I am a terrible sports parent. I didn’t play team sports (just doubles tennis). I don’t really love to watch my kids play team sports. I get nervous. I hate confrontation. So I hate when umpires, or refs, or coaches get yelled at or talked about in the stands. I would love to watch my kids play sports if I was the only one watching:) I bring my knitting and when I get to nervous I pull it out and knit a few rows. I am a terrible sports parent.
My son has never been a kid that you would watch play and say “Now, that kid is athletic”. You know the athletic type I am talking about. The kid that looks like he was born to play team sports. My son never really looked like a natural swinging a baseball bat. He has played baseball every year since he was tiny and my husband has volunteer coached just as long. The kid didn’t even really love going, he didn’t want to practice, sometimes it was tough to get him to go. In fact, he didn’t even really seem to like it.
Anyway, this same son made the 13U traveling baseball team last month.
Now, what I am about to say is terrible. I admit it. I do know I sound like a horrible parent when I say the following…
I thought for a minute that he only made the team because his dad volunteer coaches and they thought maybe they could get him to coach if my son made the team. Or maybe only 11 kids tried out and they needed all 11. That’s terrible to say, I know.
The kid was excited. So was Jason, he was off the hook for coaching, they hired a real coach this year! Even after learning that he wasn’t coaching, I was still dubious about Max and this traveling team. I know, I am terrible!
We are lucky that a batting cage just opened up near us. Jason and Max have been going to this place for the last month. Often. My kid will sometimes go twice a day. He loves it. Jason has downloaded some app on his phone that can show the kid’s swing in super slow motion and analyse it. So they are all baseball all the time right now. When I ask Jason about how Max is doing, he says he’s doing good. Improving.
On Sunday, after work, I stopped at the Cage to see my boy hit some balls.
He was in the batting cage and I walked up behind him. I watched him swing the bat and I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe this was the same kid. All of a sudden he looked like a baseball player. He held the bat differently, he stood confidently, he bunted and then swung the bat hard. I stood there in shock that this was my kid. My kid was this person. He wasn’t a little boy hunched over the plate anymore, he was tall, lean and strong. When did this happen? No, seriously. When did this happen? How did I miss this?
This feeling just washed over me. I can’t even describe it. Love, pride? When he came out of the cage, I told him I was so proud of him for working so hard. I told him I was excited for him. Excited that he had found something he was enjoying so much.
I also told him I was excited to watch him play.
Oye…I’m already nervous. I’m going to get a lot of knitting done.