Grand Avenue True Value Hardware & Sporting Goods

I stopped into the Grand Avenue True Value Hardware & Sporting Goods in South San Francisco because I needed a new kitchen sink faucet – Delta’s Model 200, a classic – and since the name included “Sporting Goods” I could convince my son to get out of the car (he was getting more and more impatient with my quest for the faucet…)

A nice, white-haired woman behind the counter asked if she could help; she took us to the faucet headquarters, pointing out a nice option to replace ours for $84.00. It was a nice option but even though it looked a bit ancient, with ivory-enhaced sailing vessel steering wheel knobs, and a long arched tube outlet, it would have been out of place in our 1947 home. I was determined to find the Classic Delta Model 200. Besides: the last time I picked one up at Home Depot, in 1999, it was $84.00 – but they didn’t stock it any longer “special order only,” stated the nice employee.

She was kind enough to direct me to the large lumber company and competitor Ace Hardware just down the road (“…The way you’re car’s pointed, just go straight; turn right on Railroad; you can’t miss it….”)

Before we left, I asked, “it says “Sporting Goods” outside – I take it you have some?” “You’re into Baseball, I take it.” she respond, clearly observing my son’s Baseball cap. “Why yes, and could you also direct us to the Baseball store in the area, the one with letters in the name?” “You mean C & L,” she stated definitively.

Out of the blue, somehow it just came up as she mentioned a girl who was interested in Baseball…:

I mentioned that girls are not prevented from playing Baseball even if an organization thinks that offering Softball is sufficient.

“She just loves Baseball. All she can talk about is Baseball, same with her brother. She’s good, I mean really good. She pitches but needs some work on that. The other day, she hit it over the fence. She gets going with good extension and wow it goes far!”

When the matter of if and how well girls can play came up, my son stated matter-of-factly:

“It is the bad players who have a problem with girls playing Baseball…”

I provided the web addresses to our sites; gave her our phone number, suggested she give us a call so our daughter could help her; I told her about Star Maker Sports and the opportunities for Baseball training there, in Belmont. “Don’t be confused by the two sides – one Baseball, one Softball – take the left side to Baseball training opportunities….”

“How do I get to the Baseball store from the lumber company?” I asked, assuming : “Go past the lumber company; turn right on orange; left on Grand then Right on Mission Blvd.; it is in the same shopping center as the Salvation Army Store, to the right of it.”

I had heard of this sporting goods store for 2+ years, from our esteemed Baseball coach at West Sunset, Tim Roff, who I was under the impression purchases all items exclusively from C & L. At least, he gets his hats, jerseys, coach’s pullovers from there. During our Friday Night Under the Lights league season, throughout the Fall and into Winter at West Sunset, eventually, Tim posted a long banner on the Right Field wall, dwarfing the small, LED score board, with the name of the preferred purveyor of sporting goods large enough to finally recall (maybe) the name of for those in the stands behind the diamond.

Amazingly, I was able to locate and purchase (grudgingly, at a premium of $32.00 above what I had paid for the same item 9 years ago) the Delta Model 200 faucet. (The nice lady at the Grand Avenue hardware store suggested either driving another 6 miles down the road to San Mateo, to a home furnishings supply emporium – or going “online” (it did sound strange hearing her say the word in such a timeless vintage shoppe in the village of South San Francisco and San Bruno, California) to find the specific model I was looking for. Well, with the discovery of the cause of the leak that was dumping gallons of fine Hetch Hetchy water…

…into the bay by way of our drain,…

…being a pin hole on the copper piping of the older Model 200, I knew that I had to return home with some wall-mount faucet by the end of the morning’s journey (I knew my son would not last the trip to San Mateo.) So, after confirming I could return the faucet, box opened(!) if I needed to, any time, I purchased it; grabbed a complimentary bag of freshly popped corn, the sound and aroma the only things catching my attention – stating it was for my son who was about to kill me for this prolonged agony and transgression, and made for the car, now, in search of the best darn Baseball store in the neighborhood of San Francisco and surrounding boroughs…

The journey to the Baseball Sporting good store was a bit of a lark, as I had never in my 45 years traveled these streets for any reason but now in the quest for a jewel.

When we entered the smallish shoppe in ye strip mall, adjacent to a Domino’s Pizzeria, the large man sitting at the desk did not look up, nor greet us accordingly. As I am known for reaching out to strangers, exuding excitement having not only finally found the shop – let alone remembering the name, I describe ourselves as “West Sunset Baseballers”, that we were aware that “all” items purchased for our team was obtained through him, to which he commented, “well, not all…”

We did discover one of the most amazing sources for team gear, as many logos and colors unfamiliar to us were visible on racks, in stacks and boxes. No prices adorned the items, no doubt available at the discretion of the generous soul who devotes himself to guaranteeing the the South City Youth Baseball Association league players are garnered in the finest to provide the glimmer of hope at High School and College aspirations.

If you come they will build it…

We arrived earlier than the other girls by two days. It made little sense to travel that far for two days, four games. No matter how historic the event, the first National Girls Baseball Championship was an investment of money, time and commitment. During these lean times, we needed to consider all options. We hadn’t considered Jessica playing on a Woman’s level team until Mary Jo mentioned it only a three weeks out from the event. We didn’t consider that Chicago would field a team of mostly girls in the Woman’s division; we were just considering the new Girls division.

We did reach out to the girls in the photo above. Some we heard back from others not. We discovered commitments to other sports, other activities; the Fall school schedule truly impacts everyone. But we had to go no matter what.

I guess that is the fate of the only girl in San Francisco who still prefers playing Baseball to Softball. That’s how it seems at least.

The dilemma to go or not formed as our Middle School season just got under way – the first game, actually. We discovered that a new coach was less likely to give the girl on the team the shot to move into High School Baseball. Or, considering the status quo – and one competing coach in the league who pulls out all of the stops to win – our coach didn’t want the fate of certain losses on the shoulders of the only girl – and have it fall on his as he was new to the faculty, to the district, to coaching and teaching in the city of San Francisco.

The idea that this girl could travel to a tournament to play Baseball with similarly disaffected girls, each of whom recognized for their talents and skills, supported by their families: this was the opportunity to share as a member of a unique, legitimate club.

We were honored by the opportunity for Jessica to play among girls from two distinct communities: Pawtucket, RI, and Chicago, IL. Allowing us to join them on their teams, to live among them, to discover what it takes to build teams, leagues and societies for the future of Girls Baseball – for the future of girls who choose Baseball over other traditional activities.

The decision to be the youngest on a team of women limited to the least time on the field rather than playing continuously to her strengths as a girl was easy to make. Every experience we have had in all organized sports has taught us this. Each time we had hoped for a visionary coach or athletic director or Rec Center director. At least they are consistent!

OK – you’re on the team: now what?!? – A rant…

You spent a lot of time and took heat from a lot of different directions to get on your school’s Coed Baseball team: now what? If you think I have the answers – then stop reading this. But if you want to hash this one out – venting with outrage if you need to and find that helpful, too – making contributions as you can, please read further…

One boy who tried out for the school Baseball team didn’t make the cut – for the past two years. After long negotiations, he was appointed Manager. He is responsible for the score book among other tasks. His very supportive mother can be found in the stands simultaneously tracking everything on the field, all plays, both teams; her son sits in the dugout tracking really just his own team. I wonder how he feels when his supportive mom walks down from the stands, leaning over the rails and talks to him on the field – at all – let alone about something relevant like confirming what the other team just did.

I can’t even wave or say hello to my kids – they just scoff at me and if they don’t get on base I won’t hear the end of it for a week that I jinxed them. If someone else wants to hoot and holler for them fine – but if they hear my atrocious voice, forget about it.

Title IX seems to have a double edge to it. If you raise the case to the authorities the athletic directors and coaches feign ignorance and cave. But do they also have to play you or your kid? It seems that getting on the team has nothing to do with the asset the player provides. Hey, they don’t care if the player is a boy or girl; young or old. If they perform well or show progress they will be permitted to develop. Guess what: Title IX is there to protect the boy’s right to succeed, too. – another edge to the sword.

Each year the school’s district-affiliated Inter-mural sports handout sheet goes out in the Spring, just before Summer break, allowing the kids and their families the chance to consider what sports to come out for in the Fall. Each year, for the past three that has been of keen interest to us, when we receive this sheet our family goes into a tizzy: it says “Boys Baseball” – rather than JUST “Baseball” – and “Girls Softball.”

This business about Girls Sports is rationalized in one distinctive way in our community – in the California Interscholastic Federation’s (CIF) purview: boys overpower girls, so: create divisions – leagues – that prevent that from happening. Hence: all-girls sports. There is a lot of support for this in the Free World; heck, our daughter will be playing in an all-girls and all-women’s Baseball tournament very soon and fortunately it is there for her to attend, participate and flourish. Guess what: it is a TOURNAMENT and each girl there understands they are there to win so they will probably sit on the bench when they appear to not be contributing toward that goal.

If i was a regular team mate or their supportive family member I might take exception to that approach. If each coach was on the same page that they were to play not (just) to win but to the balance of the teams – with respect and dignity; with control and subtlety. Comparison to an abstraction seems questionable.

This will seem like a tangent…

I’ve written about this before trying to not punch a hole in a wall when our daughter was treated badly in a highly competitive situation that took precedence over the opportunity to share in the experience. Who doesn’t want to win, right? In that situation, the separation between the administration and coaching didn’t exists and, even though our daughter was there to play; had the skills to contribute the organization stacked the team at the last minute with insiders who were given the opportunity to develop in the game regardless of their actual skills.

“Regardless of their actual skills” has a double meaning and I don’t want it to be misconstrued.

The players did demonstrate their abilities well in their local league of all-girls. Out of respect for the coaches, who were exposed to the other girls’ skills far more than the unknown skills of our own daughter, and they needed to hedge their success (while not alienating their own community members) it is entirely understandable that the two players were given preferential treatment, as catchers and pitchers both, trading places game to game.

The all-girls team only squeaked in one win – and it was on a rainy day; with a significant delay; tied going into the final innings; the opponent not particularly high in the rankings among the 95 teams in the running that week. So, the argument that the players were there to win is questionable.

Any bad coaching decisions aside, our daughter was not given equal access to demonstrate her abilities and was not treated fairly by a private organization that sold itself and the opportunities it provided to support girls playing Baseball: they had much self-interest at the heart of their efforts: their OWN self-interests, among the coaches and in support of their own future efforts to improve the opportunities for girls who are intent on playing Baseball.

Clearly, they have the best interest of the game and advancing opportunities for girls to play Baseball somewhere in their hearts and minds.

Sounds like a paradox: it is…

Each person who is involved in the enterprise to “support” girls in sports and specifically Baseball, in this case, seem to triangulate among three discrete intentions:

1) Appear to be concerned that the girls are disenfranchised; define a violation of rights to access; present findings to overriding organization exposed to Title IX violation enforcement and any punitive damages;

2) Upon guarantees from the overriding organization that they support remedies: lay out an ideal scenario for providing access and resources to girls: with the explicit goal of the girls having the opportunity to excel to the greatest heights possible in the field.

3) Set expectations for families and girls that they can achieve the level of success experienced by their male counterparts, that all resources are in place and now they will be assessed for skill – based on prior involvement in the given sport, outside of the newly formed team or league supported by overriding organization.

With each piece in place, interacting with one another continuously, new opportunities flourish for communities, players (read: students); their families – AND professional athletic administrators, directors and coaches. It increases opportunities that simply didn’t exist before.

Our daughter can play Baseball as well as any individual on her Middle School team. She can play any position; she can hit and get on base; she can pitch and catch well. She can do more on her Baseball team than any individual who has been conformed to a specialization as soon as the coaches were able to define – even though the players are in Middle School…

Specialization seems to be the means by which a coach and athletic director can find an out to achieving parity – either on a Coed team or a Single-sex team.

Yet, if a new Softball team forms, which was the case just last year – the first year – and there are no girls who have played it before then no one can assert skill as a factor in defining positions or amount of time in the game: they simply make their way. By the time skills have developed the kids have moved on into High School and are no longer a variable: their well-developed skills are not applicable.

What about the team after one or two years, where a 6th Grade player develops those skills in 7th and then as a Star in 8th?

In sympathy with the Image Builders for a given school’s Athletics Department – as a way to stimulate interest in attending the given school, they run into a daunting situation when their previous 8th Grade leaves and need to rebuild the team over the next three years.

But this is the exact moment when the athletic director can set expectations at each grade level without sacrificing a beneficial system. In our case, it seems, our expectations of 8th Grade glory were crushed under the cleats of the incoming 6th and 7th Graders…

Regardless of gender or sport: the highly skilled players pose the greatest challenge to Title IX execution or evaluation IMHO. As Poster Children of What Can Be Achieved under the best of circumstances any opportunity for the less innately talented or physically distinct child is significantly diminished – and will have a hard time making a case that they have been mistreated or disenfranchised.

In conversations with the head or the CIS – local chapter – when our daughter was not selected for the 6th Grade team – for no apparent reason – it was clarified that we were up against a philosophical argument preventing her participation – not an equity argument…

Her team was formed 10 years ago on a premise of Competition – not Inclusion. These are options – not directives from the Equity departments in the school district – that a given school, athletic director and coach – and PTA – come to an agreement upon. No individual school is required to be inclusionary or be competitive. It doesn’t even matter if your child is approaching the team’s leadership with the intention of advocating one over the other: if the leadership chooses Competition over Inclusion and you can’t demonstrate ability based on select criteria (i.e., speed on the base paths, coordination, power, quickness of the bat, intelligence, etc.) during tryouts – or – more – impacting once selected during regular pre-game practices: you will not be selected for the team or you will sit on the bench.

Or, to make certain that the child who has used the Title IX trump card to get on the team; practices regularly, does get to play a reasonable quantity of games: what of the QUALITY of the games to be had: the opportunity to grow and develop?

In a terrific article published in the San Francisco Examiner sfgate.com web site:

A WOMAN’S PLACE – Female athletes don’t need to be ‘protected,’ they need to grow” by Gwen Knapp – sfgate.com – Thursday, February 16, 2006

Ms. Knapp stresses the most important point of all:

“… In the Olympic Games, evolving women’s sports usually run into two obstacles: the talent gap and the fear factor. In hockey, body-checking is forbidden, partly because the two North American teams are so much faster and stronger, they might knock an opponent into the rafters.

Mostly, though, it’s because some of the men who run Olympic sports are too squeamish. They no longer believe that a woman will be rendered barren if she runs 200 meters, or if they do, they don’t say so out loud. But when it comes to blood and guts and eviscerated cartilage, they cling to double standards….”

If our younger daughters – with seemingly the SAME LEVEL OF SKILL GOING IN – are not provided the SAME opportunities as the boys to struggle on the mound; throwing down the runner at Second Base behind the plate; getting stuck in Right Field paying their dues and in strategic positions in the batting line up:

they won’t be able to demonstrate to the world that the arbitrary decisions made by career professionals, semi-pro coaches and volunteer PTA-subsidized parent volunteer coaches – in cahoots with school administrations everywhere – are interfering with the evolution of the sport, and redefining all roles and distribution of tasks in our society.

Reflecting on the Middle School Baseball team manager – a boy who didn’t make the team, while a girl did:

his opportunity to become a General Manager, securing a position with a Minor or Major League Baseball team when he matriculates from college in few years is TODAY far greater than the opportunity of the girl to ever play in the Minor or Major League as an equal to one of her Male peers.

Three leagues share Christopher Field at once – San Francisco, CA or Anywhere , USA

Wednesday, 3-5 PM, three leagues share the field at Christopher Playground in San Francisco, a quintessential field perched above Glenn Canyon, one of the truly amazing natural features that makes San Francisco distinct with contrasting environments in such a small, 49 Square-Mile plot of land by the Pacific Ocean. The Recreation Director put in her request for the city’s Rec league team, for five days, two hours a day, but didn’t account for kids with different school schedules. The next league interested, from the Parish leagues, took over the field with a cadre of parent coaches an hour into it. Little League is never too far behind, third in the pecking order, having a practice across town from their regular fields found on an island in the middle of The San Francisco Bay.

Little League struck a deal with the City of San Francisco to take over dormant parcels of land on Treasure Island, renowned for the Worlds Fair site, currently it is a port for personal sailing vessels; site of lower-cost rental and charity housing and the SF Fire Department’s training facility for Industrial accidents. Adjacent to these service-accessible towering training metal conduits is one of three Baseball fields maintained by the local Little League and only for their use during the regular seasons. When I hear of the now-former President of Little League leaving the city’s field scheduling office irate that he was unable to secure enough or the Recreation and Park’s fields (considering the heavy rain season of 2006 which had put everyone’s schedule back) I can’t feel much sympathy: they have all the resources they need to maintain their level of play without impacting the rest of the city’s athletic needs including many other Baseball programs.

Because LL does have three fields they can call their own despite the somewhat inconvenient location in the middle of the San Francisco Bay, the city’s Recreation & Park and the Parish leagues can breath a bit easier – or so one would think. We also have both Public and Private High School Baseball leagues in full-swing. Youth and Adult Soccer also takes a lead on many fields in San Francisco, having been champions of a rollout of new artificial turf options that supposedly will lead to more year-round continuous use. Add Adult Flag Football, Soccer and Softball beginning at dusk, city-wide, and the dedicated Recreation & Park staff have an almost unmanageable task deciphering and scheduling field options. (This is the first year the city has used a computer to help with actual scheduling though that is still a work-in-progress.)
Two days earlier, at the Moscone Recreation & Park facilities (coincidentally the practice fields to the Ausie Hearts when they have come through San Francisco on their way to the Women’s World Series at Disney World in Orlando, FL the past two years), to begin the inaugural practice intended for the Middle School-level All-girls Baseball team I am coaching, I had to kick a Private High School team off the diamond; they adjusted their practice to running adjacent to the field a row of mature boys eating into our outfield, running across the entire field, seeming to make a statement with the path they cut also interfering with another team’s practice on Moscone #2.

At two of the other corner fields were two different Public High Schools practicing – one more recreational while one is competitive within the same division; a Softball diamond dormant until 6 PM but its outfield usurped by the Adult Soccer field laid out in cones; a full-length flag Football game laying out fluorescent orange cones marking their turf; buttressed up against the Adult Soccer field, the field goal touching the Baseball diamond’s Infield dirt. three sets of dads with kids in their first bonding moments tossing, hitting and catching artificially-encased orbs of Americana (softer than those we collected over the past 4+ seasons of Youth Baseball) jammed in between leagues of more determined and organized citizens. I did pity the few dog owners hoping to get their charge out for the first run after being cooped up in the home all day in the surrounding Marina and Cow Hollow district of San Francisco.

Coincidentally, Christopher Playground and Park is a site of a very controversial turf war between city youth and dog advocates: if the youth are not present as often as possible the dog advocates challenge the rights to the field and encroach on one of the only usable Baseball diamonds conveniently located in the city. Though, the city did hand over another Baseball diamond to the dog advocates, at Douglass Playground, literally across the street from Christopher, the success at City Hall seems to have emboldened the dog owners rather than appeasing them. It boggles the mind that Douglass Baseball diamond sits dormant, among the trees.
All of this was happening at 5:30PM on a Monday, the orange glow of sunset, the canvas behind the twin towers of the Golden Gate Bridge and the rolling hills of the Marin Headlands across the San Francisco bay, peeked above the field fences and surrounding $1M+ homes and apartment buildings, finishing off this seemingly traditional portrait.