There is something that I saw this evening that just never makes any sense to me.  I play softball a couple nights a week.  A couple of leagues are very serious.  Most of the players get very intense and go all out.  They are the guys that travel to tournaments and spend 600 dollars on bats.

I actually really like those leagues.  I like to compete at the highest level even though it is just softball.  I am a competitive person by nature so that works for me.

I also play in some leagues that are classified as recreation.  Those leagues are filled with guys who aren’t softball lifers.  Guys that wear jeans and tennis shoes and some who don’t even own their own mitt.

I completely understand the necessity of a rec league like that but don’t get how bad the level of play can be sometimes.

Why in the world would you pay to play something (or do anything for that matter) that you are just terrible at?  I mean, we are talking about guys that can’t catch, throw or hit.  If you can’t do those things it is very difficult to play softball.  I get that not everyone is an athlete but we are talking about guys who are way below even that.  I even understand when a team has a couple guys like that just to fill the roster.  What shocks me is when you see a whole team of guys like that.

Playing those kinds of teams isn’t fun for anyone.  Either you sand bag it so the game goes longer than three innings, or you play hard and feel like a jerk.  Either way the other team is embarrassed.

I don’t want to pay money to have games like that.

I get so bored playing in those games.  I don’t want to kill the other team but I want to play hard enough to at least work up a sweat.  We had a game like that tonight and it wasn’t even worth my time.  We only played hard for an inning and then went half speed the rest of the time.  The purpose of this piece is not to brag but to ask the question that has baffled me for years.   Why do people do things that they just can’t do?  I don’t do anything voluntarily that I’m not at least decent at.  I don’t have nearly enough free time to waste some of it on something that I suck at.

Now I’m sure you are all wondering…well what if they love it?  My answer is how in the world can you be terrible at something you love?  If you really love it then you shouldn’t you do it all the time?  Yes.  And if you do it all the time shouldn’t you get better at it?  Yes.

Maybe the age of technology that we are in is just destroying the athletic skills of most people.  There are too many things to do now a days other than just go outside and throw a ball around.  That’s all we did as kids.  We played anything and everything that was placed in front of us.  I don’t see many kids doing that now and that makes me sad.  You miss Out on so many things by not growing up with sports that affect the rest of your life.  Sports teach kids so many wonderful things that really can’t be duplicated outside of them.  The least of which is when you can’t throw or catch a ball as an adult.

There is nothing wrong with trying something new but it shouldn’t be done in a league where people pay to play and take it seriously.