San Francisco writer Mike McGinty wrote a nice column for us on his Little League experiences. I'm guessing that it resonates with many of you. Would love to hear about your experiences playing organized sports (Little League or other) growing up. Were they positive? negative? middle ground? Did they make you more or less interested in sports?

Nice article! My little league experience was pretty much negative and similar in many ways to Mike's. One difference was that I never wanted to play. I think my father made me.

I played for three years. The first two years the league was actually called Farm League and my father was the coach these two years, which made it worse. I was either the worst or tied for the worst player each year I played. Every team I was on was always in last place too. I couldn't hit, field, run, was afraid of the ball, and otherwise sucked. I was happy to play right field and just prayed that the ball never came my way. I only made contact with the ball twice ever. One was a foul ball. The other was a grounder to the second baseman, who bobbled the ball, threw it to the first baseman, who dropped the ball. Meanwhile I'm racing to first base with my usual slothlike speed and reach first base before the first baseman picked the ball up. The coach rewarded me by batting me second the next game. The only other positive experience was one game our team rallied from 5 runs down in the last inning and won. After the third year, I decided that was enough torture and quit.

Years later, while at Maryland I played intramural softball with the math team. I still couldn't field or run, but at least I hit pretty well. Our teams were good, and we made it to the "World Series" once as well.

[ April 03, 2002: Message edited by: pat125 ]

Very nice. Mike McGinty implies that feeling of "differentness" that I can totally relate to. I remember this older kid Ricky Reardon had that masculine thing going on, and his dad came to games and mine didn't, and he had the kind of hair you could brush up with butch wax and it was really neat. I just really didn't belong there.

So I studied. A friend of my dad's said it when he saw me with a scraped knee and a black eye from falling off my bike. "Now you look like a real boy." He had my number.

It was only as an adult, and after coming out, that I got into team sports with other gay men, and made the commitment to excel at the individual sports and outdoor activities that I enjoy. Pardon the profundity, but I really do feel like a much more complete person since I've done that. Made some fine friends, too.

I've been sports mad since I was about 7 (I'm 42 now). I realized for certain I was queer when I was 9, so sports came first. I had two eye operations when I was 7 to correct a wandering eye, but since the ops happened in those pre-Lasix days, I still have one eye that's slightly askew. The net result is that I've never been able to really hit because my eyes simply can't adjust quickly enough--I can see the ball when it leaves the pitchers hand and just as it's about to get to the plate; the crucial area in between, where you make adjustments, is a blank. Additionally, I was akward and when I went through puberty, had horrible growing pains in the knees which still affect me.

But boy could I field! I once threw out 2 runners at the plate in one game while playing the outfield. Nobody ran on me goddamit! I never had that great of a time in Little League because hitting was such a trial, but when I played softball many years later in the gay league here in Los Angeles, I did the bare minimum at the plate--I'd get a handful of hits a season--and concentrated purely on playing the outfield. I was considered one of the best outfielders in my division which made me really happy.

When my family was exiled to New Joisey because my dad got transferred, my brothers and I got in to street hockey. I was an excellent goalie despite my eyes because I knew how to play the angles (Bernie Parent of the Flyers was my idol). I also played in the gay football league here in Los Angeles for a while but quit because I couldn't stand getting up early on Saturday's any more and, most of all, some of the f**kwads playing leeched all the fun out of it. I'm now retired from playing sports; my knees just can't take the pounding any more.

Bringing up Little League brings back bad memories for me.
I wasn't the most talented player and having a dad that was a baseball whiz didn't help matters.
Even though my dad was supportive of my decision to quit, I know it had to hurt him.
I remember being in the outfield and hoping and praying the ball didn't come to me. I would count the strikes and outs until the game was finally over. It was such a relief to get off the field. I rarely hit the ball when I was at bat and endured a lot of teasing through the couple years I participated.
Luckily I did fairly well in basketball in my junior high years, winning a statewide free throw contest. My high school was large and full of almost college-like players, so I didn't make it onto the high school team, being 5'9" and 140 pounds. They went on to win the state championship.
But I'm still a fan of all the above sports.

my little league experience was a very positive one. i played shortstop on my team, and started on the all star team and all of that kind of stuff.

my dad was my manager, and it was the one time in my life that i really got to spend a lot of quality time with him. he would take me to the field and hit me grounders and give me batting practice several times a week. he was an alcoholic, but this provided the one real opportunity for the two of us to be close.

A little over a year ago I came out. I grew up in a small rural town in washington state. Where Sports were not only a past time but a way of life. I remeber my first little league games. Dad taking me to buy a glove and shoes, taking me out in the yard to play catch with me and my brother. With all my friends in our freshly cleaned uniforms running around, and running into each other. The proud fathers sitting in the stands, the mothers just hoping we didnt get hurt in any way. Little League is where i got my first taste of sports. Where I learned to work hard and have fun and be competitive. Where i decided that i liked playing sports and where i met some of my best friends. Little league was summer vacation for me. I always looked forward to the saturdays spent playing baseball. Then Growing up high school sports became a way of life. Friday nites the town was empty and at the football game. I grew up with sports, summers were divided between
working and sports camps. Every fall I knew i would be playing football, winter basketball and
spring and summer baseball. Sports were a release
for me. My parents never complained that i spent to much time at school with sports. Last year I
graduated from College and moved to Seattle. Every summer since high school has been spent playing softball in various leagues. And any intramural sports i could get into in college. Last year some friends asked me to play on thier gay softball team. I eagerly accepted thinking it would be great to play in a gay league. It was a very interesting experience for me. Now remeber I am from a small rural farm town and there was not alot of gay anything happening there, and I was experiencing alot of new things. So it was a rather unique suprise when in our first game the first batter was a pre op transexual. Who hit a nice line drive for a base hit. It was a very eye opening experince to see gay men who could actually play and were very competitive. The year was interesting for me to see people that consider queeny or your stereo typical gay male who could actually play and were fairly good. It was a very eye opening experince for me. Something that showed me that sports are a catalyst for many people. Something that brings people from all backgrounds together. I remeber Little League being about fun. And i remeber having fun. although i think my mom said i was to competitive, which mirrors the sentiments of some of the people that play in the league with me. But all in all sports have been a very positive experience for me. Begining with Little League.
Every time i see a crowd gathered for a Little League game or see the Little League World series on TV i cant help but smile and remeber what it was like.

While this doesn't have to do with Little League, I played basketball for my middle school/high school team until I was a freshman. It seems as if every Indiana kid has to play basketball at some point in his life, and I was no exception. My dad farmed when I was young, so he had little time to teach my any of the fundamentals but he did put up a hoop on an enormous piece of plywood for me and my sister to shoot at. Even before I knew I was gay, I was shooting baskets either there or in my elementary school gym during recess. When I reached elementary school, I had an inkling that I was gay and went out for the basketball team. I was one of the "B" team guys in 6th grade--not good enough to be on the "A" team, but still a part of a team. The Tri-County Middle School 6th grade B team, alas, was horrible.

Playing basketball increased my joy of the game, but I remember most the good feelings of being part of a team that worked together. The 7th grade B team went 7-1 and got cocky enough to ask to play an opponents' A team: we had fun together, no matter who hit the FG or got the rebound. Our coach actually paid attention to us and we had a good time playing for ourselves and succeeding at it--that's where the joy comes in.

My freshman year was similar. I was a swing guy that year--played mostly with the "A" team as a backup but could fill in a quarter with the "B" team as needed. We weren't talented by any stretch of the imagination, but won the White County tourney by playing good ol' Indiana basketball: tough defense, taking good shots on offense, and working as a group. If just for those experiences of camaraderie during games, then yes, playing basketball was a good time.

Steve

I had many of experiences with sports growing up but since this started out as a little league post I will only mention those that involve baseball. Unlike the original article I had a wonderful time during my little league days. I was never the best player but always very respectable. The only troubles I ever had was in the fielding department. For some reason I was switched from catcher to the middle infield and that permanently damaged any fielding ability I had. (coach told me I was too fast to be wasting my speed behind the plate) I was fairly decent at fielding grounders but had a horrible time throwing the ball to first accurately and popups to me where an adventure that noone really needed to witness. On the throws to first generally the ball would be way off line and the player would be safe because the first baseman had to go chase the ball. After a few stints player shortstop and second I finally got moved to centerfield where I found a home. Once again I never did anything spectacular but I also never did anything to hurt the team except missing the cut off guy a few times. My fortay in little league was hitting and stealing bases. I always batted leadoff and carried a good average (yeah not to brag but one year I hit something like .589 for the season) and lead our little league in stolen bases for 4 years. I also made two all star teams for the hitting aspect of my game but was pretty much relagated to pinch hitting duties during those games. My teams always seemed to suck but I remember one year near the end of the season we were the last place team and we were playing the first place team and we somehow beat them. Well when the final out was obtained all of us started throwing our mitts in the air and jumping around and celebrating right on the field before we even shook the other teams hands. Personally I just remember running in from center field and being jumped on by the shortstop and given a big hug. The next thing I remember is our coach come running onto the field yelling at us to stop acting like idiots and that we were making a fool of ourselves. He told us to not act as if this makes are season any good because we were still in last place. Pretty harsh words from a coach right after you beat the best team in your league. But then one of our players simple said (don’t remember the exact quote but to paraphrase) “ coach lighten up – we suck, we know it, but hey for one day we actually played like we knew what the hell we were doing out here, I think it is only fair that we are allowed to enjoy this because I am sure we will go back to sucking tommarrow.”

After little league I withdrew from baseball to try other sports and then when I hit high school I decided to go out for the team again. Surprisingly I made it and won the starting centerfield job. Also surprisingly I became a great fielder but couldn’t hit worse sh!t, quite a turn around from my little league days. It was widely known in our league that all you had to do was throw me a curve ball and wow was I completely fooled (every time). My fresh and sophomore years were fun but the struggles at the plate just really bothered me so my junior year my coach found a way to get around the problem. I pretty much just went up to the plate looking to be walked or to bunt my way on base (I was very quick), if it was a crucial part of the game and we needed a big hit my coach would just Pinch Hit for me but leave me in to play the field (a stupid high school rule that allows people to not bat but play the field I think they actually did away with this rule nowadays). I finished second in steals my junior year while only batting something like .100 on the season. (nothing like leaning into a few inside pitches to get on base). My senior year I broke my right hand in the first game of the year and didn’t play the rest of the season.

I grew up in the era where you had to try out for little league. Not everyone made the team, or got to play if they made it. The kids whose fathers coached the team always seemed to make it. My dad didn't, but I also sucked, so I never made the team either.

Eventually I quit trying, and eschewed baseball as "boring" and "stupid" (even though I loved the game more than anything). It also soured me on playing sports of any kind. It wasn't until I learned to play tennis in high school, then squash, racquetball, and badminton in college, that I realized I didn't suck at everything.

Volleyball was the first team sport I played and did well in. But not until I was in my 20's. The first time our team won the YMCA championship, I finally knew what it was like to be part of something like that, instead of experiencing it vicariously as a fan.

McGinty's article was really touching, in terms of the "feeling different" part. I can't relate to feeling that way as part of little league baseball, but I knew even at the age of 10 that I was different, somehow. I can only imagine what that must have been like for many of you who played team sports as youngsters.

[ April 05, 2002: Message edited by: raysnjays ]

I too grew up in a time and place where if you were male and "of age" (little league age, that is), you tried out. I did and I played for four years. It was expected, especially by my father, a true sportsman. Dad had a way of taking the pleasure out of any sport, though I don't think that was his aim. First there was a pressure to perform, which I couldn't. Truth be told, I just wasn't that interested back then. I had no idea I was gay. I don't think I knew what gay was (how's THAT for naive?). Too, I think my father pushed us (me and my brothers) is be the best we could be. That can be a good thing, done correctly, or result in feelings of complete inadequacy, as was the case with me.

It's funny -- football, baseball, fishing, you name it, I felt my father ruined them for me. I avoided all sports. After I came out, I embraced sports again, particularly soccer and boxing. And did fairly well. Interestingly, those two sports are ones that my father doesn't have much interest in.

ONE FUNNY LITTLE LEAGUE STORY: I usually played out field (out of the way, I'm sure my coach thought). But sometimes I was catcher. I didn't mind the ball being whipped at my head. So I could handle the position. One guy on our team, very masculine and popular, was kidding with the other guys in the dugout. We were about to take the field, when he pulled me over and kissed me -- hard -- on the lips. Nobody saw that, I don't think. Or if they did, it was part of a joke. But the result to me was utter confusion and a, um, woody. I couldn't squat at the plate because "junior" didn't fit inside my cup. I was so embarrassed but no one seemed the wiser. ... to date, the most memorable kiss of my life, lol.

[quote]Originally posted by Jim Allen:
When my family was exiled to New Joisey because my dad got transferred, my brothers and I got in to street hockey. I was an excellent goalie despite my eyes because I knew how to play the angles (Bernie Parent of the Flyers was my idol).

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Remember, Jim...only the Lord saves more than Bernie Parent.



Back on topic---I never played Little League or any organized sports as a kid. I only played games with other kids in the neighborhoood.

I guess I had a similiar experience to Mike's.

I played on the local team. I started as a third grader. My mom kinda told me to try out for it so I could make some friends and help so I wouldn't be teased at school so much. I am not sure how they picked teams but everyone at school let me know I was picked last as an add-in on the best team.

To explain the league a bit, we had enough 3rd and 4th graders for two teams. I was put on the A league, which most of my friends were on the B-league. I got placed on a team with the fathers of two kids who I did much care for. I still remember catching in the outfield and I told the one kid to leave me alone. He responded by punching me in the face. It hurt alot, but I had a pretty high threshhold for pain so I kinda let it go. The kid got in trouble. Everyone else laughed and the kid was pissed I was not showing any sign of pain while he got in trouble.

I had a batting average of .000. In our our league we had a a rain rule that if the game is called at the 4th inning the last 3 innings are waived and it is a complete game. You also had to play every kid on your team for 4 innings per week. We always seemed to have a rained out game and my coach would place me in just before it rained. Then the game would be called and he would tell me to sit on the bench for the next game because I had played a full 4 innings according to the rules. My mom was pissed about it, but what could she do. I sucked royally at the game.

The second year I had an epiphany of sorts. We had enough kids for three teams. And my friend's dad was coaching the C-level team. I wasn't picked last! I was on a team with kids that played at my own level. My friend's dad actually taught me how to hit and rather than curse at me when I messed up, showed me what I did wrong and had me practice at it. I was on the verge of a .400 batting average when the unthinkable happened. I was set to be the catcher and had been practicing for weeks. I was going to start in my first game. My dad decided to practice with me and decided to throw hard to me. He threw it so hard that it broke my thumb. I having a high pain threshhold decided that my hand just was sore and went to play at second base. Later on in the game my thumb was hurting and it was starting to swell. I played a few innings until a ball caught my knee and it started to swell forcing me out of the game. Then I went to the doctors the next day to find out I was going to miss most of the season with a broken thumb. I was really upset about it. I went to the rest of the games and got to play in the last two. I had a .250 batting average but only had 8 hits and had only been up to bat 24 times.

The next year I got back on the team with the coach I hated. Except there was an assistant coach that was into another sport I liked better: track. I had started running with a club team in Toledo and was rapidly getting better at my races. During outfield practice he called me in to field the incoming throws and asked me a bit about track. We talked about races and the like. He finally did the smartest thing any of the coaches in baseball did. He told me to pursue running. He saw how fast I had run as a 5th grader in a local 10K run. He told me to go and practice running more often and quit baseball. He said it was obvious I don't like it. I told my mom what he said. My mom agreed to save the money and put it towards travelling to meets.

In 1991 I went to my second national championships in the 3k run for 15-16 year olds. I finished 10th in the nation and posted a phenominal time of 9:10. The year after that I finished 5th at nationals with a 9:15. I think I owe alot to that coach.

-Mike

Hit an inside-the-park grand slam home run in Little League. Overall, I didn't really enjoy playing Little League, but when I look back on that moment, I have to chuckle.

[quote]Originally posted by ECHusker:
I remember being in the outfield and hoping and praying the ball didn't come to me.

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Reminds me of me in gym class - pure torture.
Glad I grew up & can pick & choose my sports.

[quote]Originally posted by Zoxuss:
My friend's dad actually taught me how to hit and rather than curse at me when I messed up, showed me what I did wrong and had me practice at it. ...Except there was an assistant coach that was into another sport I liked better: trackHe finally did the smartest thing any of the coaches in baseball did. He told me to pursue running
I think I owe alot to that coach.

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Isn't it amazin what an influence a kind, gentle man can have on a boy. One good one can make up for a lot of ass****s in your childhood. I had a guy who got me running - who didn't make fun of my ability - gave me a lifelong interest in running! I'll never forget him.

I will always look back at my experience in Little League as one of the absolute best times of my life. I was eight years old when I started to follow my brother to his Pee-Wee Little League practices. Girls weren't allowed to play then, so I would go, watch, and just wait for foul balls to go over the fence so I could throw them back and show off my skills to the coach. After a few weeks of being at every practice Mr. Simeon, the coach, asked if I wanted catch for him as he hit infield and outfield practice. Although still an outsider because I couldn't play, I was thrilled to at least practice the game I loved.

This trend continued for the next two years. I followed both of my younger brothers to their practices and did what I could to be included. All of their coaches welcomed me. Mr. Simeon, Mr. Ford, Mr. Perks,and the late Mr. Ralph Montressor, were my strongest allies and were as anxious as I was for the day that girls would be allowed to play.

Finally, that day came. I was on vacation in Colorado when Mr. Ford called to say that Williamsport had given the okay for girls to play and I could join the team. My parents put us back in the car and drove the whole family back to Pennsylvania so that I could play in the seasons last two games. I still remember the excitement and nervousness that I felf standing in centerfield the first time. I remember how I cried after striking out at my first at bat. But, I also remember the thrill of standing on first base after drilling a line drive on the second.

The next season was as it was supposed to have been from the beginning. I was one of the first to sign up. I received my uniform with the boys (I was the only girl.) I had my place in centerfield.

I was twelve years old at the conslusion of my first full season and had to decide whether my baseball career would continue. Regretfully, I decided not to go up to Teener League and started to play softball. I treasure the experience of Little League. I was fortunate to be surrounded by coaches who saw past my gender to my love for the game. I was also blessed to have parents who didn't find it odd that their daughter wanted to play for the Pittsburg Pirates and did all they could to support her dream.

what year was that, dee?

my dad was my manager and he picked the only two girls in our league to be on our team. he was very forward thinking on at least that issue. this was in 1976-77, which i think was soon after it became "legal".

one of girls, Stacy Hess...my double play combo mate, (she played second base) was actually near all-star caliber.