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Note: Mark Moore is a guest columnist to PRB. Fred Engh’s regular monthly column will appear again beginning in April.
Many recreational leagues sanction sport teams with a private sports organization so that their league has the opportunity to participate in postseason all-star play after the regular season is complete. These teams are typically drafted at the conclusion of the regular season. But do all-star teams fit the recreational athletics model? Recreational sports are supposed to be all-inclusive and provide kids with an opportunity to experience the thrill of competition, the enjoyment of being part of a team and the ability to learn the fundamentals of a sport. Isn’t ending the season early for all children so that a few can proceed to all-star play defeating the purpose?
Cut Short
Because state and world series tournament dates are set a year or more in advance, recreational leagues have to set regular-season game schedules to allow time to get the minimum number of games in to qualify for postseason all-star play (another challenge), draft all-star teams, order uniforms and practice before the first round of tournaments begin (commonly referred to as “districts” or “regionals”). This causes the regular season to be cut several weeks short for all teams so that a handful of children can play in the postseason. It is hard to validate this premise when recreation administrators are in the business of providing recreational opportunities to everyone in the community--not a select few. In contrast, if the regular season was not cut short to draft all-star teams, every child in the league could play more games (sometimes as many as two to six more, depending on when the season ends).
