Take Me Out of the Ball Game!
Chris came home tonight from his first baseball practice.
Frankly I was surprised he even signed up for baseball because four years ago he got hit by a ball in the batters box and hasn’t had the desire to play ever since…until his homeschooled best friend mentioned he wanted to play!
I was reluctant at first. Would he be up to speed with the other players? Would he be afraid of the ball? But I saw him practicing in the cold and knew he was serious about playing. He almost reminded me of The Rookie! He even went to the batting cages with his dad and did fine. So everything seemed great, so I thought.
Until today when he came home from practice and told me the coach only played the “good” kids. My chest started to burn, though I assumed my son was probably exaggerating. It’s the first practice and the coach didn’t play them all? Chris then informed me that he played for 30 minutes of the hour and 30 minute practice and then ran the bases for other kids.
Tension flooded my shoulders and called my friend, his best friends’ mom. (His friend was one of the good players and got to play.) I learned some more interesting news. Chris is on a competitive team. That’s when my eyes started to blur and my face felt warm. A competitive team? Great! Now he’ll definitely be warming the bench.
Once I settled down, I called my hubby to “talk” over the situation and learned how much money we spent to be on this competitive league. That’s when I blew my top! I can’t believe people actually pay thatmuch money to have their kids on a competitive baseball team. Sure it’s all good if your kid is good, but if they’re not and need a little work, then that’s a whole lot of wasted money and time.
So what’s the draw to competitive baseball? I just don’t get it. Do you feel it’s right to pay to be on a team and not get to play? If they want to make things fair then they should pro-rate the amount of playing time the kids get. 🙂 I could deal with that!
Maybe I should give this coach a second chance. Maybe he’ll work more with all the kids. But honestly, I don’t know if I’m willing to take that chance. If I could I’d pull Chris from the team right now! My pre-teen son’s self-esteem is fragile as it is. I don’t need a baseball coach sending vibes that he’s not worth working with, and only good enough to run bases and warm the bench.
I’d rather spend my money else where, building up my son’s self confidence rather than having him (and me) frustrated and focused on what he can’t do.
How do you feel about this whole competitive baseball thing?
