Lansing's Home run for Health: How Baseball Can Help Kids

By: Julien Azar / CR Marketing

Baseball can be a surprisingly powerful tool for helping kids grow up healthy– not just physically, but socially and emotionally as well. Like any sport, it gets children moving in a way that doesn’t feel like “exercise.” Running bases, throwing, swinging, and reacting quickly build coordination, balance, and overall fitness. Not to mention they’re fun! Just as important, baseball teaches patience and focus. A lot of the game is waiting, watching, and being ready—skills that translate to school, friendships, and everyday life.

Team sports give kids a built-in community. Someone who isn’t the naturally charismatic type may find baseball as an excellent tool for opening up and finding their people. They learn how to communicate, how to listen to a coach, and how to work with teammates who think and play differently than they do. They learn resilience, too. In baseball, failure is part of the deal: even great hitters make outs most of the time. That normalizes mistakes and teaches kids to reset, try again, and keep their confidence.

Youth sports health expert Anthony Moreno explains how parents can use the Strikeout Baseball mini-stadium to ignite their childrens' passion for activity.

In a world where it’s easy to stay inside looking at screens, baseball is one more reason to get out of the house. Games and practices structure real-life interactions that help kids feel connected and grounded. It’s hard to replace the value of being outside, sharing space, and learning how to navigate wins and losses with other people. It’s a fundamental component of the human experience.

Developing leadership skills is a part of playing any competitive sport. Sean Schumitsch, who runs summer baseball clinics at the stadium for young players, commented, “You’ll see some of the older teenage kids that attend the clinics kind of just take over and help coach the younger kids.” Baseball builds leadership in small, everyday moments. Kids learn to speak up in the dugout, encourage a teammate after an error, and stay calm when the game gets tight. Quieter players practice leading by example, showing up prepared, hustling, and keeping a steady attitude.

That kind of leadership feels a lot like how older generations grew up with the game: sandlot teams, neighborhood rivalries, and long summer evenings where the “coach” was often just the oldest kid. Baseball wasn’t a résumé-builder; it was a shared ritual. “We all played a version of this game,” said Jeff Lazaros, founder of Strikeout Baseball. “But now that we have a structure and a facility specifically designed to play Strikeout Baseball, it’s really exciting.”

Anthony Moreno

Youth Sports Researcher

at MSU & EMU

“Part of the key to get kids moving is we have to create environments that are very inviting to them,” says Anthony Moreno, a coach educator at MSU and EMU. “Establishments like Strikeout, they create these opportunities and environments for the kids, and it’s a… non-intimidating kind of environment.” Competition can motivate kids, but overcompetitiveness can steal away the joy of playing. When adults focus only on trophies, prestige, or “being the best,” the pressure starts mounting. Kids can start playing because they’re scared to lose rather than driven to win. The best baseball environments celebrate effort, improvement, and teamwork, all aspects that underpin Strikeout. If kids learn to love the game, stay active, and build friendships, they’re already winning— no scoreboard required.