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Almonte story begs closer look
Danny Almonte began school on Thursday, giving another day's life to one of the saddest stories of the long, sports summer. Look at Danny, running up the steps of the school building. Look at the big man guarding the school door. Listen to the press conference that followed, part of Danny's community proclaiming the innocence of the Little League that sent him to Williamsport. Every Big Story spawns tributaries. When Chandra Levy is missing, the issues become philandering congressmen and endangered interns. Big-picture stories. There's nothing inherently wrong with this. There's no such thing as too much information, but sometimes the information is wrong. In the wake of the Almonte Affair, pundits two steps off the front lines of the story have seized on two central themes to give the story greater heft and universality: 1) Kids would be happier playing ball in the street, on the playground, etc. This admonition is usually made by writers past the age of 40 and followed by the phrase "like we did when we were kids." There's customarily a word picture drawn, of small boys running around a wide, treeless field, lit by a setting sun, with a mom standing on the back porch, ringing a dinner bell. 2) Parents are too involved in youth sports, and for all of the wrong reasons. At this juncture, the reader/viewer/listener/surfer is reminded that it was Almonte's father who apparently falsified his birth certificate and it was a hockey father who beat another dad to death outside Boston last year. These beliefs fit neatly into the Almonte story, which was so obviously a case of an overblown children's sporting event (Little League World Series) leading ultimately to overzealous behavior by adults. Here's my problem: The Almonte incident shouldn't be used as an indictment of every kids' sports league and travel team in America. I think the argument that kids would be happier playing on sandlots and playgrounds, without organized leagues, is a crock. Here's my disclaimer: I have children of youth-sports age, so a little of this comes from the heart. Kids do still play in driveways, backyards and school playgrounds. To suggest that this is somehow purer, more wholesome, more fun -- because there are no coaches, umpires or uniforms -- is completely off base. The kids I know enjoy both forms of play. But make no mistake, they like getting uniforms, sitting in dugouts and competing in a more organized fashion every bit as much, and perhaps even more. They know cool when they see it. I also do not buy the argument that organized leagues -- and their monster hybrid, travel teams -- are evil because they are inherently exclusionary. Sure, it's true that weaker athletes struggle more, and that these kids will likely be cut from travel teams. But do they fare any better on the playground? Sports are competitive, whether adults are involved or not. Always have been, always will be. I've coached youth teams; nobody knows better than the marginal kid that he's marginal, and nobody is cheered more by his teammates for the smallest success: the caught fly ball, the good pass. Kids are smarter than adults who try to protect them from their weaknesses. As for the second issue -- the over-involved parent -- it's hard to argue. Without question, parents who involve themselves too emotionally in youth sports are cringe-inducing. Everybody winds up embarrassed. But I've known very few kids who didn't want their dad to help coach, to be at the practices, to attend the games and even to clap and cheer. I'm sure there are such kids, but I believe they are in the minority. When I tell my son I can't help coach practice on a certain day, his chin drops. It's time we can spend together. Now, it's a huge jump from there to turning in bogus birth certificates and killing other parents. Would it be too much of an understatement to suggest that leagues and parents need to shade the gentle side? I believe most already do. Danny Almonte's didn't. Bad story. Not the only story. Sports Illustrated senior writer Tim Layden is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send him a question or comment.
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