Instead, he should return to Detroit the activities that have worked for generations of Americans: well-organized team sports for kids. The value of sports leagues is evident from Northville to Grosse Pointe, plus Rosedale Park in Detroit. These communities are known for their quality of living in part because of the leagues that exist for their children.

Team sports is like mandatory quality time that a community spends with its children. Weeknight baseball games at the park, or Saturday soccer games on the riverfront, force us as parents and as a community to call a time-out from our hectic lives and enjoy the good things in life with our children -- their first hit, the stinging tears of a hard-fought loss, the ice cream after a game is over.

The kids are not the only ones who grow. Parents get to know each other and which kid belongs to whom in the neighborhood. Some of the most powerful relationships are formed among parents from different sides of the tracks within Detroit as parents share inspiration, networks and resources with each other. This is the type of community improvement that works best when rich folks and poor folks work together, and well-run sports leagues help accomplish that.

So why can't all neighborhoods in Detroit enjoy these same benefits?

First, many believe that between single-parent families and two-income homes, parents don't have the time and will to support a sports league in their neighborhood. This is just not true. When we began Think Detroit, in 1997, some community leaders warned us not to start in the inner-city because they believed we would never be able to get the parental support necessary for leagues to function. We started a league for 120 children near the Jeffries Projects that summer, and our leagues grew to serve more than 2,000 children last year. Seventy percent of our players come from single-parent homes, yet the leagues succeeded because parents from inside and outside the home have made the commitment to make the league work.

Second, Detroit's Recreation Department simply does not have the resources to staff, organize and equip local leagues. It hasn't since the mid-'70s. However, Mayor Kilpatrick and the new director of the Recreation Department, Hurley Colemen, recognize that not-for-profit community organizations are natural partners, not competitors, in their efforts to serve children. By focusing on maintaining clean and safe parks and recreation centers, the Recreation Department can benefit from partnerships with nonprofits that can better manage sports leagues and recreation programs for the city at its facilities.

Third, the cost of athletic leagues requires corporate partnerships. After figuring in costs for uniforms, officials, field maintenance and administration, the average price for one child to play a team sport is $125 per season. However, we have found registration fees of more than $25 to be unfeasible for many families in the low-income neighborhoods we serve. The good news is that local companies have responded to the call to make up the $1,500 difference for each team. Last year, companies ranging from family-owned shops like Fred's Key Shop and Third Avenue Hardware to the elite law firms like Butzel Long and Lewis & Munday sponsored 45 teams in our baseball and softball leagues. These companies see the long-term investment of their dollars, and more than 90 percent of them return yearly.

It is clear that the mayor does not have the money anywhere in the budget to finance year-round sports leagues for the 240,000 children in Detroit. However, he does have the resources to make his parks and recreation centers clean and safe, and he has the not-for-profit allies, corporate funders and community-minded residents who can make this happen together.

Team sports for kids is a simple goal worth working for. It's one that will make our neighborhoods places our children will want to live in, not escape from, when they grow up.

MICHAEL F. TENBUSCH and DANIEL S. VARNER of Detroit are cofounders and directors of Think Detroit, a nonprofit organization that uses sports and technology to build character in young children. They also served on Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's transition teams for recreation and Mayor's Time. Write to them in care of the Detroit Free Press Editorial Page, 600 W. Fort St., Detroit, MI 48226.