2fast maybe I can help you
First you have to understand where YOU yourself are coming from and where YOU want to go. Once you understand yourself then you will begin to understand everyone else on the HSBBW because we are all here for basically the same reason. Most parents here have a son that plays pretty good baseball --- some currently do, some used to, and some will later on. We are all proud of our sons. We all like to read newspaper clippings, polish trophies, and look at pictures. ---- of our sons. Most of these parents (me included) are guilty of wearing rose colored glasses at times. In other words we see our sons differently than the rest of the world sees them. I think that is necessary to keep us from abandoning them on a deserted highway.
The mistake most of us make (some more frequently than others) is assuming that everyone else sees our son as we do --- that normally doesn't happen unless you have a non-baseball relationship with that "other" person. Grandparents automatically qualify! I have to remember that each time I start a post or respond to a post. We have to keep our "proudness" in check in order to have a productive two way conversation about our sons.For instance, when you posted your son hit a 435 ft. shot the first thing I do is go to my son's college website archives and re-read the article that describes in detail the 450 ft. shot he hit against the University of Tennessee in 2004. ---- Luckily my son's was farther and I was not relegated to second place and I could be objective in our exchange.
HSBBW "conversations" are quite different and more productive that the conversations you might have with the other parents sitting in the stands beside you. First your son isn't directly competing with with other Websters' sons here on the HSBBW. No one is threatened by your son's accomplishments unless you or me make an VERY obvious attempt to push them to the front of the conversation and make "accomplishments" the primary focus of the post. Plus internet conversations lack emotions and body language thus making less of an impact and making the exchange more factual rather than emotional.
There is a world of information here for you and your son's benefit. I KNOW it will be helpful because we are so alike in many ways. We all have (or had) the same concerns -- the same obstacles --- and the same goals --- we've shared the same joys and the same pains. We will disagree many times but the things we disagree on actually produce the most information. I suggest you share your son's name at some point so he can be added to the "where they are" list Side bar. This allows us to follow your son and allows ALL of us to toot his horn. From experience I know a band of horns sounds much better than one out of tune solo.
Fungo