The Baseball Player
Okay, I have a lot to talk about. I have about seven years to catch up on in writing. So I need to decide where to start. I think today is a good day to talk about my son.
So my son is a great kid. I am not saying that because he is my son. I am saying that because of the feedback he has received and they way he behaves. He is caring, smart, not especially funny, but gets things quickly.
Anyway, lets start with years ago. Like most kids, we needed to decide a sport for him to play. He was smaller than most kids his age. We tried soccer and he was not a fan. With basketball, he had a hard time getting the ball to the hoop although he tried so hard. So we decided on baseball. He fell in love with it at age 4 during Tee ball.
Now, the one thing that was a little different was his bat swing. His swing was extremely fast. It was not like most of the other kids. Sure, his fielding was sloppy and base running as well, but his swing, even at that young age, was fast and accurate.
So he kept playing baseball. He was still the smallest kid on teams. But again, he didn’t strike out. But coaches rarely played him. I respect coach’s decisions. I get it. Especially with Little League. The kid’s coach plays and the neighbor and the best friend and blah blah blah. But when you know you are small and can’t do anything about it, its hard.
And I explained to him that at some point, he will grow and his swing will be more than special. He needed to focus on fielding. He would study different types of batting stances and the history of baseball. Baseball was his life.
Then we took him to private lessons. The coach said he has something you can not teach. He has a fast swing. Thing is, he was still small. And it was tough for him. He rarely got playing time. And this is just rec ball. This is not travel ball or competitive ball yet.
Anyway, the pandemic hit. So my son was out of baseball for a couple years.
He is in sixth grade and he is eligible to play for the school team. There is only one team. And instead of being a small kid, He is 12, over five feet tall and 150 pounds of muscle. And he finally grew into his swing and he is finally gaining the confidence he should have had but few helped him get.
Anyway, he is on a real team and gets much more time than expected. He has even started a few games and is real good. His goal is to play D1 baseball and then go pro. I have to be honest, I don’t think that it is impossible. I think it is a realistic goal.
So this is his first real season of many to come. I keep telling him I don’t want him losing the fire he has. I don’t think he will. He has something to prove.
And I know that feeling all too well.