NWLL baseball scandal

[Anonymous]

A common refrain I hear from friends in the NWLL is the fear of its unraveling if the league’s and its leader’s misdeeds are exposed or confirmed. Many people saying they know about the problems, but prefer the status quo to alternatives.

This is so sad! If something should be about integrity, it is Little League.

A league should not be someone’s personal fiefdom. Are they afraid NWLL can’t exist without being a cult of personality? It can! That they’ll crumble with different leadership and culture? They can be healthy, clean, and well run by a community that cares. People that may want to help now are turned away by the toxicity. There are lots of good people—including ones on either side of this issue—that can steer this ship together. The league seems to be captured by Ricky. It’s as if he has made it his identity and he needs it; he needs to dominate Majors; he needs to coach and win 12u all stars and no one else gets a chance to year in and year out because it is his to own.

This is not good. And it does not have to be that way. But no matter what your take is on the issues at hand, what is proved or not etc., the league now is clearly unhealthy and needs a new path.

Such non-change is not good for an organization. Especially when that org seems to be so sick. For NWLL, the inextricable tying of the president position with the LLB all star coaching role is an obvious part of the illness in the organization, though it seems by all means not the only one. Hopefully in the end, the community will realize that their league and their kids and NW baseball is not one person’s kingdom but for the community. The future can be bright; the current path can’t be swept under the rug anymore and is untenable.

[Anonymous]

Well said. I have no patience for the insider-parents who blame Mike and Erin for "destroying the league." Don't shoot the messengers, even if they can be a bit rabid.

Ricky hanging onto NWLL is a really weird need. He needs to move on.

[Anonymous]

He needs the league. The league does not need him. (Sometimes maybe it thinks it does and he throws his weight around to make them continue to think so and further entrench himself). Lots of bad dynamics in a relationship like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He needs the league. The league does not need him. (Sometimes maybe it thinks it does and he throws his weight around to make them continue to think so and further entrench himself). Lots of bad dynamics in a relationship like that.

But would the League get full time rights to turtle park if he moved on?

Why does the league get to put a fence up again?

[Anonymous]

Isn't NWLL supposed to be the umbrella for Softball? Why is this so under represented?

[Anonymous]

There's clearly issues here - and the questions about financial improprieties etc.

But all sides seem to be really ramping this up beyond all proportion -- youth sports are full of things like king-like coaches and directors, trying to stack teams with certain players (lots of parent coaches have done the same in different ways with forming co-coaching situations so their kids can play together, juking no-shows at the tryouts to get better players, etc), parent alliances, teams folding and player poaching coups, paying coaches for lessons for extra playing time, hiring umpire that he might get pressured or expected to by local authorities (DCPR), etc. DC Soccer Club is having all sorts of drama right now too.

Ricky is a moderately paid employee and middling coach and manager.... The questions are real, but the attacks and the overstated-ness as though he is the axis of evil and the 40+ attack just seem over the top. He has spent years doing a job that isn't the most glamourous or powerful, especially by many NW standards.

He wasn't like he built or tried to rig an entire powerhouse team for NWLL - if that was what we he was trying to do, he did a poor job of it. The semi-finals and finals were so close, it could've gone either way. The understanding of many close to the situation about the one player was that there was a legitimate waiver. The kids and families all know each other, including the player in question, and had for years. If the Cap Hill families really wanted to file an objection, they could easily have. They also knew the family had been in the various little leagues and schools, too.

It may seem naive to feel there's a benefit of the doubt situation here that people involved thought it was legit. But honestly that is what I think happened for this one charge of the 40 pages.... The benefit of the doubt may extend to Ricky ... or may not. But also keep in mind, at the end of the day, there is also questionable language that gives directors lots of discretion (which makes the problem circular, but not criminal).

There's always all sorts of rumors. But in the over the top parent drama and mudslinging for people who didn't do hard crime on either side seems a little much and not focused on where to go from here.

[Anonymous]

A friend told me about this forum/thread over the weekend, and believe it or not I actually took the time to read (or at least skim) everything. I'm a Cap City parent whose son just aged out of Majors. I've been a very involved parent since he was 5 -- assistant coaching, managing, and a stint on the Cap City board. As with any organization, I've seen some bad, but I've seen a lot of good. I'd like to share some constructive suggestions that may help NWLL improve its internal culture.

(1) Have every single volunteer -- manager, coach, board member -- take training through the Positive Coaching Alliance (positivecoach.org). PCA is an incredible organization that helps ensure youth sports fulfill their mission. Having everyone in the organization PCA-trained helps provide a north star for how to act both on and off the fields and keep the focus where it belongs -- on helping kids grow, build self-esteem, etc.

(2) Mix up the teams! Parents have a reflex to keep kids with their friends from their schools to ensure that their kids have fun. This instinct may come from a good place, it's counter-productive. By the time my son got through his 12U majors season, he had played on a team with the majority of the Majors division at one point or another. This ended up bringing the temperature of majors games way down (even the playoffs, which were still competitive and hard-fought). We had an end of season party after the Majors championship and five minutes after the game ended, you would have had no idea who won and lost based on how the kids were acting together.

(3) Start your own umpire program. A few seasons ago, a Cap City parent got trained as an umpire and started a home-grown umpire program. He has subsequently trained many (a couple dozen) teenagers as umpires. A great many of them are Cap City alums. There are many benefits. Firstly, staffing has been much better; next to no concerns about umps not showing, and it's easy to find fill-ins. Secondly, it's a great way to keep kids within the Cap City community, even if they've aged out. Relatedly, it's another factor that brings the temperature of our games way down; you have to be a real jerk to yell at a teenager who misses a call. People understand they're learning and doing their best just like the players.
Team-stacking is counterproductive. If a team goes close to undefeated or winless during a Little League season, you probably have a structural problem. The most kids have the most fun if the teams are relatively even. As we all know, the beauty of sports comes from the lessons from failure as much as success.

I believe these three steps will go along way towards building the right kind of culture so that NWLL can be a much healthier community organization. A strong culture will prevent bad actors from being tolerated by the community because stakeholders care too much about what they have helped build.

A few other thoughts:
I think NWLL would be wise to thank Ricky, Pete, and Mike Klisch for the service to the league and to move forward without them in positions of leadership. I have no doubt that they have all done measures of good for the league over the years, but the community simply can't heal if they stick around. I do believe based on the evidence presented and what I have been told by friends in NWLL (and I am fortunate to have several), that Ricky and Pete have been dishonest in their capacity as All-Star coaches. And while I appreciate Klisch's efforts to play by the rules, I found the scorched earth 40+ page document to be somewhat stomach churning and often petty. I cannot imagine that new parents are anxious jump in as volunteers for fear of having their name end up on a message board or in the Post.

Finally, as NWLL tries to heal and rebuild its community, I recommend de-emphasizing All-Stars. The 3 All-Star teams comprise less than 10% of kids in the overall little league and take up a disproportionate amount of the resources, oxygen, etc. And for what? Do you know Caden Reinhart* is? You probably don't, right? Well he was one of the best players on the California team that just won the entire Little League World Series. Now he's just a regular kid in middle school. His grades are no better and his acne no clearer because he hit a double on national TV. More locally, once the All-Stars thing ends, no one cares about it anymore. The kids are back in school together, on travel teams together, playing Fortnite together -- and they're not talking about little league all stars (but they are saying "bro" a lot). *I made Caden Reinhart up.

I hope NWLL can get its house in order. If there are members of the NWLL community/leadership that want help with any of the above or other best practices that can help build a strong and thriving little league community, feel free to reach out.

Best of luck,
Ben Becker
benbecker1 at gmail dot com

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's clearly issues here - and the questions about financial improprieties etc.

But all sides seem to be really ramping this up beyond all proportion -- youth sports are full of things like king-like coaches and directors, trying to stack teams with certain players (lots of parent coaches have done the same in different ways with forming co-coaching situations so their kids can play together, juking no-shows at the tryouts to get better players, etc), parent alliances, teams folding and player poaching coups, paying coaches for lessons for extra playing time, hiring umpire that he might get pressured or expected to by local authorities (DCPR), etc. DC Soccer Club is having all sorts of drama right now too.

Ricky is a moderately paid employee and middling coach and manager.... The questions are real, but the attacks and the overstated-ness as though he is the axis of evil and the 40+ attack just seem over the top. He has spent years doing a job that isn't the most glamourous or powerful, especially by many NW standards.

He wasn't like he built or tried to rig an entire powerhouse team for NWLL - if that was what we he was trying to do, he did a poor job of it. The semi-finals and finals were so close, it could've gone either way. The understanding of many close to the situation about the one player was that there was a legitimate waiver. The kids and families all know each other, including the player in question, and had for years. If the Cap Hill families really wanted to file an objection, they could easily have. They also knew the family had been in the various little leagues and schools, too.

It may seem naive to feel there's a benefit of the doubt situation here that people involved thought it was legit. But honestly that is what I think happened for this one charge of the 40 pages.... The benefit of the doubt may extend to Ricky ... or may not. But also keep in mind, at the end of the day, there is also questionable language that gives directors lots of discretion (which makes the problem circular, but not criminal).

There's always all sorts of rumors. But in the over the top parent drama and mudslinging for people who didn't do hard crime on either side seems a little much and not focused on where to go from here.

Also, kind of cheating on your taxes or your spouse or your school exam, is, well, ok, I guess.

And most all of what is posted here and in the wapo is focused on where to go from here. That is forward, without ricky.

Except for a couple of folks who just can't seem to break up with him, and, so, try to diminish the issue and those harmed by it. Kind of like what you are doing.

A question for you. You cool with nwll taking the best kid from another, lesser talented little league and community so nwll can maybe get on tv? I'm not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's clearly issues here - and the questions about financial improprieties etc.

But all sides seem to be really ramping this up beyond all proportion -- youth sports are full of things like king-like coaches and directors, trying to stack teams with certain players (lots of parent coaches have done the same in different ways with forming co-coaching situations so their kids can play together, juking no-shows at the tryouts to get better players, etc), parent alliances, teams folding and player poaching coups, paying coaches for lessons for extra playing time, hiring umpire that he might get pressured or expected to by local authorities (DCPR), etc. DC Soccer Club is having all sorts of drama right now too.

Ricky is a moderately paid employee and middling coach and manager.... The questions are real, but the attacks and the overstated-ness as though he is the axis of evil and the 40+ attack just seem over the top. He has spent years doing a job that isn't the most glamourous or powerful, especially by many NW standards.

He wasn't like he built or tried to rig an entire powerhouse team for NWLL - if that was what we he was trying to do, he did a poor job of it. The semi-finals and finals were so close, it could've gone either way. The understanding of many close to the situation about the one player was that there was a legitimate waiver. The kids and families all know each other, including the player in question, and had for years. If the Cap Hill families really wanted to file an objection, they could easily have. They also knew the family had been in the various little leagues and schools, too.

It may seem naive to feel there's a benefit of the doubt situation here that people involved thought it was legit. But honestly that is what I think happened for this one charge of the 40 pages.... The benefit of the doubt may extend to Ricky ... or may not. But also keep in mind, at the end of the day, there is also questionable language that gives directors lots of discretion (which makes the problem circular, but not criminal).

There's always all sorts of rumors. But in the over the top parent drama and mudslinging for people who didn't do hard crime on either side seems a little much and not focused on where to go from here.

Also, kind of cheating on your taxes or your spouse or your school exam, is, well, ok, I guess.

And most all of what is posted here and in the wapo is focused on where to go from here. That is forward, without ricky.

Except for a couple of folks who just can't seem to break up with him, and, so, try to diminish the issue and those harmed by it. Kind of like what you are doing.

A question for you. You cool with nwll taking the best kid from another, lesser talented little league and community so nwll can maybe get on tv? I'm not.

If he really thought it was a legit waiver situation - and he may really have - you are extremely angry for having no real proof either way on this one matter. NWLL had lost lots the summers many times on Ricky’s watch and he’s just moved on to the next season. The one kid was not so astounding a player. The finals came down to the last at bat. Cap city, cap hill and NWLL are pretty similar - vs if they were taking the spot from Ward 8 and Mamie J. I honestly think the guy made a mistake and not an intentional one. But they can investigate not on DCUm.

Fine to fire Ricky if there’s evidence - but much of what’s been on these threads and in the memo are not founded and based on hearsay or “someone said” and “the people I know” - and just saying to remember this has been this guy’s life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A friend told me about this forum/thread over the weekend, and believe it or not I actually took the time to read (or at least skim) everything. I'm a Cap City parent whose son just aged out of Majors. I've been a very involved parent since he was 5 -- assistant coaching, managing, and a stint on the Cap City board. As with any organization, I've seen some bad, but I've seen a lot of good. I'd like to share some constructive suggestions that may help NWLL improve its internal culture.

(1) Have every single volunteer -- manager, coach, board member -- take training through the Positive Coaching Alliance (positivecoach.org). PCA is an incredible organization that helps ensure youth sports fulfill their mission. Having everyone in the organization PCA-trained helps provide a north star for how to act both on and off the fields and keep the focus where it belongs -- on helping kids grow, build self-esteem, etc.

(2) Mix up the teams! Parents have a reflex to keep kids with their friends from their schools to ensure that their kids have fun. This instinct may come from a good place, it's counter-productive. By the time my son got through his 12U majors season, he had played on a team with the majority of the Majors division at one point or another. This ended up bringing the temperature of majors games way down (even the playoffs, which were still competitive and hard-fought). We had an end of season party after the Majors championship and five minutes after the game ended, you would have had no idea who won and lost based on how the kids were acting together.

(3) Start your own umpire program. A few seasons ago, a Cap City parent got trained as an umpire and started a home-grown umpire program. He has subsequently trained many (a couple dozen) teenagers as umpires. A great many of them are Cap City alums. There are many benefits. Firstly, staffing has been much better; next to no concerns about umps not showing, and it's easy to find fill-ins. Secondly, it's a great way to keep kids within the Cap City community, even if they've aged out. Relatedly, it's another factor that brings the temperature of our games way down; you have to be a real jerk to yell at a teenager who misses a call. People understand they're learning and doing their best just like the players.
Team-stacking is counterproductive. If a team goes close to undefeated or winless during a Little League season, you probably have a structural problem. The most kids have the most fun if the teams are relatively even. As we all know, the beauty of sports comes from the lessons from failure as much as success.

I believe these three steps will go along way towards building the right kind of culture so that NWLL can be a much healthier community organization. A strong culture will prevent bad actors from being tolerated by the community because stakeholders care too much about what they have helped build.

A few other thoughts:
I think NWLL would be wise to thank Ricky, Pete, and Mike Klisch for the service to the league and to move forward without them in positions of leadership. I have no doubt that they have all done measures of good for the league over the years, but the community simply can't heal if they stick around. I do believe based on the evidence presented and what I have been told by friends in NWLL (and I am fortunate to have several), that Ricky and Pete have been dishonest in their capacity as All-Star coaches. And while I appreciate Klisch's efforts to play by the rules, I found the scorched earth 40+ page document to be somewhat stomach churning and often petty. I cannot imagine that new parents are anxious jump in as volunteers for fear of having their name end up on a message board or in the Post.

Finally, as NWLL tries to heal and rebuild its community, I recommend de-emphasizing All-Stars. The 3 All-Star teams comprise less than 10% of kids in the overall little league and take up a disproportionate amount of the resources, oxygen, etc. And for what? Do you know Caden Reinhart* is? You probably don't, right? Well he was one of the best players on the California team that just won the entire Little League World Series. Now he's just a regular kid in middle school. His grades are no better and his acne no clearer because he hit a double on national TV. More locally, once the All-Stars thing ends, no one cares about it anymore. The kids are back in school together, on travel teams together, playing Fortnite together -- and they're not talking about little league all stars (but they are saying "bro" a lot). *I made Caden Reinhart up.

I hope NWLL can get its house in order. If there are members of the NWLL community/leadership that want help with any of the above or other best practices that can help build a strong and thriving little league community, feel free to reach out.

Best of luck,
Ben Becker
benbecker1 at gmail dot com

Great post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A friend told me about this forum/thread over the weekend, and believe it or not I actually took the time to read (or at least skim) everything. I'm a Cap City parent whose son just aged out of Majors. I've been a very involved parent since he was 5 -- assistant coaching, managing, and a stint on the Cap City board. As with any organization, I've seen some bad, but I've seen a lot of good. I'd like to share some constructive suggestions that may help NWLL improve its internal culture.

(1) Have every single volunteer -- manager, coach, board member -- take training through the Positive Coaching Alliance (positivecoach.org). PCA is an incredible organization that helps ensure youth sports fulfill their mission. Having everyone in the organization PCA-trained helps provide a north star for how to act both on and off the fields and keep the focus where it belongs -- on helping kids grow, build self-esteem, etc.

(2) Mix up the teams! Parents have a reflex to keep kids with their friends from their schools to ensure that their kids have fun. This instinct may come from a good place, it's counter-productive. By the time my son got through his 12U majors season, he had played on a team with the majority of the Majors division at one point or another. This ended up bringing the temperature of majors games way down (even the playoffs, which were still competitive and hard-fought). We had an end of season party after the Majors championship and five minutes after the game ended, you would have had no idea who won and lost based on how the kids were acting together.

(3) Start your own umpire program. A few seasons ago, a Cap City parent got trained as an umpire and started a home-grown umpire program. He has subsequently trained many (a couple dozen) teenagers as umpires. A great many of them are Cap City alums. There are many benefits. Firstly, staffing has been much better; next to no concerns about umps not showing, and it's easy to find fill-ins. Secondly, it's a great way to keep kids within the Cap City community, even if they've aged out. Relatedly, it's another factor that brings the temperature of our games way down; you have to be a real jerk to yell at a teenager who misses a call. People understand they're learning and doing their best just like the players.
Team-stacking is counterproductive. If a team goes close to undefeated or winless during a Little League season, you probably have a structural problem. The most kids have the most fun if the teams are relatively even. As we all know, the beauty of sports comes from the lessons from failure as much as success.

I believe these three steps will go along way towards building the right kind of culture so that NWLL can be a much healthier community organization. A strong culture will prevent bad actors from being tolerated by the community because stakeholders care too much about what they have helped build.

A few other thoughts:
I think NWLL would be wise to thank Ricky, Pete, and Mike Klisch for the service to the league and to move forward without them in positions of leadership. I have no doubt that they have all done measures of good for the league over the years, but the community simply can't heal if they stick around. I do believe based on the evidence presented and what I have been told by friends in NWLL (and I am fortunate to have several), that Ricky and Pete have been dishonest in their capacity as All-Star coaches. And while I appreciate Klisch's efforts to play by the rules, I found the scorched earth 40+ page document to be somewhat stomach churning and often petty. I cannot imagine that new parents are anxious jump in as volunteers for fear of having their name end up on a message board or in the Post.

Finally, as NWLL tries to heal and rebuild its community, I recommend de-emphasizing All-Stars. The 3 All-Star teams comprise less than 10% of kids in the overall little league and take up a disproportionate amount of the resources, oxygen, etc. And for what? Do you know Caden Reinhart* is? You probably don't, right? Well he was one of the best players on the California team that just won the entire Little League World Series. Now he's just a regular kid in middle school. His grades are no better and his acne no clearer because he hit a double on national TV. More locally, once the All-Stars thing ends, no one cares about it anymore. The kids are back in school together, on travel teams together, playing Fortnite together -- and they're not talking about little league all stars (but they are saying "bro" a lot). *I made Caden Reinhart up.

I hope NWLL can get its house in order. If there are members of the NWLL community/leadership that want help with any of the above or other best practices that can help build a strong and thriving little league community, feel free to reach out.

Best of luck,
Ben Becker
benbecker1 at gmail dot com

Great post.

Meaningless post. Nothing will change with the current regime. Not one of those things would be implemented or followed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Meaningless post. Nothing will change with the current regime. Not one of those things would be implemented or followed.

Along with several positive and productive recommendations, he explicitly called for different leadership/a new regime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's clearly issues here - and the questions about financial improprieties etc.

But all sides seem to be really ramping this up beyond all proportion -- youth sports are full of things like king-like coaches and directors, trying to stack teams with certain players (lots of parent coaches have done the same in different ways with forming co-coaching situations so their kids can play together, juking no-shows at the tryouts to get better players, etc), parent alliances, teams folding and player poaching coups, paying coaches for lessons for extra playing time, hiring umpire that he might get pressured or expected to by local authorities (DCPR), etc. DC Soccer Club is having all sorts of drama right now too.

Ricky is a moderately paid employee and middling coach and manager.... The questions are real, but the attacks and the overstated-ness as though he is the axis of evil and the 40+ attack just seem over the top. He has spent years doing a job that isn't the most glamourous or powerful, especially by many NW standards.

He wasn't like he built or tried to rig an entire powerhouse team for NWLL - if that was what we he was trying to do, he did a poor job of it. The semi-finals and finals were so close, it could've gone either way. The understanding of many close to the situation about the one player was that there was a legitimate waiver. The kids and families all know each other, including the player in question, and had for years. If the Cap Hill families really wanted to file an objection, they could easily have. They also knew the family had been in the various little leagues and schools, too.

It may seem naive to feel there's a benefit of the doubt situation here that people involved thought it was legit. But honestly that is what I think happened for this one charge of the 40 pages.... The benefit of the doubt may extend to Ricky ... or may not. But also keep in mind, at the end of the day, there is also questionable language that gives directors lots of discretion (which makes the problem circular, but not criminal).

There's always all sorts of rumors. But in the over the top parent drama and mudslinging for people who didn't do hard crime on either side seems a little much and not focused on where to go from here.

Also, kind of cheating on your taxes or your spouse or your school exam, is, well, ok, I guess.

And most all of what is posted here and in the wapo is focused on where to go from here. That is forward, without ricky.

Except for a couple of folks who just can't seem to break up with him, and, so, try to diminish the issue and those harmed by it. Kind of like what you are doing.

A question for you. You cool with nwll taking the best kid from another, lesser talented little league and community so nwll can maybe get on tv? I'm not.

If he really thought it was a legit waiver situation - and he may really have - you are extremely angry for having no real proof either way on this one matter. NWLL had lost lots the summers many times on Ricky’s watch and he’s just moved on to the next season. The one kid was not so astounding a player. The finals came down to the last at bat. Cap city, cap hill and NWLL are pretty similar - vs if they were taking the spot from Ward 8 and Mamie J. I honestly think the guy made a mistake and not an intentional one. But they can investigate not on DCUm.

Fine to fire Ricky if there’s evidence - but much of what’s been on these threads and in the memo are not founded and based on hearsay or “someone said” and “the people I know” - and just saying to remember this has been this guy’s life.

"Extremely angry"? LOL. You don't do well with pushback, do you.

But you are ok with the concept of cheating unless it's not on a grand scale. And of course, you seem ok with nwll winning -- last bat and all -- while cheating other kids and communities. Interesting rationale, and path you carve out for yourself ... kind of like some of the nwll board members, no?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A friend told me about this forum/thread over the weekend, and believe it or not I actually took the time to read (or at least skim) everything. I'm a Cap City parent whose son just aged out of Majors. I've been a very involved parent since he was 5 -- assistant coaching, managing, and a stint on the Cap City board. As with any organization, I've seen some bad, but I've seen a lot of good. I'd like to share some constructive suggestions that may help NWLL improve its internal culture.

(1) Have every single volunteer -- manager, coach, board member -- take training through the Positive Coaching Alliance (positivecoach.org). PCA is an incredible organization that helps ensure youth sports fulfill their mission. Having everyone in the organization PCA-trained helps provide a north star for how to act both on and off the fields and keep the focus where it belongs -- on helping kids grow, build self-esteem, etc.

(2) Mix up the teams! Parents have a reflex to keep kids with their friends from their schools to ensure that their kids have fun. This instinct may come from a good place, it's counter-productive. By the time my son got through his 12U majors season, he had played on a team with the majority of the Majors division at one point or another. This ended up bringing the temperature of majors games way down (even the playoffs, which were still competitive and hard-fought). We had an end of season party after the Majors championship and five minutes after the game ended, you would have had no idea who won and lost based on how the kids were acting together.

(3) Start your own umpire program. A few seasons ago, a Cap City parent got trained as an umpire and started a home-grown umpire program. He has subsequently trained many (a couple dozen) teenagers as umpires. A great many of them are Cap City alums. There are many benefits. Firstly, staffing has been much better; next to no concerns about umps not showing, and it's easy to find fill-ins. Secondly, it's a great way to keep kids within the Cap City community, even if they've aged out. Relatedly, it's another factor that brings the temperature of our games way down; you have to be a real jerk to yell at a teenager who misses a call. People understand they're learning and doing their best just like the players.
Team-stacking is counterproductive. If a team goes close to undefeated or winless during a Little League season, you probably have a structural problem. The most kids have the most fun if the teams are relatively even. As we all know, the beauty of sports comes from the lessons from failure as much as success.

I believe these three steps will go along way towards building the right kind of culture so that NWLL can be a much healthier community organization. A strong culture will prevent bad actors from being tolerated by the community because stakeholders care too much about what they have helped build.

A few other thoughts:
I think NWLL would be wise to thank Ricky, Pete, and Mike Klisch for the service to the league and to move forward without them in positions of leadership. I have no doubt that they have all done measures of good for the league over the years, but the community simply can't heal if they stick around. I do believe based on the evidence presented and what I have been told by friends in NWLL (and I am fortunate to have several), that Ricky and Pete have been dishonest in their capacity as All-Star coaches. And while I appreciate Klisch's efforts to play by the rules, I found the scorched earth 40+ page document to be somewhat stomach churning and often petty. I cannot imagine that new parents are anxious jump in as volunteers for fear of having their name end up on a message board or in the Post.

Finally, as NWLL tries to heal and rebuild its community, I recommend de-emphasizing All-Stars. The 3 All-Star teams comprise less than 10% of kids in the overall little league and take up a disproportionate amount of the resources, oxygen, etc. And for what? Do you know Caden Reinhart* is? You probably don't, right? Well he was one of the best players on the California team that just won the entire Little League World Series. Now he's just a regular kid in middle school. His grades are no better and his acne no clearer because he hit a double on national TV. More locally, once the All-Stars thing ends, no one cares about it anymore. The kids are back in school together, on travel teams together, playing Fortnite together -- and they're not talking about little league all stars (but they are saying "bro" a lot). *I made Caden Reinhart up.

I hope NWLL can get its house in order. If there are members of the NWLL community/leadership that want help with any of the above or other best practices that can help build a strong and thriving little league community, feel free to reach out.

Best of luck,
Ben Becker
benbecker1 at gmail dot com

Great post.

Agreed... starting our won umpire program would be FANTASTIC. There are already a lot of dads who think they can do it, it would be great to keep kids involved and they HAVE to get rid of Ricky's cronies. He won't let it happen though.

I'd be fine if the letter writers left AND Ricky left. Clean sweep. Refocus on kids playing baseball.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Exactly. If Ricky had and could just show these waivers or provide justification beyond his word, Ricky wins. And Rico climbs off the hot seat. Instead they just continue gaslighting.

That’s probably what I would do too if I had nothing to show/nothing valid to show/or worse something falsified to show and was trying to self-preserve. Hold up the house of cards with more untruths and denials.

read the investigation, he can't.

at one point he said he lost his computer. lol. my kid's teacher wouldn't accept that excuse. and if it's real--he's so disorganized he can't maintain records, he should go for that.