"I'm Really Getting Into Baseball..."

I was worried that this might be my son's last year of travel baseball, at least for a season or two, and maybe for good.  He just didn't seem to enjoy last season.  This season, he's been unmotivated for the indoor workouts.  I was hoping that the new team and new coach would renew his love of baseball.

He used to just love it.  From the time he could stand, he would throw a wiffle ball against the front door for hours on end.  I would never cease to amaze me that at ages as young as 4, he was doing this for hours every night.  When the weather was good, he would take a bat out into the yard, pretend to bat and run imaginary bases.  He just loved it.  It was his idea of fun.

To think that his experience last year soured him on baseball was almost too much for me to bear.  I did finally make a peace with it.  Baseball is supposed to be fun and if it isn't, then he should stop.  I fully expected that after this season, he would decide to just have fun playing rec league ball for the next few years and probably not even try out for his High School team.

No biggie.  There are plenty of other High School sports and he shows talent in both football and basketball.  He could also play lacrosse or run track if he wanted to find a Spring sport.  So, all in all, just not a big deal.

However, the other night he said he was really getting into baseball, now that basketball season is over.  The new coach and new team are good for him.  He's making more friends and the new coach is sensational.

I thought the old coach was great, and he was, but this new coach used to play Div I ball.  The differences in the technique he's showing these kids is remarkable.  My son will really develop this year.  That's what I thought was missing last year:  I didn't see a lot of growth for him in 10U ball.  It was really just a total repeat of 9U ball.

This year, I think he'll develop by leaps and bounds.  Tonight is the team's first outdoor practice.  As much as I hate pleasant weather, the one time when I don't is when there's baseball going on.