I have been around baseball a long time. It is without a doubt the greatest sport ever invented. It should be treasured. It is also probably the one sport that reveals the most about us….players, parents, and coaches. It is the perfect blend of team work and individualism. It is the one sport where the defense controls the tempo of the game. It is the one sport that brings out the best…and yes…..worst …in all of us.
The opportunity to work with young kids is priceless. Any coach who tells you what he has done for this kid, or done for that kid, or how he has been such a big help to this kid …………. just doesn’t get it. Any coach “worth his salt” understands that he gets a lot more from the kids than the kids get from him.
I have spent the last three years absolutely entrenched in the baseball experience. I have had the pleasure of speaking to thousands…yes thousands ……of players, parents, and coaches. I have had the chance to take these experiences, and thoughts, and put them on paper. Writing a book about youth baseball has been without a doubt the most eye-opening experience of my life. The understanding of how deeply a coach, or mentor, can influence a child has changed my life. I now look at kids differently.
I trust them, I admire them, and I appreciate them.
This spring, I have been humbled once again by these kids and their incredible resiliency. All of them. They have managed to overlook a lot of our (parents, coaches) shortcomings and act in a very professional manner. They have been subjected to things that are not only not necessary, but in fact harmful. In a lot of cases, where it comes to parent and child, they have been the mature one.
They do not get nearly enough credit……. from any of us. Remember, they’re only children………….. they couldn’t possibly have anything important to say.
This spring, a group of kids played together at Gambrills. They officially were in a 12-u CBA League. They came from different organizations, different teams, and different skill sets. One of them was nine years old. They played the whole year in the CBA League and their next win in the league will be their first.
They lost every game.
They lost by two runs, and four runs, and twenty- two runs. Other teams laughed at them, ridiculed them, and felt necessary to steal against them with 10, and 12, and 15 run leads.
They did this with new coaches without any real experience.
They did this with a lot of “off the field” drama that they shouldn’t have been put through.
They did this with being told what to do by perhaps six or seven people at the same time. Some were actually coaches.
Perhaps you would think that this would be enough to break their spirit, to discourage them from this great game.
Hardly ………………
You see, kids are the most wonderful thing in the world. They are resilient and strong and funny and competitive and compassionate.
In general, they put us adults to shame………..
As we worry about us, and our concerns, and our wants, and our egos, they grow up. We then turn around, and they are gone….. and we then ask ourselves,
“Now, what exactly was I thinking about when I should have been focusing on my son…and the other kids?”
“What lessons did I really teach my son?”
These 12-u kids will be playing this weekend. They have practiced every night for the last week or so. They are looking forward to this. The coaches are looking forward to this. They all are happy and focused and motivated.
They are all winners.
This has not been a “lost season’ for them. Far from it…… they have learned more than most, and they will be better off for it.
To all the parents who “get it” ……. thank you for teaching the right lessons.
These kids deserve our appreciation and gratitude….. all of them.
Sometimes it’s just good to “shake the tree” …and see what falls out. Lots of lessons are being learned out on the ball field. As parents, let’s make sure they are the right ones.
The kids are doing their part….
Remember, character is not built…… it is revealed.
Parents… do yourself a favor:
Take a minute and ASK YOUR SON what HE wants…… then give him a hug.
I have been coaching for the past 20+ years and only coaches who really is passionate about the game and coaching can understand what you are saying. My members and I truly understand how these kids have changed our lives so we get it.
Only if we can get most of the parents to get it than our jobs and our kids jobs on the field will be much ejoyed. So in closing you have captured what the true love of baseball is all about. So I take my hat off to the kids for dealing with us adults.