Message from shillson

[Anonymous]

Prior to the Los Angeles Dodger's Exposition game in Beijing, the Los Angeles Times wrote an article about Baseball and China's youth. (Reference - March 14, 2008 / Page A1 and continued to Page A 11)

The article highlighted a seed program at Fengtai Elementary School in Beijing orchestrated by the American Baseball League. It's goal is to expose 100,000 elementary school children in five cities to the sport of baseball. The article stresssed the potential economic gain to the group that manages to reach across barriers and grab the attention of Chinese youth who are more often interested in sports that kick or bounce balls, rather than whack them with a bat.

The potential pay-off for this successful infiltration is:

- A projected 10 billion dollar industry
- A marketing plan to attract 16 to 30 year olds willing to purchase shoes, shirts, cell phones or any product their sports stars hawk

The problems with developing a league are outlined as:

- Almost no baseball diamonds
- Many Chinese find baseball complicated; an admission by the Chinese National Coach
- The popular sentiment tends to be with the players in the N.B.A.; that already boasts several Chinese Superstars.

I believe this article would be an excellent "jumping off discussion point" for 5th and 6th graders. It is high interest - and lends itself to research and writing prompts. For example, pose the question to students - how would you popularize baseball in China given the current restraints? Or, what would you do to convince Chinese youth to give Baseball a try? How would you simplify the rules of baseball to explain it to someone your age who has never seen the sport? Why is baseball an exciting sport? This topic really speaks to the potential of persuasive writing activities.