Sport Stars: summer sports for kids wallpapers

Thursday, January 13, 2011

summer sports for kids wallpapers

summer sports for kids s a sports fan in a world full of enormous egos, cheap shots, obscene contracts, big business, performance-enhancing drugs, NCAA violations and their comical sanctions, it's easy to have one's love of athletics poisoned by a quick perusing of the sports section.

Fear not, jaded sports fans. I've discovered a sure-fire solution: coaching kids. There is nothing like the innocence of youth to bring back the purity of athletics spoiled by commercialism.

The next Manny Ramirez? I hope not.
Eric R. Ivie

I coached a tee-ball team full of four- and five-year-olds—the Orioles—over the summer, and it was one of the best experiences I've had. This particular league was through the local YMCA —or "The Y" as they call themselves now—but there are many other community organizations around the nation involving any number of various sports that also provide this amazing opportunity.

I found the Orioles, one of whom was my daughter, to be quite easy to coach. They didn't sit out half the season in protest of a contract they agreed to a few years ago. Instead, they lived for the high-fives from parents upon arrival at each base. That, and snacks after the practices and games.

There was no lolly-gagging or show-boating. In fact, on any given grounder, all 13 kids converged on the ball, giving everything they had to get there first. While this enthusiasm often resulted in a scrum that would impress rugby fans, and it made for questionable base protection at best, it was still fun to watch. If they were told to do something, by jove they did it, and they did it with maximum gusto.

It was a thrill to watch the kids' eyes light up as they smacked the ball off the tee and headed toward first base, their little legs churning as fast as they could possibly make them go. It warmed my heart to see the big smiles on their faces all the way from third base as they approached home plate for a jubilant high-five from me. It reminded me of all the things I love about sports, the nastiness of commercialized athletics completely forgotten for that hour on the ball field each Saturday.

And you know what? I think the kids had some fun, too.

Next summer, both of my daughters will be on my team.

I can't wait.

*Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.