May I use this newspaper to give awareness to a growing concern of mine.

It began April 29. My son is an 8-year-old in the Manhasset Baseball League. While running past third base, my husband, who was coaching third, tripped Jake accidentally and without further ado he picked him up and told Jake to run home. Limping and crying, my son reached home plate. After much discussion, my husband determined he would have handled it differently today. He would call a time out and make sure his player was okay. The following Wednesday, while at a baseball practice of one of our sons, I overheard a lacrosse coach arguing with a baseball coach over who had the permit for the baseball field at Memorial Park. Finally, the straw that broke the camel's back came Sunday, May 6. My 6-year-old was playing at St. Mary's baseball field. The other team - a very well coached team in the area of fielding and hitting - had a child playing at the catcher position. His parents were okay with it. The boy had absolutely no equipment on. During the 6-year-old games, you could have a child out at first base who continues to barrel around to home plate with total disregard for the coach yelling "Stop," never mind the presence of another 6-year-old at home plate. Without equipment, this child at home plate could get seriously hurt. Although I would never want to discourage the dedication and enthusiasm of Manhasset parents and coaches, including myself, the bottom line is that we are responsible for these children. We can achieve this without squelching their spirit.

In my tenure with ABC Sports - primarily Monday Night Baseball - I had the opportunity to witness firsthand, some of the finest athletes, coaches and teams the world had ever seen at the time. One thing they all had in common was a total respect for the basics. The basics, at this level of play, prior to third grade or 9 years old are to get an understanding of the game - be it baseball, basketball, lacrosse, soccer, etc. in an environment that promotes safety and fun. Working together is introduced at this level - what it means to be a team and finally, encouraging the children to respect their bodies by the use of proper equipment and proper technique i.e. teaching them to slide, for example, they're going to do it anyway. We must remind ourselves that in the 5 to 8-year-old age group our children are in the infancy stage of various sports. So, let us let them walk before they run. Let us nurture the children. Build compassionate and moral foundations - strong foundations while we still can. Perhaps we'll have a fighting chance of our children becoming responsible athletes and adults. Let us show them how it's done.

Let us work together Manhasset - body, mind and spirit. Take the pressure off the children and let the fun and games begin.

Randy K. Kinsley