A father’s affirmation is so very important to a young ball player. You can’t watch a youth or high school game without witnessing it. Kid gets a key hit and after the initial hoopla and celebration he immediately scans the stands for his dad, seeking the smile or the thumbs up. Once received, his own smile grows even larger and you can almost see his heart swell. It’s very cool to watch.
Maybe this never changes and forever remains a part of the father/son dynamic? I was watching the Dodgers play the Mariners this week, and Dodger leftfielder Scott Van Slyke, whose father Andy is the hitting coach for Seattle, smacked a double to drive in a run at a critical juncture of the game. After celebrating with his teammates from across the diamond, the camera remained on him for a few seconds longer and you could see him turn and glance in the direction of the Mariner dugout. Call me a sap, but I’m pretty sure he was looking for dad.
My son is a PO now so the dynamic is a bit different for us. He’s locked in on the mound and doesn’t see anything other than the batter/catcher while he’s performing, but the first thing he says when we meet after the game is “How did I do?” Doesn’t matter if he throws a shutout with 10 K’s, he wants my approval. I only wish it hadn’t taken my idiot self so long to understand the importance. I was very demanding with my eldest and pushed the younger one too hard for a time, before finally getting it.