Banning "chatter" in Little League Baseball
Why is it that people want to take this part of the game away? The most prevailing answer is that the soccer moms (and dads, they're out there), want their children to just play and "have fun." For over a hundred years, little league baseball has taught kids numerous lessons about life, including teamwork, competitiveness, and overcoming adversity. One lesson that should not be taught is this theory that "we're all winners all the time." Many times in life, one must overcome obstacles in the face of competition, often times unfriendly competition. To pretend that everyone is always going to encourage you and support you during tough times is completely unrealistic. Parents cannot protect their children twenty four hours a day, and the baseball field is the perfect, supervised setting that provides them a safe way to learn (on their own) about some not-so-friendly things.
Aside from the fact that taking away the "chatter" teaches young baseball players about an unrealistic world, it also takes away from the team building aspect and camaraderie of little league (and big league, for that matter) baseball. As a baseball coach of seven years, I encourage my players to be loud and keep up the chatter during games. Participating in some of the classic baseball chants together can be compared to a community singing hymnals together during church, or the alumni of a college singing their fight song together (maybe a bit of a stretch....or is it?). As mentioned earlier, it is not as if the "chatter" is mean-spirited or designed to hurt other players' feelings. There is a paid professional (AKA the umpire) that is on the field to make sure of this. Any self-respecting coach knows where to draw the line between classic baseball chatter (cannidy, cannidy, cannidy, cannidy) and unsportsmanlike banter (Hey 14....you suck!).
It is an unrealistic ideal that, in the world we live in today, everyone is going to be smiley all the time and will encourage everyone else to "just do your best." Everyone is going to be met with harsh situations in life....Much harsher than a bunch of twelve-year-olds yelling at you to swing the bat, during a supervised baseball game. If we are to take away such a historical part of baseball, why not take away the three-strike rule and the stolen base as well? Why not just meet the other team at the baseball field, and sit down for a nice friendly pot-luck lunch. To the parents that are banging their optimistic drums in support of this banning, I say to you the same thing I said to a misinformed parent at one of my recent games, "Sit down, shut up, and enjoy the game."
Published by Aaron Kollar
I am a former English major and current teacher who has always thought of doing sport's writing. As a teacher, I have available free time to make my hobby into something that many other people can enjoy. I... View profile
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19 Comments
Post a CommentWell I cant say I agree. I play soft ball and the 'chatter' is extremly annoying and distracting. There is a line between friendly compition and trying to annoy the other team with never ending chants about their team.
chaterring sucks,,you only prove you have no talent,,and it shows how much of an ass your coach is,,,ever heard the phrase,,,"all talk but no walk"....
As the author of this article, I am glad to see this is still a testy issue, even four years later. The fact is, baseball is not for everybody. If someone can't handle baseball as it has been for the last 100 years (chatter and all), then go be an artist, play guitar, act, become a physicist, etc....John (guest), I am looking your way.
I am going to go ahead and say that John (Guest) completely missed the point, as did Jim (Guest), at least partially. I don't think anyone would really want to legitimatize yelling that someone else "sucks" as part of chatter, so that is pretty much a straw man argument. As a little league coach the last three years, I would instead hold that the chatter is a useful device to help keep the kids in the game, and is hugely traditional, and sounds "right". We are going to have jerks that ruin things, and this is one of the main lessons that I've learned in Little League: if you want to be classy, and preach sportsmanlike behavior, you're going to be on your own, so you have to stick to your guns, and not look to other groups to applaud your efforts. Ultimately people are trying to win first and foremost. In this case, as a coach, I would encourage my kids to not say crass or insulting or intentionally distracting chatter, but I would encourage them to be into the game with their ver
Having played baseball from T-ball through college, I can't imagine not allowing Little league players to chatter? Personally, I think it’s an important aspect of not only team spirit but more importantly “It teaches kids to keeps their head in the game!†Baseball is unlike other sports in that players must maintain laser like focus through long periods of “intense inactivity†punctuated by a few seconds of “controlled aggression†(i.e. the play).
Chatter is especially helpful for kids because it’s designed to match the ebb and flow of the game and the rhythm of the pitch. The in question……….Hey batter, batter…….hey batter, batter…Swing! Is designed so the fielders say “Swing†when the ball crosses the plate. As soon as the fielders say “Swing†they know they must be ready to make a play. They’re spring must be fully coiled and they know they must be ready to instantly react in an aggressive, yet controlled manner. Eliminating chatter t
"Hey jerk -- hey jerk -- hey jerk -- your article is STUPID!!"
So how was that, Mr. Kollar? Do you feel you learned valuable life lessons? Was it a constructive addition to this web site? If you don't think my 'chatter' belongs below your article, then it doesn't belong on the baseball field either. Case closed.
I'm proud to say that even as a little leaguer I recognized chatter as low-class, tacky, and immature.
i'm glad they banned the chatter from little league.i hope they do it in all sports that kids play in.sorry but it does hurt the kids feelings
SSSSSHHHHHHHHH with all this chatter I can't type.....
As a Little Leaguer in left field, I loved moving in the opposite direction that my screaming coach would yell to me....I loved standing straight as he screamed to "get down and be ready"....I was gleeful watching him rub his head hard while coaching third base as I took a hittable pitch....but nothing made me happier than clamming up when he would holler "let's hear some chatter".