Play Ball! Let the Water Bottles Clank

Episode 6: Play Ball

When I was 15, I played travel softball for a Summer. Every weekend, my parents would load me and another player into our big conversion van and drive all over Florida, Georgia and South Carolina to play tournaments all weekend long. My team would usually lose first, which meant we would play all day to climb out of the loser's bracket. That meant up to 6 games in the humid and hot temperatures of the South. These were the days where softball players wore shorts and sliding sleeves that protected nothing, so any slide led to strawberries on your knees. I loved playing softball, but I definitely got burned out, and didn't want to play for several months after. Actually, one of my coaches had to convince me to play for my high school team, because I wanted to give up softball forever.

What I didn't know until much later was that my parents got burned out on softball, too. They put thousands of miles on their van, spent money on tournament fees, team fees, meals out, hotel rooms, uniforms, equipment, and lots of other things to support my softball endeavors. They got sunburned, sweat all day, waited around between games, supplied me with Gatorade--became my servants, basically, to help me become a better softball player, which is what I wanted. I don't know how they did it.

Now I have a 12 year-old-son who loves all kinds of sports. He plays soccer in the Fall, Skis in the Winter, Baseball in the Spring, and then sprinkles in Mountain Biking, sometimes Parkour, and Jiu Jitsu. He doesn't do travel sports, but he is in a constant stream of sports and activities throughout the year. This means that my Honda CRV is the Sports Schlepping Express. I always have camping chairs and equipment bags back there, with the requisite dirt, clay and grass on the carpet and upholstery. There is at least 1 water bottle clanking around, plus soccer balls, baseballs, helmets, and sometimes, a scooter or a bike. Sounds so inconvenient, right? But just like my parents did for me, I want to support Devin in his sports' goals. I don't expect him to go pro in anything, and honestly don't plan on him getting a scholarship for college, but I do believe that he can expediently learn a lot of life lessons from competing in sports--the value of hard work, how to work with people he doesn't like, the importance of being prepared, of being on time, of hydration, how to be humble and gracious in failures and successes. All of these lessons come in one little wrapped up season.

About 2 years ago, Devin was tired of being bored in the outfield during Little League, so he decided he wanted to play catcher. To go from barely seeing the ball to receiving the ball on every play is quite a large jump, so he had a lot of work to do. We talked about it, made a plan for clinics, lessons and practices, and got things going. He started with private lessons with a catching coach to learn the basics of the position. He got a little better, and then went to several catcher's clinics. He needed to improve his leg strength and endurance, so we hired him a trainer (another person I knew from Jiu Jitsu). After every practice, clinic and training session, we asked him, "Is this still what you want to do? Do you still want to play catcher?" And every time, he said, "Yes!" This was the first time in his entire life that he worked so hard, and for so long, to accomplish a goal.

But, he did not end up accomplishing his goal, at least, not fully. He played several innings as catcher, and did pretty well, but there was always another kid with more experience and skill. All of his practice at catcher, though, has led to him being a good 3rd basemen, which is really wonderful. And he is really happy. When I see him play baseball, just as an example, I don't just see this boy in a black Orioles jersey, black baseball pants, black belt and orange socks, with a baseball glove we paid too much money for, and cleats he has outgrown in just a few months. I see a young man who has spent hours sweating on a baseball field to be a good teammate, and to perform his best. I see a young man who knows how to set and accomplish a goal. I see a young man who can applaud his opponents as well as his teammates. I see a young man who cried after his first few sets of Bulgarian squats, only to embrace them later, all to accomplish his goal. I do not doubt that over the course of his lifetime, Devin could learn all of these things. He might be able to learn some of these things doing other activities, even. Organized sports are readily available, and he is an active boy, so it all fits.

So I take joy every time I have to vacuum the dirt, grass and clay out of my car, hear water bottles clank together as I drive around town, or forgo social plans due to a game or practice. Devin is a better person for all of it, at least, so far. Tomorrow his team is in their Little League championship, and hopefully we will learn how to be a gracious winner. The car is loaded, and we are ready to go.

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