Totally unrelated as they are, the Berlin Little League’s tournament season and the Ocean Pines Association’s employee compensation study should be subject to one piece of advice: temper your expectations.
For followers of the pay study, it means the results probably won’t turn up anything radical, such as most employees being woefully underpaid or grossly overpaid, and that major adjustments are in order.
No matter where they are conducted, most pay studies find that wage scales are at least in the ballpark, if not on par with those in force in neighboring jurisdictions. Occasionally, something will stand out and will be corrected, but that usually applies only to positions where compensation is too low.
When, on the rare occasion, a study finds a position that’s being paid far too much, the usual course for decision-makers is to do nothing, since it’s virtually impossible to reduce the wages of someone who is, by all other standards, doing the job.
Consequently, anyone hoping or expecting to see a big change in the salary and wage structure arising out the pay study is likely to be disappointed.
On the baseball front, tempering expectations is not about avoiding disappointment, it concerns making sure the kids have fun on and off the field. As successful as Berlin’s youth ball clubs have been over the years, it’s natural that parents and fans have come to expect excellence every season and aren’t shy about expressing themselves in that regard to players and, more frequently, their coaches.
There comes a point, however, when rooting for success can become insisting on it, and that can take the enjoyment out of the process. Team supporters can pressure coaches, who, in turn, put more pressure on the kids.
Everyone wants Berlin’s teams to go on endless winning streaks this summer and take every title available. But we can’t want it so much that a loss here and there ruins the experience for the players.
It’s enough that the teams do their best and that we cheer them on in the process, while also reminding them that we’re with them all the way, win or lose.