Claudia Lucey
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On the article POLL: Are Kids Getting Priced Out of Baseball and Softball?
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Claudia Lucey
8:38 am on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
The costs involved are compounded by the complete built-in obsolescence of these items. When we were kids, we got a glove--if it was slightly larger than our hands, we developed hand strength to snap the glove tighter in the event that the ball actually landed there. As we grew, the glove softened and in a sense, grew with us. One well-purchased glove could last a kid a number of years. Add to that the fact that, in general, we took much better care of our "dearest" items than our children do--a baseball glove left in the wet grass was punishable all sorts of nasty things. If we continue to buy one glove for every year of play, we should figure out a way that we can "share" within a town program or pass on to another program. The last thing any of us should have is equipment that is moldering in our garages. We should also change the conversation away from whether people CAN afford all this equipment to whether or not people SHOULD buy all this equipment. If I have a pair of cleats that my son grew out of in half of a season, why can't I just give them to my neighbor, whether she can afford new ones or not? Let's get back to basics and stop littering our lives with things that are viable for less than a minute.