My son started another tournament on Saturday. He kept asking when we were leaving, because he thought we were going to stay at a hotel, like last weekend in Milwaukee. I reminded him that this one was only 30 minutes away in Northbrook; we would NOT be staying at a hotel. He was like “Oh…” Staying at a hotel, playing in the pool with his teammates, I imagine, was one of his favorite parts about the tourney; that’s OK, actually, that’s great… he’s supposed to be having fun.
Losing is not that fun, but is winning really the most important thing at 10 years old? Last weekend in Milwaukee, we went 0-3; he struck out in each AB he had. You could say he’s in a slump at the plate; we’ve all been there. From talking to him, he’s worried about striking out. I told him if you strike out, who cares, but… swing the bat. I’m not going to be upset if he strikes out, as long as he’s swinging. I told him he could strike out looking sitting with me watching the game; if you don’t swing the bat, you don’t have a chance. This rings true especially with two strikes; don’t let the umpire have the final say if you’re out or not. I’ve tried every angle to get him to swing up there, and not strikeout looking.
First AB of the day, he took the first 2 pitches, both balls. Next 3 pitches were all called strikes; I shook my head. I don’t want to get on him during the game; I don’t want to get on him too much period… I have to remember he just turned 10, and could very well be facing kids who are 12 years old on the mound. Heck, some of these kids are twice the size of my son. I want to keep him encouraged, yet… he does need to learn. I’ve told him, baseball is a game of failure. The best teams lose at least 60 games over the season. The best batters make outs 7 out of 10 times. Each AB is a new chance to make something happen; a chance to dig in, focus, and win that battle. I told him, all it takes is one hit to get going…
His team lost the first game 10-0. The nice thing about today was that he had family come and watch him play; my sister and her family, my mother in law and her granddaughter, my niece, were all in attendance. As the 2nd game started, my son didn’t swing again in his first AB; this time that was OK, because there was only 1 pitch close. He drew a walk, stole 2 bases, and scored a run; his team was actually winning early. As he went up for his 2nd AB, I said “three words”… he knew what I meant, and on that first pitch, he lined a single to center; yes! In his 3rd AB, he got another hit. The slump is over?
His team lost again though, leaving us with one chance for victory the next day. I’m glad he got going again at the plate, now only if his team can get going. It’s amazing what can happen when you swing the bat… Back to Northbrook on Sunday…
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