To the Editor,

An interesting development in our town’s baseball program was [recently] announced. According to a league-issued letter signed by the new president and two individuals in new roles titled “Director of Travel Program,” children in our town who participate in other baseball organizations may not participate in Newtown’s travel baseball program.

That’s right — if a parent chooses to pay for their child to play baseball elsewhere in the spring or summer, which many do to access higher baseball instruction — then that child is barred from being considered to represent our town on the only town-sponsored teams available, who play on the town fields we all pay for with our tax dollars.

Imagine if your kid was barred from attending public education in Newtown because as a parent, you pursued professional tutoring because the school wasn’t meeting your needs. That’s what Newtown Baseball decided — without any communication or public discussion with anyone this might impact adversely.

The narrative and actions of Newtown Baseball with this decision will be explained as a matter of safety for children. They might say playing baseball for multiple programs is too much — which may have some truth. But as a parent, I will make those decisions for my child, not anyone else.

Towns all over Connecticut have found a way to balance player safety with player development and player availability. Newtown can, too.

Will Newtown Baseball be barring children who play sports like travel basketball, soccer, lacrosse, or wrestling? Will they be barring children who pursue the arts like music and dance, or those who participate in scouts? Where might it end?

As anyone whose child dons a jersey in this town representing Newtown can attest, there’s great pride in playing with your friends for your town. To be denied that opportunity is a great disservice to our kids, our teams, and our town in general, and it certainly is an example of Newtown Baseball overstepping their authority.

I’m pretty certain this is a violation of our town’s field use agreement, and I’d encourage all families who want a choice on where their children play baseball to voice their concerns to league leadership of Newtown Babe Ruth Baseball, the Newtown Parks and Recreation commission, Parks & Rec Director Amy Willie Mangold, and if necessary, our town First Selectman Daniel Rosenthal.

Sincerely,

David Stott

Newtown

Editor’s Note: According to Carl Samuelson, Assistant Director of Parks, a rule change such as the one being put forth by Newtown Youth Baseball would need to be approved by the Parks and Recreation Commission before it can be implemented.