Movin' up

I sure hope coaches who might want to draft him don't because they know you want to coach him and might take him if you get the chance.

I wouldn't blame you a bit if you didn't take a minor team if your son went "up". After all, what's the sense in him playing if you can't even watch? Hopefully, when he's left the nest, you'll pick up another team and work with them, just for the fun of it and to teach. I respect all coaches, but the truth is, the best youth coaches I've ever seen don't coach their own children.

Now here's one of those touchy things I sometimes screw up when I try to say them, so I'm warning you up front. Please don't take this as a knock, because its really a testament to your relationship with your son.

Just admitting that you aren't sure if he'd go up without you might be an indication that he's not playing the game for the game's sake, but more to be with or please you. I wish my son would have once said that he didn't want to do something unless I wasn't there for him, but that's just not the relationship we have, and I'm not saying its the best one for either his baseball aspirations or a father/son relationship.

But there is one thing for sure, when he decides he wants to go for something, at least in baseball, its a pretty sure bet that its because of the game and not for dad. In fact, when I do get too pushy, especially now that he's almost 16, he'll do or not do things just to spite me. that's his way of winning an argument.

But, I'm sure I'm not the only who deals with that scenario, or even worse ones. Each kid is different, each parent is different and each situation is different. I can point to anyone and find a heck of a lot of faults, and darn sure anyone can point to me and do the same. All anyone can do about their kid is what they can find in their heart, and any parent who makes the sacrifice to coach or even just play catch is OK in my book!

Maybe what would be best is that you go for a Jr team. That way you'll be able to watch your kid play and be already in place when it comes time for that huge jump! If you've never coached at that level, I think you'll find that its a whole new world and you'll be able to pass on to him some things you'll find out he needs to work on to perform at that level.

There I go again! I keep trying to get people to look at the relativity between the levels. Sorry! But ya gotta admit, it was a pretty good shot! lol