Little Big Men (ESPN 30 for 30)


Little Big Men is part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series. This documentary focuses on the 1982 Little League baseball champions out of Kirkland, Washington, their amazing run to the championship, and the aftermath of their fame.

Released 2010; Runtime 55 minutes

Concepts
  • Youth Sport: Several youth sport issues come up throughout the movie, including practice time, developmental differences (Cody Webster could throw a 75mph fastball at age 12), burnout, and the amount of pressure placed on youth athletes following success (just because a kid is good at 12 does not mean that kid will be good at 18).
  • Parents & Family: There are examples of supportive parenting (encouraging, never forcing, their kids to play) and nasty parenting (insulting players of opposing teams following success).
  • Media: Twelve-year-old kids were thrust into the national spotlight, and an inordinate amount of pressure and focus was placed on Cody Webster (he was dubbed "America's Youngest Folk Hero"). The now-adult players commented that the innocence of youth was stripped away by the superstar attention they received.
  • Underdogs: Kirkland was a small team that came out of nowhere that was competing against a Taiwan team that had won 9 of the previous 11 LLWS titles and was on a 31 game winning streak.