gamedayrocks - justbaseball has 6 kids, and I appreciate his perspective as this is a tough topic. I'm not an Old Timer, but I have 3 baseball boys. Each one is distinctively different in the context of baseball. They enjoy the game for different reasons, and play the game at different levels. My oldest takes it very seriously, and he will play D1 next year. My middle is a 9th grader who is very good and wants to keep playing HS baseball. I have no idea if he'll want to play in college. We're going to play that "by ear". My youngest plays rec ball because he loves to pitch and be with his friends. I don't think your situation is unique. I can relate to many of your statements with regards to my 9th grader too. He seems to be interested in baseball, however not as interested as when he was younger. The truth is my 9th grader has developed new interests. It has taken me a while to get used to that. He loves playing baseball but I don't know if he has true passion for it. I have accepted that, and the more I keep "it" (his passion or my passion) at arms length the better off he seems to be. Best of luck to you.