BYB: Keep mistake in perspective

I was recently made aware of a decision by Barrington Youth Baseball to kick a boy off the team who was involved in the drug arrest at Station School last month.

While most area parents first thought might be "that's a good call by the BYB board," I'm concerned that the decision was made in the dark without gaining feedback from other parents who are involved with the player and his parents.

In essence, a quick decision was made and other options were not considered.

See, the father has been a spectacular supporter and volunteer for Barrington sports. He's done photo shoots, video of games, even created and administered a Web site for the kids.

The father and mother also took drastic measures to deal with the incident. The boy has been sent out of state to a private academy to finish the school year. Mom and Dad felt that a two-week suspension wasn't enough.

How many parents would have the guts to do this? None of the other five arrested did.

And isn't it most ironic that every baseball coach encourages a kid to quickly get over a mistake and move on, but, in this case, the child is being punished for a season (and possibly forever in our community should the BYB board not allow him to "make the team" next year).

Life is about good and bad decisions. A boy made a bad one -- his first. A judge in court would give serious consideration to that fact, why isn't BYB?

Dan Seidman

Barrington