A.L.L. baseball: 10/11s manager enjoys watching players interact

Watching a little league practice is like watching a mini-society for Tom Fordyce.

As the manager of the Ahwatukee Little League's 10- and 11-year-old All-Star team, Fordyce is fascinated by it all: the hierarchies, the social interaction.

"Kids come over to your house to go play and so you see your kids interacting, sometimes you hang out by the pool with them," Fordyce said, "but (now) sometimes I'm hanging out with them for two hours a day, sometimes even more during double practices, so to see how different kids are and how different they react to one another - positive and negative, but mostly positive - is neat.

"It's fun to see how 11-year-olds deal with different situations and hierarchies. It's fun to watch the social aspect."

Of course, Fordyce enjoys the baseball, too.

He helped coach his youngest son, Kooper, during the regular Little League season this spring, and that led to his being named the manager of the 11s all-stars, a team Kooper is also on.

"As a parent of a player, you're always cognizant of the fact that you might be scrutinized for how you treat your kid, whether it's too good or too bad," Fordyce said. "I find myself almost ... letting other coaches deal with what he does."

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