anybody ever tried it?