Cheers! Oh, Wait, What Just Happened In The Game?

My son has played baseball since he was 6.  (Well, organized baseball, we won’t go into how many wiffle balls he hit out into oncoming traffic off a 5-gallon water bottle tee from the backyard prior to that.)  Baseball is his obsession, it is what his life revolves around.  He even has a special place in his brain for stats:  stats of his own team, stats of the Tampa Bay Rays, stats of players I’ve never heard of….ask him anything and you’ll get way more information than you really want to sit and listen to.

We are not unfamiliar with the travel ball circuit.  He briefly played on a travel team when he was 8, he’s filled in as a guest player on teams, he’s been invited to try out on a few over the years.  We’ve seen enough to see the good and the bad.  Sadly, a lot of what we’ve seen just would not be right for our family.  Winning at all costs.  Coaches belittling their players.  Parents insulting the opposing team’s kids. Parents insulting their own team’s kids.  Teams that have vastly different rosters season to season because the parents don’t think their obvious superstar is being treated with the priority status he should have.  A team full of kids who wished they were anywhere but playing baseball.

Yes, coaches need to not coddle their players.  Yes, we all want our children to do well.  Yes, it is great when the team wins.  And yes, some kids do play better than others and ALL of them mess up at some point.  The thing is, when it all comes down to it, this is an activity our children should enjoy, and the parents should be able to enjoy being at the games.  If my family is going to spend most weekends, some of those in a hotel away from home, playing and watching baseball, I don’t want it to be a chore for anyone.

I really realized this weekend we made a good choice in the team my son tried out for and is now playing with.  They don’t win every game, they are not the superstars of the area, they aren’t listed on any top-ranked lists, and they can make some pretty bad errors.  However, I have never seen a team of kids get along so well, support each other, and have as much fun.  And, honestly, sometimes as parent we are having so much fun joking with each other about the game, our kids, each other, or even (gasp!) talking about something non-game related that we don’t see the biggest play of the game.  I like it that way.  My kid is a KID, and if baseball is no longer fun, he won’t be playing it.  I am grateful for a team that he can have that fun on, and that I can too.

I love our baseball family, and for that I raise a toast.  That’s why they have wine!