Before you go spouting off how great your son is to a random stranger get a slice of humble pie first. My best friend from college has his son at the University of South Carolina camp right now and I drove down to spend time wirh them. They are doing a great job and in a beautiful stadium. It's been a wonderful experience.....except for THAT dad. USC stadium has a concourse that wraps all the way around it. On the first day I'm taking a lap around to look at everything. I stop at the bullpen and looking over the railing into it. Well this guy is coming at me and it's that situation where you know he's going to stop and talk.
Well we exchange a few idle chitchat items about the stadium, weather and things like that. I'm trying not to talk so he will get the message I'm not interested in talking and leave. Well next thing you know here comes the bragging on his son. He's going into his sophomore year, he's starting the recruiting process now with exposure, he does better at things like this because he plays at the level of who he's around, high school is so easy and the rest of his life story. Maybe I look like the guy who will fall hook line and sinker because I don't look the baseball guy part. I'm fat, out of shape and walk with a limp because my knees are old from catching. When I was head baseball coach and we played a team for the first time the other coach always introduced himself to my pitching coach who does look the part because he made it to AAA as a pitcher.
Anyway, based on the life story I got on this guys kid I picked him out pretty quick. He stinks - he's not very good, he's lazy, he goofs off when coach wasn't looking and few other things. That was the firest day. Today - second day - he was slightly worse. This guy put his son on a pedestal he had no chance of staying on top of and now me and my BFF have noticed this kid and are nitpicking everything he does. We actually discussed how bad we feel for doing it but his dad started it. Tomorrow they are going to play a game and he's going to pitch. For the kids sake I hope he does well but I'm not going to hold my breath.
BTW if you ever get a chance to hear Mike Nichols of Erskine University talk hitting bring a notepad. He gave one of the best lectures on hitting I've heard in a very long timd.
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