by Mary Bidou

Created on: May 27, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Little League Baseball is a great American pastime, and the parents do need to remember, it is an institution for the children. When my children played Little League, there was much debate over what went on out on the playing field, and it was a very political, and sometimes unfriendly battle zone. My personal experience should make parents realize their involvement may be critical in keeping the sport honest for their children.

When my children were small, we lived in a predominantly black neighborhood. The young athletes were exceptionally talented, and many of the parents in the neighborhood took a great deal of their time to put together winning teams. As a white woman, new to the neighborhood, there were several parents who were less than thrilled when their children ended up on the team I was managing. This was a farm team, which was the age group of my younger son, and my husband managed a minor league team, on which my older son played.
The league was run by a family who had been either elected or appointed to the Board of Directors, but I was never aware of any election in the Division. I made a point of volunteering my time to attend the Board meetings, and made sure I was available when there was any shortage of help. This act of generosity was not met with grace or kindness.
When the league was struggling to cover the overhead costs, I offered to seek out local businesses for sponsorship funding. Much to my surprise, throughout the city I was met with much animosity from local business owners when I related the division I represented. It was apparently a well known fact the division was poorly mismanaged. Toward the end of the season there were a number of concerned parents when it became known the division had no money left for new game baseballs or chalk to mark the fields at the end of the season. By the end of the season, my husband and I had become popular enough with the parents from our teams, who had begun to recognize the inappropriate actions of the Board members over the course of the season. A special meeting was called by the league parents, and the Board of Directors was angered when we requested a Division leader from Williamsport be present at the meeting.
The general complaint was the lack of funds to cover the minimal of cost, but when the league secretary was unable to produce record books, I was assigned the charge of looking over the information that was available in the accounting, and attempting to balance the banking accounts to the available records. In the minimal accounting that existed, I uncovered $30,000.00 worth of unaccounted funds for the season. There was no explanation where the monies had gone, and the sad truth was that the Board of Directors had my husband and I banned from the division, because we had a change of address. I do not know to this day if anything was ever done about the league shortages.
This is a game for the children, and I would like to think these divisions within the organization are few and far between. But I would certainly encourage any and all parents to volunteer their time, and check the league records. This is the safest way to ensure the game remains a decent, safe, and sane activity for their children, and for generations to come.

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