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| Little League Chile |
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| By Richard Diego, past president of AmCham, and senior vice president and country manager of Wachovia Securities Chile. |
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Under the Little League program, baseball is played by under-18s not only in the United States, but also in more than a hundred countries around the world, and Chile has joined the list.
Organized sports abound in Chile. Field hockey, tennis, skiing, basketball, rugby and, of course, soccer are all imbedded in the DNA of children throughout the country…but baseball? Well, get ready because Little League baseball has arrived in Chile.
Thanks to the commitment, enthusiasm and vision of Ambassador Craig Kelly and his wife Kim, Little League baseball is now a reality in Chile. The new Chilean Little League Organization is fully chartered by the International Little League, and currently enjoys the sponsorship of Wilson Sporting Goods, who provided a “starter kit” with basic equipment. Five teams are now equipped, uniformed and, more importantly, they are playing.
So what’s the big fuss about kids getting together to play a sport that is largely unfamiliar in Chile? A review of the history of Little League baseball in the United States and the success it has attained internationally bring one to the quick conclusion that it’s not just a game involving bats, balls and gloves. Promotion of social skills, life skills, family values, community values and good health are keys to understanding the Little League phenomenon. Add to these virtues the opportunity of building a cultural bridge between Chile and the United States and you get a winning result.
Dr. Robert Sloan, president of Baylor University, Texas, recently summed up the importance of Little League baseball. “In a way, all the basic elements of life are in baseball and Little League. You have to show up at a certain time. If you are late, you let the team down. And just like life, there are isolated individual performances that stand out. But, in the end, it is what the team did that really matters. How you contributed to the cause is important,” he said.
Little League baseball had its beginning in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in 1939. Three teams were organized and seven years later the program was still confined to Pennsylvania. But it didn’t stay that way.
Today, Little League is the world’s largest youth sports organization, offering baseball and softball to more than 2.8 million boys and girls (ages 5 to 18) in all 50 states of the United States and 103 other countries around the globe. Some 35 million people have played or volunteered for Little League in its 65-year history.
The program’s mission - unchanged since its humble beginning - is to “provide a wholesome, healthy activity for children using the sports field as a virtual classroom to instill discipline, teamwork, sportsmanship, fair play, and to provide a set of values to guide them into adulthood and hopefully responsible citizenship”.
In the United States, an estimated 22 million children are involved in sports outside of school. The well-documented benefits include:
1. Building an appreciation of personal health and fitness;
2. Developing a positive self-image;
3. Teaching how to work as part of a team;
4. Developing social skills with other children and adults (such as taking turns and sharing playing);
5. Teaching how to manage success and disappointment; and,
6. Teaching how to respect others.
The Little League program seeks to develop social competence - the ability to get along with and be accepted by peers, family members, teachers and coaches - and self-esteem, or the extent to which an individual believes him/herself to be capable, significant, successful and worthy. Add to this recipe for youth development the fact that Little League baseball provides a very powerful forum for family involvement.
But will it work in Chile?
How difficult will it be to attract young people to an activity that at first blush appears so unfamiliar? Lack of familiarity with baseball in a predominantly soccer-minded country suggests that it might not be easy. However, initial experience points conclusively to a learning curve that, while present, is not insurmountable. One of the strengths of the new Little League program is that it represents a cooperative effort that seeks to be inclusive of local efforts to develop the sport.
Baseball was already being played in Chile before the launch of Little League. In the Santiago metropolitan area, Little League has incorporated teams from districts such as Cerro Navia, Maipú, Ñuñoa, and La Pintana, and has added two new teams at the Nido de Aguilas School. It adds stimulus to existing local efforts. As a consequence, Little League baseball in Chile is a true U.S.-Chilean partnership to promote community, social values and individual life skills. This combination strengthens the program and deepens participation. As anyone who has attended a game can attest to, the spirit, camaraderie and good sportsmanship generated is not only evident, it is contagious among players spanning five teams and almost 100 kids. Baseball in Chile as a conduit to teaching values is not only possible…it is here with a vengeance.
Little League in Chile has started its activities with a very solid base of support. President Lagos and President Bush have both indicated their appreciation and interest in the Little League effort. Similar support was received from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. On a visit to Santiago in April, she took time from her busy schedule to meet with a group of Little Leaguers.
At the municipal level, a number of mayors have recognized the contribution that Little League baseball can bring to their communities and are embracing it as a way of providing sorely needed youth programs. But the future potential of Little League baseball in Chile is perhaps best summed up by the enthusiasm of the kids themselves. “What I most like is being part of a team,” says 9-year-old Derek Ewald. With endorsements like this, it is easy to see the league growing in Santiago as well as nationally.
Little League Chile also provides the business community with an attractive platform to channel corporate social responsibility efforts, an option that AmCham enthusiastically endorses. For many small and medium-sized companies that lack the scale to create corporate social responsibility programs on their own, Little League Chile provides a community service umbrella and an opportunity to identify their products or services with an attractive and visible project of great value.
A Personal Reflection
Like many Little Leaguers, I am reminded of my own Little League experience 48 years ago. I still remember getting that phone call from the manager of Sheldon Davis - a team named after a local New Jersey insurance broker - to let me know that I had made the team. I literally jumped for joy, and touched the ceiling of our family basement for the first time. I still picture my parents in the stands cheering me on my first at bat - and I also remember the words of positive reinforcement after the inevitable strike three was called in as many pitches. Curiously, what has stayed with me all these years was not so much a game involving a ball, a bat and a glove. What I recall the most was the team spirit; it was the lesson that sometimes you lose and can accept defeat with grace; it was learning that cultivating a positive attitude is just as important as winning; it was the opportunity to share with my parents an experience where I was the protagonist and they were the fans; it was the opportunity to learn socialization in a fun and nurturing way. Watching Little League develop in Chile with its principles intact is a source of comfort. Some things should never change. The universal principles of Little League qualify. |
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Kitted out, and ready to go.
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A Little League game in Santiago.
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“I still remember getting that phone call to let me know that I had made a Little League team,” says Richard Diego.
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On a recent visit to Santiago, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice took time to meet Little Leaguers.
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Spotlight 
