Dear Editor:

If J.P. Hudson would not charge $100 for kids to play baseball/softball, they would have more people to sign their kids up.

That is just too much to pay for one child to play ball. True, I signed my kids up AGAIN this year, because I know the activity is good for them, but really what benefits do they get?

My children have played at Nettleton ($45 per child), Houston ($45 per child) and this fee included shirt, shorts, and at the end of the ball season ALL kids got either a gold medallion or a trophy, not just the top two teams but all kids.

Even Huntingburg, Ind. only charges $40 per child and this is where “The League of Their Own” was filmed.

Tupleo  doesn’t even charge this much. I think members of the J.P. Hudson Park Committee have forgotten what playing ball is really about.

It is about the kids having fun and making new friends. But if the fee is so out of this ballpark, then how can they play?

When we moved back here (I’m from here, even played high school softball with South Panola for 4 years) I told my kids they would like playing at J.P. Hudson.

Boy, was I wrong. My oldest hated it so bad she wouldn’t even play her best. And the main reason she said she hated it was because of the coaches.

Most of the coaches only focus on the kids they know or the kids they have watched play in the past, they forget about the new kids that maybe have just moved here or just started playing.

I think EVERY child is a great ballplayer in his/her own way and you will be surprised at how good they are if you would just show them their potential.

But I have learned that at J.P Hudson it is all about who you know and who you are, if the coaches even show interest in your child.

And if we as parents would learn to sit back and actually watch the game instead of complaining where a coach puts our kids, we ourselves my actually enjoy the game too. Let’s put the spirit back in softball/baseball. Kids need it and honestly, so do we as parents.

 Sincerely,

Crystal Bryant McCormick

(Editor’s Note: J.P. Hudson is a private association and not subsidized by state or county government. According to McCormick, the aforementioned Nettleton and Huntingburg programs are also private associations while Tupelo and Houston are municipally owned.)