Where Are All the Sandlot Games?

Posted by RJ Licata | September 23, 2010

Where are all the sandlot games
I know I’m not the first person to bring this up, nor will I be the last, but as someone who has a tendency to jump up on my soapbox I can’t help but vent here today. My complaint? I want to know what happened to all the neighborhood sandlot games.

Back when I was a kid we didn’t have to walk to school uphill both ways, barefoot and in the snow. We didn’t have it nearly as rough as some of the generations before us. But we didn’t have it any easier than kids do now, either.

Yet, our activity of choice was playing rather than watching – exercising our legs and arms and lungs rather than our thumbs and our mouths. Actually, even our video games required us to have enough cardio capacity to blow in our Nintendo cartridges to get them to work. These 21st century brats have no idea.

Unfortunately, their ignorance of the true meaning of play is so lost on them that they don’t know what they’re missing. And, to be honest, it’s not their fault. I’m not going to totally blame it on video games, because I think within reason they are excellent for stimulating creativity and imagination and for encouraging youthfulness in general.

Some of the blame belongs with their parents. First, for not showing kids how to play. Just like anything else, this is something they need to be taught. For all the effort that’s spent on coddling, protecting, defending and showcasing their children, why can’t some be spent showing them how to have a healthy, good time outside?

As a new father I should probably include myself in this group, but because my son is only six months old, I’m not prepared to take a full share of the blame just yet. When he gets older I will make sure he knows what a pickup game is and I’ll show him how to round up his buddies to participate.

From the time I was eight or nine, up until I was about 15, I was a master at organizing neighborhood games. I don’t say this to toot my own horn.

Well, I guess that’s partly why.

But the real reason I bring this up is to make a point. As I look back now, I’m amazed at all the things I learned by taking on this task. Think about the different hats I wore just trying to get a game of football organized. It’s pretty impressive, if I do say so myself.

Much of our summers and weekends were spent pretty much how Bo described in his article on childhood nostalgia. There was a lot of carefree time-wasting, but when it was time to get down to business, we knew what we needed to do.

Setting Up a Sandlot Game

Just for fun let’s take a look at the procedures we had to go through to get a sandlot game off the ground. The stuff in parentheses is how these “skills” parlay into real-world tasks. I’m a dork, I know.

Step 1. Determine the Game (Event Planner)

Usually with help from Bo, and whoever else I happened to be with when the idea to play came up, we’d determine what sport or game we were going to play. Our arsenal was pretty vast, but we usually chose from the sports common to sandlots across the country – football, basketball, baseball, whiffle ball, kickball – or some variation of them.

Once, we decided on a game, we’d figure out when we wanted to start (usually immediately) and try to find the best place to do it (usually one of a handful of parks or fields in our neighborhood).

After we set the details it was time for step 2.

Step 2. Gather the Players (Promoter)

There’s no sense moving on any further until you knew you had the participants. We’d go through our Rolodex of friends, acquaintances and rivals until we had enough players to field a decent game. Often this meant sweet-talking our friends, and sometimes even their parents, to get enough warm bodies.

I swear, nobody could sugar-coat a pickup game better than me. In my day, I was like the Don King of the sandlot leagues.

“You have to be home in an hour for dinner? No problem, we’ll keep the clock running.”

“You’re supposed to be studying? I’ll read you your flashcards between innings.”

“You’re tired of your son coming home with grass stains on his pants? Mrs. Otis, I promise I won’t let him get dirty.”

Of course, most of my promises weren’t kept, but that’s why I compare myself to Don King and not your local wedding planner. You come to me wanting a sandlot game, you’re gonna get a sandlot game.

Step 3. Set up the Field/Court (Field Maintenance Technician)

Just because we refer to them as “sandlot” games doesn’t mean they necessarily had to be played on a sandlot. We played on all surfaces. Pretty much whatever was available at the time. In the street, in someone’s backyard, at the park – wherever there was enough open room for our game. Now, it seems like parents have taken the “let’s get our kids off the streets” mantra a little too literally.

Many times when we got to the location of our upcoming game there’d be some sort of an issue we’d have to handle. If there was snow, we’d shovel it. If the grass was too long, we’d borrow a mower. If something needed moving, we’d move it. There wasn’t much that could keep us from playing once we got to this point.

Once the surface was acceptable we’d quickly determine boundaries, ground rules and anything else that needed to be decided based on fields/courts and their obstructions. This was all done in a matter of moments. Again, we were very good at what we did.

Step 4. Choosing Teams (General Manager)

We picked them. Using captains. And yes, someone got picked last. If you didn’t like it, you did one of two things, played your ass off so you didn’t get picked last next time, or you didn’t come back again.

Getting picked last builds character – if you let it. Plus, it was the fool-proof way to prevent complaints that teams were uneven.

Every once in a while we’d pair up match-ups and break the teams up that way, but for the most part we’d use the old-fashioned, time-tested method and pick ‘em.

Step 5. Playing the Game (Coach)

Play-caller, motivator, strategist. We all got to be all of the above and it was great. I learned as much, if not more, about the ins and outs of sports strategy by playing them, either organized or pickup, as I did watching them on TV.

Speaking of TV, there was no greater cause for wanting to go out and play yourself, than watching a game on TV. When I was younger I could barely get through a full game before I was itching to gather up some friends for our own game. Now kids just dial up their buddy via XBox Live and “throw” the old pigskin around with them virtually.

It doesn’t even make me angry anymore. Now it’s just sad.

Step 6. Settling Disputes (Commissioner)

It’s a given that there will be disputed calls, arguments, maybe even fights. The great thing about a sandlot game is they matter. Winning is extremely important, so a call for or against you can make all the difference.

We normally didn’t have referees, so it usually came down to a consensus in the event of a close call. If all else failed, I usually volunteered my team to give in to the other team. Being diplomatic was the easiest way to get the game going again, and I saw it as a challenge to overcome.

These disagreements were settled in the heat of the battle, in person, and lasted seconds at the most. Today’s twelve year old barely speaks to his peers unless it’s done through a headset or a text message.

Step 7. Keeping Score (Statistician)

We always kept score. Always. But sometimes that wasn’t enough for us. On numerous occasions we started our own “leagues”, which required us to keep our own stats, naturally.

Suddenly bragging rights didn’t solely rest on winning and losing. If your team won, but you hit half as many home runs as someone else, they’d make sure you knew.

When you’re playing with your friends, the numbers are all that matter. Of course, looking back years later, they don’t matter at all.

What matters is that you learn how to interact with others. That you stay physically active, and enjoy the outdoors. It’s important that you pick up a skill and decide whether it’s something you want to develop even further.

It matters that you come to understand how to compromise, how to disagree constructively, and how to resolve conflict efficiently and with each side having felt they won.

It’s important that you form friendships and create memories that will last you the rest of your life. It’s important that you do this, so that one day you can show your children how to enjoy their own sandlot games. And I can get off my soapbox.