I do not remember much about when I first picked up a baseball glove at 7 years old and played in my first game at 8 years old. Like many kids in the early 1980’s, I had untied sneakers and probably wore sweatpants or jeans during my games. My glove wasn’t the right glove for the position and I probably played catcher without adequate “protection”!!
Being the first baseball player in my family, I definitely made most of the mistakes a player could make especially NOT being the star athlete. Like most youth baseball teams, other kids received most of the focus and press attention. The other kids had better speed, hitting skills, and pitching ability. Most had played in “kid pitch” leagues since 5 or 6, especially since Tee-Ball hadn’t taken off nationally by the early 80’s, and “Coach Pitch” was just in its origins where I grew up.
So how did a marginal player in the youth leagues end up with at least some pro baseball experience? It comes down to what I learned in the youth leagues: passion and determination.
Passion for baseball is something I always had, despite being in and out of the sport throughout my life. Whether injury, work, or family commitments kept me out of baseball, I learned that passion for PLAYING the game is something I should keep forever. This means that a player never stops learning how to improve in all areas of baseball.
Early on I noticed that many kids (and their parents) were content to ride their physical talents without working on their mental gifts. They were more concerned about telling their friends that Little Johnny hit .439 this season rather than focusing on making Little Johnny better while still having fun. Most of the parents never helped Little Johnny become a complete baseball player (all five tools) plus help him become a great student, a student leader, and someone of character.
As I got older, I noticed that these kids started to drop by the wayside because baseball wasn’t fun anymore. When the talent level improved, they didn’t want to take extra ground balls after practice or work with pitchers on their mechanics. And they certainly didn’t want to learn anything about how to use their own minds to become better athletes!
In essence, their passion for the game somehow went away; and I believe that it has to do with the values (or lack thereof) which they acquired all the way back in youth baseball.
To be continued in Part 2….
If you are a parent and want to have the best odds of enjoying YOUR experiences as a youth baseball or softball parent, then learn the secrets and advice which professional baseball players, managers, and general managers give their own best friends in the same situation. Go to Youth Baseball Parents to find out more.
Tags: baseball coach, baseball coaches, baseball dad, baseball for kids, little league coaches, little league dad, little league mom, little league parent, softball coaches, youth baseball parents, youth softball, youth softball parents
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