There's nothing mixed about it. There's a scoreboard and a tournament bracket. In the moment play to win. It takes winning the semi to play in the final. But in the big picture maintain perspective.quote:Originally posted by rodk:quote:Originally posted by RJM:
A team can't win a championship if they don't win the semifinal. There's nothing worse than looking at your fresh and rested pitchers in the parking lot as you head home.
You've already had your turn to play the game. Now it's your son's game. Cheer him on. Support him. Help him improve. But don't get overly emotionally wrapped up in it. It's only a game. It's HIS game.
Here's my best advice to parents of young players new to the game. Win or lose the kids will usually come away from the field thinking they had a good time. Having a good time is the #1 goal of playing. Any negatives are gone by the time they hit the concession stand. The only time they determine they had a bad time is when disgruntled parents tell them there's a problem (real or imagined).
Whoa, never dreamed of so many responses so fast.
But many of the replies, like this one, seem to carry a mixed message, ie, have fun, but it's ok to pull out all the stops to win a game.
And there's an inconsistency in that logic too; if you are pulling out all stops to win a game, why aren't you pulling out all stops to win the championship too?
To be sure, it was never about the outcome or the hardware but about the lesson for all sides about what you are willing to do to yourself if the short term goal is all that counts.
Coach May (who gives as good advice as anyone on this board) suggested only be concerned with what your team does. It's great advice to live a long, sane, happy, parent of a baseball player life.