Play Ball!

The NFWB has hundreds of Jewish and other youngsters playing baseball at all skill levels.

MIKE ROSENBAUM SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

N

orth Farmington/West
Bloomfield Baseball and
Softball for Youth (NFWB)
may boast a greater num-
ber of Jewish participants than
any area sports organization.
Jewish participation is so signif-
\ icant that most NFWB teams
' have to end their season in late
June because 'That's when Camp
Tamarack starts sucking all our
kids away," says NFWB Presi-
dent Al Ludwig.
Right:
Jewish involve-
ment starts at the Jordan Wolfe
awaits the
top, with Ludwig
throw as a
and several other
Plymouth
members of the Salem runner
`-. NFWB executive dives back to
' board, and in-
first.
cludes -an estimat-
ed half of the
Below: Ron
organization's Wolfe reacts
to a play.
1,500 players, ages
5-18.
The NFWB in-
cludes over 100
house teams,
which are open to
all NFWB-area
7 children. Five- and
6-year-olds begin
with co-ed T-ball.
After age 7, boys
play baseball
while girls have
fast-pitch softball.
When the house
season ends, play-
ers may try out for teams which
\--) play in tournaments.
The top NFWB players ages
10 and over can participate on
travel teams. The teams are se-
lected by tryouts and play
against teams from other cities
in Little Caesars leagues. Trav-
el players cannot play on house
or tournament teams.
"The one thing NFWB really
does is look for the best interests
of the kids," says Ron Wolfe, an
NFWB executive board member
who coaches the 14-year-old boys
I travel team. "There are a lot of
other programs where it's just
Win, win, win.' NFWB really
puts on a program where every
kid has an opportunity to play
ball, whether it's house or tray-
el.
'With the house program, we
/--cry to make it so there's a lot of
parity in the league. Where a lot
of other cities let people keep
teams together — they build

•

teams and then just run
roughshod over the other teams
— the nice thing about the
NFWB is we have a draft proce-
dure where you can't stack a
team. It's fair to everybody.
"The players try out and the
coaches grade them and there's
an actual draft. If a coach puts
together a dynamite team it's be-
cause he's got a keen eye for tal-
ent and not because he had six
kids that he put together and
kept them together. I think it
just makes it a better situation
for the kids. It enables them to
compete on a level playing field."
The NFWB eases its players
into higher levels of baseball or
softball. After two years of T-ball,
where young players hit the ball
off a tee rather than a pitched
ball, they play two years of ball
where the coaches pitch and no
stealing is allowed. The players
move on to standard baseball or
softball rules at age 9. House
teams generally play 14 or few-

NFWB players. It buys the uni-
forms, which the kids keep.
Fields are supplied and main-
tained by area schools or parks
and recreation departments. The
league also gives each player a
team photo and supplies league
and tournament champions with
trophies. Fees for tournament
and travel players vary, but gen-
erally are at least $200.
House teams feature one man-
ager and one coach. Each auto-
matically has their child on their
team. Coaches must attend an
annual clinic, where they receive
instruction on safety, play and
technique. Coaches asked about
their philosophies all stated that
they wanted the kids to have fun
first, leaving competitiveness sec-
ond.
"No. 1 is safety. After that, I
want it to be fun for them to play
with the other kids," says Stan
Duschinsky, the league secretary
who also coaches his daughter's
11-12-year-old softball team. "It's
competitive. But it's not real com-
petitive. I will basically field play-
ers where their strengths are.
"We had some new kids on
this team who cannot catch real
well. The No. 1 thing is, I want
them to have confidence that
they can play the game.

Coach Ron Wolfe yells as Matthew
Chatlin digs for home.

er games per season, while trav-
el teams play around 50.
In the house leagues, every-
one plays. No player can sit out
two consecutive innings. The
house leagues are "much more
instructional" than travel teams,
according to Mark Rosenberg,
who has coached at both levels.
House players pay $75 for the
season. The NFWB pays for all
equipment except bats and
gloves. It supplies the umpires,
who are often former or current

1,

3

v.

I

"It gives me great satisfaction
when a parent comes up to
( c÷c) me after the season is over
• and this could be the parent
of a very average player or a
below-average player — and
says, 'My child had a great
time. She started out not
knowing anything about
the game and you taught her
quite a bit. She progressed
and had fun and she wants to
play next year.' That's what I
look for."
Rosenberg adds, "It's got to be
fun or the kids are not going to
be doing it. They'll burn right out
if it's not fun."
The higher levels, however,
"are geared for a more compet-
itive type of situation," says
Rosenberg. "But the travel ball
can be instructional, too. These
kids are learning a lot and
they're definitely progressing
each year.
"The kids who start out with
travel ball early, by the time
they get to high school are going
to be exceptional baseball play-
ers."
The NFWB also features a
celebrity element. Two former
Tigers who have sons in the
NFWB coach travel teams. For-
mer first baseman Jason
Thompson is co-coach, along
with Wolfe, of the 14-year-old
team, while former pitcher Dan
Petry is manager of the 12-year-
old travel squad. Petry is also a
board member.
When it comes to the major
leagues, it's clear that money
squabbles between owners and
players have turned many fans
off. But it's just as clear, from the
size and scope of the NFWB,
that the sport of baseball re-
mains strong among area fam-
ilies.
Wolfe says his son, Jordan,
plays several sports, but
baseball is "his first love.
He's committed to this. Our
whole family's committed to
it. My daughter (Cortney)
doesn't miss a game, and she's
18. How many 18-year-old sis-
ters are going to go out of their
way to come to a brother's base-
ball game?
"Same thing with my wife
(Cindy). It's a family thing. We
start talking baseball in Febru-
ary." El

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