I’m not a baseball fan…yet.
I say yet because my son was hitting baseballs even before he was potty trained (Video: https://youtu.be/AZb1F4GZHrE). By the age of 3 he was hitting them over the fence that marked our city plot. And now, at 5, he is playing on his first team. Something he has been waiting to do almost his entire life. So I’m just guessing I have a lot of baseball watching ahead of me.
But even though I don’t call myself a baseball fan, I know there is a special significance in opening day. I’ve never participated in the opening day festivities of the majors, but today I felt the energy, the excitement, the passion and the fun that comes with opening day. It might have been opening day for a parks and rec league; but for my boy, it was the real deal.
Here he is, standing with his team watching the “big” boys, the little league teams, get their names called. Just minutes later he was running onto the field, waving his hat and giving his own high fives.
Feeling his excitement and seeing the smile on his face was better than watching him hit 17 baseballs in a row. Without a question, he was having fun on opening day.
And that’s what I want for him. For 3 years he’s been going out to hit balls with his dad on summer days and every time he comes in he recounts his hits into left field or how fast he ran the bases, and every time I ask him, “Did you have fun?”
He always says “Yes!” without thought or hesitation. But as he embarks on team sports, I fear it has the potential to become less fun. I doubt it will happen in the next few years. But when real competition begins, when teams are picked and he doesn’t get chosen or when parental politics begin to work their way into the sport, I fear it will be harder for him to find the joy and feel the passion he has for baseball, even at his very young age.
So while it was easy to get caught up in the energy of opening day, I felt myself hesitate, hold back a little and hope that my little guy can always find the fun and excitement as he plays the sport, and in all the endeavors he pursues.
I may not be a baseball fanatic, now or ever, but I’ll always be my boy’s number one fan. I’ll cheer whether he scores or strikes out, and I’ll always ask him, win or lose, if he had fun.
Do you have kids in organized sports or activities? How do you keep your kids playing for the love of the game?