From the kids to ‘The Kids’ – the development of negative social capital I a Little League Baseball organization

Abstract

Based on extensive fieldwork within a youth baseball league in the American Southwest, this paper has two goals. First, I make a conceptual distinction between the dark side of social capital and what I term “negative social capital.” Second, I detail how negative social capital developed and was deployed within the Valley City Little League, with an emphasis on origins and the consequences for both the individuals involved as well as the league as a whole. I also examine how negative social capital was able to develop in a child-centered voluntary organization, an anomaly within extant research on negative relationships in such organizations.

Notes

1. That is, board members almost exclusively joined at the urging of a friend already on the board, which is consistent with the literature on volunteering. See Wilson (2000).

2. see, e.g. the various works of Nan Lin or Ben Fine on theorizing social capital.

3. Little Leagues are geographically-bound and have well-defined boundaries. In order for a player to have permission to play in a league outside of their ‘home’ league, they must have permission from the league they would normally play based on their residence. This is designed to keep certain leagues from attracting the best players for their potential All-Star teams and to ensure competitive balance. Securing permission to play outside of one’s own league, then, is not always easy for parents. The issue was complicated for the VCLL, since their boundaries had recently been redrawn; many players were allowed to continue playing there if they had already started. This led to a complex system of waiver paperwork and permission forms that the league struggled to maintain and organize in 2010 and 2011.

4. Lawrence eventually returned to the board and again became an officer. He served until the end of my fieldwork as the Chief Umpire.

5. Board duty is a rotating job for which board members volunteer. While the specific job description is vague, the board member on duty is present to make sure the scheduled games run smoothly, and to adjudicate any conflicts or handle any particular issues that might arise during the course of the day’s or evening’s games.

6. It is worth noting here that I had a relationship outside of the league with Ron, as might be expected in a community the size of Valley City. He coached my daughter’s 4-year old soccer team in 2010, and his son had often helped him out with the girls, who all adored him. I had also officiated several of his son’s Under 10 soccer games in my role as a referee in the local AYSO. I had gotten to know his family rather well by this time, and I liked them very much, so it was very difficult to refuse in this situation.

7. This was also my experience as the age division coordinator for the 4 and 5-year old division of the local AYSO in Valley City.