Patience
I coach girls softball. So the other day I was going onto the field to coach my team as another team was coming off. The coach of the team coming off spoke to me. He asked me what he was supposed to do with this girl he has. He said, “Dan, I got nothing to teach her. She is way better than the other girls.” So, I told him some drills he could do with the child that would work her, make her better, and it would not disrupt his practice. I went back to my girls playing catch. A parent and her child came up to me. They were on the outside of the fence. They felt disappointed about their practice. The mother said, ” I wish we could get her some more competition..some better practice. I feel like this is holding her back.” I told this mother and daughter some drills they could work on at home. I turned to go back to my team, but then I turned back and said this, “Just remember there is a little boy in The Caribbean that will never know baseball till he is like 16 or 17. He is right now throwing some funky ball against a wall, and he will be in the Major Leagues. So, take your practice as just that. It is up to you to become good.” I think about these poor dads and moms that volunteer their time to coach little league teams. They didn’t play ball and they have no idea about what they are doing, but they are doing their best. You shouldn’t expect them to train your kid to become a great athlete. Your kid is going to do that with practice, not at practice. Sports is just like school. The only difference is you don’t go to school only for only 6 hours a week. Parents be patient with your children in sports. LET THEM BE 6 YEARS OLD. They will get it with practice. Just because your kid is not on top at 10 does not mean he or she won’t be at 18. Teach them stuff at home. Last, when it comes to baseball/softball never forget this…. every parent no matter if they played or not can roll the ball over and over to their child. If you do that your child will become good. Ozzie Smith took over 100 ground balls a day for over 35 years (FYI that’s like 1.2 million grounders). That was the strongest reason he was probably the best fielding shortstop that EVER has been. It was not because of his size, strength, speed,….or who his daddy was. Be patient and work hard over a long period of time.
