Parents not playing ball with Parks and Rec age groups
BY JAMES C. FALCON
james@nordaknorth.com
Age categories set for activities hosted by the Garrison Parks and Recreation board have caused upset with a number of parents, the board reported at a special meeting on May 31. Board member Amber Klingbeil stated that a few parents have pulled their children from the summer program because they did not agree with the age categories set. Hypothetically, a parent with an 11-year-old child would not be able to sign their child up for Babe Ruth Baseball, which is for children ages 13 to 15. This is an example of a few issues which the Parks and Rec board have faced. While each sport had a recommended age group, with May 1 used as a cut-off date, Klingbeil said the Parks and Rec department began to adhere to these recommendations for the respective sports. This is being done to evenly distribute youth between the different sports, to not overwhelm coaches and to keep youth in the same age groups together as they progress in sports, Klingbeil said.
