American Legion baseball rules need overhaul

The current American Legion baseball eligibility rules and its Senior Leadership Team need a complete overhaul.

Forcing a 17-year-old young man to decide between playing for his high school summer league team vs. his local American Legion baseball team is absurd. This, of course, is all in the "spirit" of teaching these young men to be loyal?

The rules and Senior Management Team are not in touch with today's sports environment and simply do not understand the challenges associated with building an 18-man roster each summer.

We had an unfortunate situation where a young man had the opportunity many young men never get - the opportunity to play in two state championships in the same month. The American Legion senior management team declared him ineligible for the remaining Legion tournament games! This simply confirms the fact that they are out of touch with today's environment.

Upon appeal by our team, the Senior official had the opportunity to either "be right" or "do the right thing." He flat out failed. He failed to show strong leadership and left a 17-year-old athlete watching his team play from the bench.

Until these eligibility rules and the senior leadership changes are made, American Legion Baseball will never again thrive, let alone survive.

Dennis Drolet

Head Coach

Arlington Heights Post 208