So I've been slacking. I haven't blogged in... I don't know... A hundred years now? Well, maybe that's a *slight* exaggeration.. Since I last blogged, several baseball seasons have come and gone. Forrest is almost 13 already (ACK!). On the good side, he made his middle school team this past year. That was an incredible moment for all of us! We finally felt like all of the lessons, practices, and weekends at the ball field had paid off. And Forrest finally felt like he had earned a position on the team on his own merit. Not because we are big financial contributors to the team or school, not because we "know people," but because he did it all.by.himself. Just making that team did things for his confidence that no amount of encouragement, positive thoughts, or prayers could do. He was even invited to play with another team at the USSSA World Series this year! What an experience!
Baseball is generally a great thing in our lives. There is nothing that I enjoy more than watching my son play a baseball game! And if we're not watching HIM play, we're at a major or minor league game somewhere (we caught the Charleston River Dogs play while we were on vacation!). We're trying to visit every major league stadium in the country. We've even been to see a vintage 1860s era baseball game. I know, I know. You get it... We LOVE baseball! What could possibly be BAD about all of this? Oh, there are so many things...
First off, there's Emma. Let's be honest - there is NO WAY she enjoys sitting at the ball fields all day on Saturday and Sunday. There is NO WAY she enjoys getting dragged to practices and lessons night after night, when she could be at home playing with her toys and watching Disney movies. After all, it's her summer too! She's been such a trooper with it all though. When Forrest was invited to play in the World Series, they played four games in one DAY! We were at the ball field for twelve.long.hours. and Emma was there through it all. She did great! (I guess there's no accounting for what bribery with sugar can accomplish...) I realize that it won't be like this forever. Eventually, Forrest will be able to drive, and he will be able to take himself to his practices, lessons, and games. And eventually, Emma will begin her own activities too. Is it too much to hope that SHE will want to play softball? Fingers are crossed about that, but I'll have to keep you posted...
Then there's Forrest... He LOVES to play baseball. Is he the best player out there? No. Are there a lot of boys his age that are bigger and better at the game? Absolutely. Is he going to play MLB some day? Probably not. Of course, if he had it HIS way... Anyhoo, this is his thing. It's what he wants to do, and let's face it, it doesn't suck that I enjoy baseball as much as I do. If he had chosen soccer, I'd probably have a harder time with all of this.
So what's the beef? The beef is that I have never been more flabbergasted at people and their behavior than I have with this sport. Now I'm sure it is much the same in other sports, but I have concluded that there is something about 12 year old baseball that makes grown adults go bat crap crazy. What that something is, I'm not really sure. The hubs keeps telling me that he's never seen anything like this. He says, "I played a bunch of different sports as a kid, and no one ever acted this way!" The only thing I can say to that is, either all of these parents think THEIR kid is the next Albert Pujols or Derek Jeter, or it really was like this when he was a kid, and my blessed in-laws shielded him from it. Either way, insanity ensues...
Let me give you a few examples here. I have witnessed two grown men (coaches, mind you) nearly get into a fist fight. I saw a coach deliberately put a child into a position on the field, expecting him to fail, to prove to the child's father that the kid couldn't do it. Luckily, the child handled it beautifully, but this is the situation that led to said fist fight... I have seen coaches cut half of their team in the hopes of building some all-star dream team that never loses a game. (That didn't work out so great for them either.) I have seen kids that quit playing baseball altogether because they got cut from a team. I've seen coaches that encourage kids to throw a game so they can get into a different (easier) bracket in a tournament. I've seen parents that would stop at nothing to get their son on a certain team, and to heck with anyone that gets in their way. I have heard coaches tell a kid that he has no future in baseball. I have seen coaches that berate a child to the point of misery, expecting who knows what kind of performance from a 12 year old KID. I've seen those same kids sitting in the dugout, afraid to speak, or terrified to go back to the dugout because they made an error in the field, or heaven forbid, they struck out. *GASP*
I've had MY child berated to the point that other parents even noticed and commented on it. And I'm not talking about one occasion, this was a multi-game problem.You know when another parent tells you your kid could hit a grand-slam home run and STILL get yelled at, there is a problem. A BIG one! I've lost friends over this. I've cut ties over this. It's ridiculous.
In the same vein, I've seen some great things happen. I've seen coaches carry boys off the field after a great play. I've heard them say ,"Don't worry about it! You'll get 'em next time!" when they make a mistake. I've seen a lot of boys hit their first home runs. I've seen them turn some fabulous double-plays, or make ridiculous diving catches in the outfield. I've seen them play their guts out, with heart-breaking losses and hard-fought tournament wins. I've seen them encourage each other if they had a bad inning pitching, or struck out when bases were loaded. I've seen my son make friends with boys all over town, and have parents cheer him on in games where we're the opposing team. These are the high notes, and I'm trying to focus on those.
What happened to the coaches that actually care about your kid, not just on the field, but off of it too? What happened to the guys that were interested in helping him become a better player? What happened to the coaches that were interested in developing the talent that they already have? Ultimately, we're supposed to encourage our kids to improve their game and have fun. When it stops being fun, they stop playing, and that is the biggest shame of them all. Next summer, is anyone going to remember whether you won a baseball game against that other team? Will anyone remember the score? I doubt it. You just never want them to stop playing the game, because after all, that's what it is. It's just a game. And games are supposed to be fun.
Baseball is generally a great thing in our lives. There is nothing that I enjoy more than watching my son play a baseball game! And if we're not watching HIM play, we're at a major or minor league game somewhere (we caught the Charleston River Dogs play while we were on vacation!). We're trying to visit every major league stadium in the country. We've even been to see a vintage 1860s era baseball game. I know, I know. You get it... We LOVE baseball! What could possibly be BAD about all of this? Oh, there are so many things...
First off, there's Emma. Let's be honest - there is NO WAY she enjoys sitting at the ball fields all day on Saturday and Sunday. There is NO WAY she enjoys getting dragged to practices and lessons night after night, when she could be at home playing with her toys and watching Disney movies. After all, it's her summer too! She's been such a trooper with it all though. When Forrest was invited to play in the World Series, they played four games in one DAY! We were at the ball field for twelve.long.hours. and Emma was there through it all. She did great! (I guess there's no accounting for what bribery with sugar can accomplish...) I realize that it won't be like this forever. Eventually, Forrest will be able to drive, and he will be able to take himself to his practices, lessons, and games. And eventually, Emma will begin her own activities too. Is it too much to hope that SHE will want to play softball? Fingers are crossed about that, but I'll have to keep you posted...
Then there's Forrest... He LOVES to play baseball. Is he the best player out there? No. Are there a lot of boys his age that are bigger and better at the game? Absolutely. Is he going to play MLB some day? Probably not. Of course, if he had it HIS way... Anyhoo, this is his thing. It's what he wants to do, and let's face it, it doesn't suck that I enjoy baseball as much as I do. If he had chosen soccer, I'd probably have a harder time with all of this.
So what's the beef? The beef is that I have never been more flabbergasted at people and their behavior than I have with this sport. Now I'm sure it is much the same in other sports, but I have concluded that there is something about 12 year old baseball that makes grown adults go bat crap crazy. What that something is, I'm not really sure. The hubs keeps telling me that he's never seen anything like this. He says, "I played a bunch of different sports as a kid, and no one ever acted this way!" The only thing I can say to that is, either all of these parents think THEIR kid is the next Albert Pujols or Derek Jeter, or it really was like this when he was a kid, and my blessed in-laws shielded him from it. Either way, insanity ensues...
Let me give you a few examples here. I have witnessed two grown men (coaches, mind you) nearly get into a fist fight. I saw a coach deliberately put a child into a position on the field, expecting him to fail, to prove to the child's father that the kid couldn't do it. Luckily, the child handled it beautifully, but this is the situation that led to said fist fight... I have seen coaches cut half of their team in the hopes of building some all-star dream team that never loses a game. (That didn't work out so great for them either.) I have seen kids that quit playing baseball altogether because they got cut from a team. I've seen coaches that encourage kids to throw a game so they can get into a different (easier) bracket in a tournament. I've seen parents that would stop at nothing to get their son on a certain team, and to heck with anyone that gets in their way. I have heard coaches tell a kid that he has no future in baseball. I have seen coaches that berate a child to the point of misery, expecting who knows what kind of performance from a 12 year old KID. I've seen those same kids sitting in the dugout, afraid to speak, or terrified to go back to the dugout because they made an error in the field, or heaven forbid, they struck out. *GASP*
I've had MY child berated to the point that other parents even noticed and commented on it. And I'm not talking about one occasion, this was a multi-game problem.
In the same vein, I've seen some great things happen. I've seen coaches carry boys off the field after a great play. I've heard them say ,"Don't worry about it! You'll get 'em next time!" when they make a mistake. I've seen a lot of boys hit their first home runs. I've seen them turn some fabulous double-plays, or make ridiculous diving catches in the outfield. I've seen them play their guts out, with heart-breaking losses and hard-fought tournament wins. I've seen them encourage each other if they had a bad inning pitching, or struck out when bases were loaded. I've seen my son make friends with boys all over town, and have parents cheer him on in games where we're the opposing team. These are the high notes, and I'm trying to focus on those.
What happened to the coaches that actually care about your kid, not just on the field, but off of it too? What happened to the guys that were interested in helping him become a better player? What happened to the coaches that were interested in developing the talent that they already have? Ultimately, we're supposed to encourage our kids to improve their game and have fun. When it stops being fun, they stop playing, and that is the biggest shame of them all. Next summer, is anyone going to remember whether you won a baseball game against that other team? Will anyone remember the score? I doubt it. You just never want them to stop playing the game, because after all, that's what it is. It's just a game. And games are supposed to be fun.
