quote:
Originally posted by ClevelandDad:
PS - thanks to rz1 for starting this thread!
CD, Trust when I say it was a true pleasure to meet Mike aka Bulldog19.
This is a good segue to a related thought.
As our kids get older and we become more and more removed from our direct relationship with the game, it's easy to become complacent in regard to our baseball involvement and we often use the excuse of "we're moving on with our life". I speak of this from first hand experience.
"Giving back" is a phrase often used but seldom practiced. Many of the ol' furt coaches on this site and around the Country without their own kids under their wing "give back" by default and I doff my hat to each one. The rest of us current, and future, ol' furts need to reflect and step outside our personal box after our kids move on to make sure that we re-pay for our past enjoyment. Whether it is a yearly monetary or equipment gift to a local league, or a hands-on experience that has no self reward but lets you go to bed feeling you've done something.
Unfortunately this post will probably come off as self-serving in some eyes, but that's their problem. Meeting Bulldog19 and using resources I have available to provide him an experience that may or may not make a difference in his career brought back some fond memories of those who "gave back" to many kids my sons age years ago.
Memories are personal but it usually takes someone outside the box that made those memories a reality. I'm as guilty as most for blowing off some "giving back" opportunities, but, when those instances whack me upside the head I feel an obligation to remind others that it is our obligation. IMHO, "Giving back" is the hidden side of passion for the game.
Sorry for mis-directing the thread origin............but I thought it tied in nicely.
As rz hops off the soapbox
