America’s Favourite Pastime In London For Kids
Every year, around this time as the days get longer and the temperature gets warmer, we say goodbye to the winter and welcome the spring.
Growing up in Montreal, this time of year would typically mean a family trip down to Florida to watch some spring training Grapefruit League baseball games followed swiftly by Opening Day back in Montreal at the Olympic Stadium. The Montreal Expos never won the National League Pennant and never made it to the World Series, but spring for me was always about ‘rooting for the home team’ in the hope that this would be their year. After the Expos moved to Washington, I moved to New York City and then to London in 2001. My three children were all born in London and attended British schools when they were younger and so grew up playing British sports.
One weekend in April, about 10 years ago, there was a gap in-between British sports seasons - where rugby ends and cricket begins. One of our American friend’s invited us to join him and his family at Wormwood Scrubs where his children were playing baseball. Our whole family came down and our oldest who was about 6 years old at the time, borrowed a glove and played baseball for the first time. Like any new sport, he didn’t know the rules or have the technique, but most of the other kids didn’t either. At that age, competition wasn’t priority - they were all having so much fun. He jumped right in, and with the help of the father/coaches who did a great job including him, they helped all the players learn and hone new skills allowing them all to enjoy the day. To my surprise he asked to go back the following week, and we did. Two weeks turned into three, which quickly turned into four, and after eight weeks the summer had rolled around and the season was over.
Ten years later my oldest son heads off to ‘the Scrubs’ every Saturday and Sunday, sets up 12 fields and backstops of various sizes, umpires games and takes down the playing fields with friends he has made through baseball at the Scrubs. My two younger ones are going on their 6th and 8th seasons. My wife and I enjoy the chilli and BBQ food from the stalls, help during the pre-game practice, watch the kids play and cheer them on from the sidelines in our folding chairs which we take out to the Scrubs every weekend.
There is something magical about a weekend at the Scrubs. Throughout the years, we have met amazing friends who come from all walks of life. We communally commiserate about the specific micro-climate at the Scrubs where we can sometimes suffer/enjoy all seasons - winter, spring, summer and fall - all during the course of a few hours! We enjoy a break from London as we watch our kids enjoy partaking in America’s favourite pastime, whilst they get a break from their iPhones and PlayStations. As a family, we get the chance to come together. I really enjoy having everyone in one place for a few hours a week instead of the usual reality of various activities forcing us all in separate directions.
LondonSports is the biggest youth baseball league for boys and softball league for girls in the UK (ages 5-18) and has been going strong for over 32 years. It’s a developmental league that was originally built on the principle of putting busy parents and kids together on a field playing a game many of us grew up with. Since the 1980’s, many generations have made the pilgrimage to the Scrubs and built the programme a year at a time. The ‘pop-up’ nature of the fields is one of the defining characteristics of the programme with fields set up and torn down every day we play. As is the umpire programme that encourages older kids to stay with the league, take on some responsibility and earn some money along the way. A few years ago, we incorporated the programme as a UK charity to better plan for future growth and allow us to raise funds in both the public and private sectors. At the end of the day, it is a family-friendly, all-volunteer labour of love. So if you grew up playing or watching baseball and wanted your children to have a little taste of what that was like, then the league at the Scrubs may be just what you and your family are looking for.
Spring training will begins late in March, but the league really gets going after the Easter break and we are looking forward to another great year. If you are curious but not sure, don’t have a glove or just want to see it in person, come down with your kids and play for an hour or two and meet the volunteers who run London Sports. Have your child try it out and see if he or she gets hooked just like my children did years ago.
Submitted by Josh Matthews, Managing Partner of Maseco Private Wealth. For further information please contact: info@londonsports.com or visit www.londonsports.com.