Spring training baseball is big business. Trips to the desert to see your favorite team and to get out of the winter weather have become more popular than summer vacations. For many fans, spring trips are the only major league baseball game they will attend, even when they have teams in their own cities. Why? Spring training games remind us that being big business is not the same as acting like it's all business. Spring training is uniquely fun. 

I was thinking about the similarities between spring ball and schools. There are some qualities about Spring training that I think we should do more of in school. Here are my 5: instruction; everyone participates; trying new things; being a kid; and stretching and sunscreen. 

Spring baseball is about instruction and practice. Coaches seem to mingle alongside players, encouraging, coaxing, suggesting. The focus is on improvement and active participation, not a final report card. There is no denying the players have a goal in mind, but springtime is about learning; judgement is for another time. Good schools resist always adding up points, find a way to have students worry less about a gpa and more about effort, and convince kids to believe that who they are today is only a fraction of who they will be tomorrow. 

Spring baseball is a time when everyone gets to dream about being a star. Guys who are likely to be playing AA ball are shagging flies on the same field as an All-Star. There is a greater chance that you will see a "no name" in the line-up than "King Felix." There seems something really healthy in schools when the culture allows everyone to shine, rather than just "the best and brightest." 

I read that during the Mariners' camp last week, second basemen were playing in the outfield and pitchers were taking batting practice. Spring is a time for trying that new pitch and relearning how to run bases. Schools are the most alive when they can inspire kids to be open to new things. They are most effective when the same can be said for the adults in the schools.

Somehow baseball in the spring is a kid's game. It's okay to trot around the bases, wear a hat backwards, sign autographs, lay in the grass. A thoughtful school looks for more ways to laugh, to find rest in the midst of busyness, and to let learning come in unexpected ways and in the most unlikely places. 

Spring training is leisurely, a game with no clock. The times I went, I would get to the game early and sit in the outfield cheap seats. Some players would be throwing the ball but most would just be stretching. I'd point out the ones with zinc oxide on their noses, reminding my own redheads to "lather up." Spring training reminds me that taking the time to care for yourself is key to preparing for anything. Schools that remember that helping everyone take care of themselves-physically and emotionally-levels the playing field for all. Feeling safe and cared for is the only way kids will enter the game with joy, confidence, and heart. 

I look forward to us entering our spring trimester at St. Pat's. Instead of seeing it as "getting close to the end of school," I hope that we recognize it as "our season to be better than ever." 

Peace and in eternal optimism for the M's, 

Chris