Remember the fun we had with the Angelborough Baseball League, and how the guy from the “major” league was trying to shoehorn my son into a league where he didn’t fit?
(The instant replay: we signed my son up for AAA, but based on his age he could also have qualified for the “major” league. I wanted him in AAA but they tried to force him into the “major” league. I went all Momma-Tiger on the guy when he tried to harass my son. My son stayed in AAA.)
First, for my daughter: at age 7, she’s in “Instructional Softball.” That means every inning, every girl gets up to bat, everyone plays every position, scores are not kept, and games are three innings long. Lots of fun is had by all.
Now for Kiddo#1: AAA was exactly the best place for him. There is no question in my mind.
He is neither the best nor the worst on the team. With twelve kids on the team, three are benched every inning, but no one is allowed to be benched for more than three innings. There have been a few games where he has sat out three innings. When he’s in the field, he generally plays first base. He’s batting pretty well (although they joke that he calculates his batting average while he’s running to first base. I don’t doubt it.) The coach has yelled at him a few times for not paying attention.
He has blown a few plays. He’s made a few good ones. He’s having a lot of fun.
I watched the kids from the “major” league, and here’s my first impression: they’re mostly a head taller than him. Their skill level far surpasses his. They’re fast, they are confident with the ball, and they play hard. They’re good kids, but my son didn’t belong with them.
I asked another parent, who said, “Oh, they needed to fill out the rosters in the majors.”
A third parent told me there are two teams that are winning all the games in the “major” league, and everyone else is getting dispirited.
They didn’t have my son’s best interests in mind. They wanted a live body, and they didn’t care what they were doing to his spirit or his love of the sport. Where he is now, it may be “minor,” but to him it’s fun.
That’s all I wanted. I kept second-guessing myself, but sometimes the mother tiger is right.
So happy that you werer astute enough to realize what was happening, strong enough to stick to your belief, and cared enough about a child’s fragile eago not to have it destroyed for someone else’s gfame plan. Maybe the person in charge didn’t really act out of indifference, but happy it worked out as it did. Let ’em have it!
Taller than him? Eeps. Sounds like the try-outs were a white-wash.
It’s always sad when adults involved in youth sports don’t put the kids’ needs first. I see this all to frequently in parents, coaches and in entire leagues.
From the other side, though, one of the other parents said to me, “Thank you for what you said.” What did I say?, I asked. He replied, “You told him to do what the coach said.”
Ah.Apparently many parents tell the kid not to do what the coach says, but what THEY say to do. I dunno: I figure the guy is coaching for a reason. Go figure.
So apparently no one has anyone else’s best interests at heart. Everyone needs to look out for Numero Uno?
AAA. Alcoholics Anonymous America? And so young!
Just looking in from the outside.
Automotive Association of America?
All About Armadillos?