By Charles Stampul
As we debate the question of whether Ridgewood needs another synthetic sports field we might ask another, more basic question, are all these organized activities helping children to grow and develop?
There was a time not too long ago when kids could create and implement their own games without help or inference from adults. Take a look at this clip of the 1980s television show Vic’s Vacant Lot, which recently surfaced.
See how these children can think and problem solve, how they manage risk and how they express themselves competently to an adult. Contrast this with the sight of swarms of children in team uniforms marching down Maple Ave to converge on Vet’s Field.
Fields need to be made of grass, not plastic, but the games played on them should be organic as well.
Need both. As kids we played organized baseball thru LL or Rec but also met at the field for pickup games.
OK, but is there time for both? No, not if the kids are also going to school and doing homework. There was little league in the 80s but kids got themselves to the games and practices and there werent parades. The parents didn’t get so involved. They didn’t make a monster acheivment out of a little exercise.
I love the idea of just letting kids be kids and play in a less structured environment. There is an unhealthy competitiveness that we have seen in Ridgewood and other towns. Parents yelling and it can be stressful. I think some organized sports are beneficial, but when it is taken too seriously and it becomes a machine, it is not productive for these kids and doesn’t show them what true sportsmanship is all about.
They have taken over the parks and the council. It is nauseating.