A really horrible manipulative baseball dad who coached my older son once asked me a very poignant question:
“What is your end game?”
He wanted to know what I was looking to secure for my son down the road with baseball. I can’t stand the guy, and actually almost came to blows with him a couple times later on, but that question about my end game pops into my head from time to time.
I don’t really think in terms of end games, especially when it comes to parenting, and am usually just trying to survive the day. The guy had asked me that question when I took some issue with how he was coaching, and I think he presumed that I was like him and was scheming for some hidden agenda, like that I wanted to be an assistant coach or have my son bat first in the lineup. He wanted to know what my price was.
“So what is it?” he pressed me.
I was thoroughly stumped. I never really thought about baseball and the future. But I also realized not having a realistic “end game” has historically led to disaster (see Vietnam).
My reflexive answer is that I’d be thrilled if my son played college baseball. But really my mushy overarching goal is that my kid doesn’t fall behind the other baseball kids.
Some might say that we shouldn’t really have a baseball end game for our kids and our role is to help our kids reach their own baseball end games.
Yet I think there’s something to be learned from the horrible scheming people out there. Not that we want to become underhanded and two-faced, but that if we identify our long term goals, we’ll make better decisions in the present. We won’t miss the forest for the trees. Like maybe I wouldn’t overreacted to some of the baseball craziness in my town, if I had a clear goal for my kid and was focused on that.
We have end games for other parts of our kids’ lives, like that they go to college, get a good job, etc. so why not include a baseball goal?
SO WHAT’S YOUR END GAME? 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: