poor poor pitiful meltdown
Well, the youngster had a game last night. A better way to put it was his team had a game last night. The youngster was busy throwing himself a pity party. He got sent out to right field...again, and played terribly. No hustle. Watched a fly ball land in front of him as he jogged toward it, and got screamed at by the coach. Wasn't there to back up a muffed ball by the second baseman, and got screamed at by the coach. I went to the dugout and asked what was up.
"I'm never going to get to play second."
"Not if you play like that you won't. You aren't helping your chances at all!"
"Why should I, dad? I played good and I still end up in right field. What's the point? Why should I try? This isn't fun anymore. I think this is my last season of baseball."
I went into a tirade about giving up, and hurting his team, and...that was the wrong thing to do at the time. Maybe later, but my timing sucked. That just made it worse, so I tried to bite my tongue for the rest of the evening. On one hand I want to read him the riot act for acting like a spoiled brat not getting his way, and on the other I feel bad for him working hard to learn to play second and not getting his chance. I'm open to suggestion, but I'm not doing well with any of this....and neither is he. We talked about it this morning on the way to pick up the car pool kids (so I only had a few minutes), and we'll talk some more tonight, but I've got to find a way to motivate him....to get him to get in the game and take on the challenge that's sitting in front of him and not give up. If he gives up, he's setting an ugly prededent for the rest of his life.
"I'm never going to get to play second."
"Not if you play like that you won't. You aren't helping your chances at all!"
"Why should I, dad? I played good and I still end up in right field. What's the point? Why should I try? This isn't fun anymore. I think this is my last season of baseball."
I went into a tirade about giving up, and hurting his team, and...that was the wrong thing to do at the time. Maybe later, but my timing sucked. That just made it worse, so I tried to bite my tongue for the rest of the evening. On one hand I want to read him the riot act for acting like a spoiled brat not getting his way, and on the other I feel bad for him working hard to learn to play second and not getting his chance. I'm open to suggestion, but I'm not doing well with any of this....and neither is he. We talked about it this morning on the way to pick up the car pool kids (so I only had a few minutes), and we'll talk some more tonight, but I've got to find a way to motivate him....to get him to get in the game and take on the challenge that's sitting in front of him and not give up. If he gives up, he's setting an ugly prededent for the rest of his life.
John put this out here at 8:55 AM
4 Comments:
yikes, John. Very serious.
This is a question of keeping your dignity, so it's important to acknowledge to him that you were not helping in that area to address the issue in front of others in the dugout. i suggest you point out Alfonso Soriano and how foolish he looks to the fans and his teammates right now in his refusal to play left field... looks like a pretty similar situation.
We don't always get what we want, but we always have the option to be happy with what we get. If he really loves baseball, he will continue to work hard with the opportunities he gets. In the large scheme of things, it's a lot more important to learn to be a team player than it is to play second base. It's also not the end of the world. You might want to point out other players who were good sports about changing positions (like, and I hate to say this, A-rod) or back-ups who eventually got a chance to play every day by sticking around with a good attitude.
I didn't address it in front of others and berate him in front of other players. The dugout is chain linked fenced in, and I pulled him aside to a quiet part. I don't think anyone else noticed, but that wasn't what made it worse. It was more...he felt like crap because he was in right field, and I just made him feel more like crap. It was just a stupid move on my part under the circumstances. I wanted to fix it immediately and help him see what he was doing to his chance to play the infield before it was too late and it reality...the damage was already done. He's in one hell of a hole when it comes to that. I hope he can dig himself out.
I am sure that your son wouldn't be feeling quite so bad if the boy on second was any good...
He has tried being a good sportsman and working as a team player and has seen no reward... when the coach doesnt play fair with who he picks to play wherever the kids playing will notice and react eventually.
Can't he try to play for other team, maybe?
If he wants to quit playing baseball, let him. He's too young and too hurt to understand about the whole 'don't give up' and whatever else. Let him know you respect whatever decision he'll make. He'll talk about it when he's ready.
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