#318 - BP

I have three boys.  I know all about telling three boys to do something and having them not do it.  Or, maybe they might do it one time, but I find that I have to tell them again and again and again.  Kinda frustrating.  #318 gets kudos from me because he coaches a ball team of 10-12 eleven year olds.  He started coaching them when most of them were seven, and he keeps coming back season after season.  As a mom who misses very few games, I have to laugh sometimes because after awhile, he really begins to sound like a broken record.

"Throw the bat at the ball."
"Drive your shoulder into the mitt."
"Back up"
"Move right...NO!  Your other right!"

And so on and so forth.  This season was kind of a different one.  When you are seven, you can make excuses for lapses in concentration.  When you are eleven, everyone expects a little more.  Often, tempers flare and some people forget that it is all just a game and it is supposed to be for fun.  One thing that I will say for #318 is that he always reminds the boys at the end of the game, that it is a game and they are supposed to have fun.  He always insists on prayers before and after the game, and good sportsmanship is a must.

As my boys grow, Jeff and I have tried to surround them with positive influences.  Good role models and people with strong Christian values.  This is much more important to us than turning a double play or winning a game.  #318 has been one of those role models for our kids.

A coach of a team (as well as an umpire) gets a lot of flack.  Every person in the stands thinks they can do better.  Some of them probably can, and some of them don't have a clue.  But...there are only a select few that will dedicate their time, unselfishly, to let boys be boys and learn the valuable lessons that you can only learn by being the member of a team.  For the last five years, #318 has given up many weekends, weeknights, and I know hours and hours of time for my middle son.  I hope he knows that we appreciate it.

When they start the game, they don't yell, "Work ball." They say, "Play ball." ~Willie Stargell, 1981