12/15/2021
I have been involved in youth and high school sports for 35 years now, and have learned from many different people, and have enjoyed the kids first, and the many parents I call friends.
I also have accumulated some stories along the way, particularly as an administrator for youth sports. I decided to share some of those stories on this page. I hope you get a chuckle out of them....
This story involves “The Needle”. Batter Chatter……Long gone from the scene when my youngest started to play, it became an ancient thing that only folks our age knew of.
I received several emails on a Tuesday night after the games had finished, as usual there were the numbers of complaints about this or that, but one email struck a cord.
The writer took issue with the opposing team, as it seems the Head Coach Doug (who I also knew to be an “older” dad like me) was coaching his kids to yell at the batter. It became clear that the writer was a young mom, who had no knowledge of such an outlandish practice of yelling at the batter for the singular purpose of unnerving the batter.
She asked that I call her, so I did, and she breathlessly explained how the kids would creep up on the batter as he got ready to swing, and yell “Swing Batter Batter Swing!”. I tried to explain to her that what she had seen was an old tradition, back from olden times. I had to hold back a chuckle, as she couldn't possibly comprehend how this could have been a good thing, and how in today's world it could possibly be appropriate.
Doug and I had a good conversation, his heart was all in the right place about trying keep the kids focused and pay attention in the field. We chuckled a little about how the perceptions of the younger parents differed from “our day”. We allowed that he should probably stop doing it, and that was the “Day The Batter Chatter Died”
The moral of this story - there is none other than things change. Times change. We adapt to the changing times some so we stay relevant to the younger age.
Plus it was just a funny story, to imagine the lady on the other end of the phone as I tried to explain the whole purpose of this Batter Chatter and why it made sense. Try to explain it out loud to yourself, and see how it sounds. I’m sure I sounded pretty close to that.
