If there was a job description for being on the baseball association’s executive team, it would read ‘other duties as required’. One of those duties is a night at the park barbecuing for the hungry baseball families. It’s for a good cause. All of the proceeds go to keeping our fees low (they’ve been the same since my girls were little), to offering an end of season barbecue for the teams, and a fun day with bouncy castles and such. In previous years, there have also been fireworks and a Saturday picnic at a local lake, but both COVID and a drop in volunteerism has meant the latter two things we haven’t done. Thankfully though, fun day was back last year at least for the younger kids.
Although I would rather not be at the park four nights a week, I do want this association to be sustainable because I have seen how good this is for both kids and families alike, to have this time in the fresh air meeting new people, enjoying some fun experiences, and making lasting memories away from devices and the traffic jam of life.
I do enjoy working with the ladies who have been with the association basically since its inception over 25 years ago, listening to the stories of our leagues past, and I am always in awe of how smoothly it all runs and the amount of work they put into each week. They are at the park 6 days out of 7 days, are out shopping multiple days of the week buying supplies for our barbecues, make treat bags at home for the kids, and overall ensure it all just works.
It’s increasingly harder to find volunteers however. I worry what that means for the future of sport in our communities.