There’s a Week One NFL overreaction vibe to the first game of a youth baseball season. Hope sprung eternal for you during the long offseason as you watched in awe as your son was killing it in winter workouts, but that optimism can quickly seesaw to abject pessimism if your kid strikes out a couple time, makes an error, and generally looks horrible in his first outing.
But my 14U son looked pretty awful in his first game, a freezing cold scrimmage this past Sunday (so cold I had to grab my wife’s multicolor Peruvian blanket from my trunk), and I didn’t freak out or get on him for his play. While I did groan after his first strikeout, a whiff on an outside pitch against a slight kid who was eminently average, but it wasn’t a long groan and I quickly shook it off.
So what’s changed? Last spring I flipped out when my son struggled in his early games and had to be talked off the cliff from my son’s hitting coach who basically read me the riot act and said I was acting like an idiot parent who knew nothing about baseball (you know the coach really cares about your kid when he’s willing to get emotional and call you an idiot).
It might be because this year, my son’s physically bigger. He’s not a tall kid but he’s solid. He has big strong legs. He has a butt. He filled out his uniform. He looked like a player. Even when he struck out, I had to admit his swing looked legit. And when he was pitching and tripped striding off the rubber and fell headlong on the field, he swiftly got up and didn’t really embarrass himself too much. He knows what he’s doing. He’s going to figure it out. The weather’s going to get warmer.
I’m the furthest thing from a glass half full person, but I actually focused on his pitching (he didn’t give up a hit) and I rationalized that him not making any contact at the plate on the Arctic day was probably a good thing for his new $400 composite bat (famously prone to cracking when being used in weather below 50).
Am I a changed man? Have I finally figured out how to be a reasonable sports dad or will I go back to my negative ways if he has two bad games in a row?
Stay tuned!
HOW DO YOU STOP YOURSELF FROM OVERREACTING TO YOUR KID’S PLAY? LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS.
For information about the emotional side of baseball, see:
- I Spent 30K on Youth Baseball Last Year; Here’s How
- Anger Management and Youth Baseball: How to Calm Down
- How to Manage Your Kid’s Baseball Tantrums and Meltdowns
- 4 Ways to Respond to a Coach Playing Favorites
- How to Stop Being a Crazy Baseball Dad
- How to Be a Good Baseball Dad in the Backyard
- Is It Now Fashionable to Hate On Baseball Dads?
- Are Local Little Leagues Bad for Baseball?
For information on hitting, see:
- How to Get Out of a Hitting Slump
- 4 Best Baseball Batting Aids (No. 3 is Free)
- 4 Hitting Drills You Need to Do Before Every Game
- 4 Old School Baseball Drills You Need to Be Using
- 6 Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a Baseball Bat
For information on pitching, see:
- What You Need to Know About Little League Elbow
- 4 Ways To Increase Your Kid’s Pitching Velocity
- Is the Circle Change Dangerous for Youth Pitchers?
- Why I Don’t Let My Son Pitch in Little League
- How to Make Sure Your Kid Isn’t Overpitched in Basebal
For ways to get faster, see: