Is it 'fun"?

Why would you do something you do not have to do if you did not enjoy it? what is wrong with the word fun? Is playing a sport suppose to be like work? something you do because you have to? If you dont play then there are consequences as if you dont work you cant pay your mortgage etc etc etc. I coached baseball for close to 30 years. It is a game. You play games. Yes there are things learned but it is still a game. I like to think I had an influence over the kids i coached but it is not rocket science. Am I minimizing things? I think I just an putting things in perspective. If I am to be judged i hope it is what I did as a father and husband rather than a coach. But I did have fun.

Fungo--I recall the incident you mentioned...
...it happened at my dad's old HS. Sad. Very sad.

I think some players get fun...
...out of the competition
...out of the comraderie of team mates
...out of the WORK that it takes.

quote:

I think “fun” is a poor choice of words to describe sports.

Only one team in each sport wins their last game so if fun is defined by that almost no one is having any fun. Is it fun to lose? I am a Cleveland fan and that is all I have ever known. The last Championship won in this town was 1964 and since moving here in the mid-70's have had my heart broken time and again. The bitter defeats are not fun but there is much more to it than that.

I guess the pursuit of winning is fun however. I have told this story before but one of my fondest memories was from a loss. It was a youth baseball tournament at the 12 year old level. Down to our final out and trailing 13-0 you knew it was over. A hit here, a walk there, an error over there, and we are trailing 13-4. It was still over because we only had one out. A pitching change and somehow we managed to put four more runs on the board. Another pitching change and you could feel the momentum change. The parents and kids on both sides were screaming at the tops of their lungs. Somehow, we managed to get the score to 13-12 with the bases loaded and our cleanup hitter up. We were now going to win right? Wrong. He hit a screamer to center field that was caught. The other side went nuts and our kids seemed devastated. Our cleanup hitter cried his eyes out and was inconsolable. We couldn't have been prouder of those kids on that day and we let them know that they learned something more important than winning - never give up. That was fun.

What is "fun" is defined differently by different folks. Any activity may not be all fun, but I hope the FUN outweighs the rest. If it stops being mostly fun, then it's time to quit. No, it's not fun to condition till your stomach turns, or lose a close game, or get a string of bad calls, or be subjected to catcalls from the other side... but maybe it's fun to work hard knowing it could mean the difference between winning or losing that close game, and it's fun seeing your skills improve, and fun being with your teammates in the bus and the dugout (win or lose), and gritting out the tough calls to come back at the end.

In my opinion, there's gotta be FUN somewhere in the equation, or there won't be enough positive return on your effort to keep you going. At least not for the long haul.

Fungo I see where you are coming from and I also agree with other posters who have said that "fun" is a word with varying definitions.

I equate the use of the word fun FUN to the use of the word INTENSE. Most people are not smiling after an "intense" situation. But in sports, when all is said and done, there is usually a smile when an athlete describes "intense".

quote:

While I enjoy sports, I think “fun” is a poor choice of words to describe sports. Your thoughts.

"Fun" DEFINETLY! But I could ALSO use the words: frustrating, intense, exciting, stressful, pride, commitment, etc. Just depends on the particular day which word I would choose. That is one of the great things about sports, IMO.

I truly believe sports satifies a basic need in us to measure ourselves against others like us in competition. Humans playing games against each other goes way back in human history.

Whether that can be described as "fun" is debatable, but I do think it is part of our DNA.

Fungo, It's like going hunting are fishing.
You can go a whole season and not bag an animal.
Are fish all day long without a bite
But it sure was Fun.
EH

A post EH thought

Fungo, We're from different necks of the woods, but still in the woods. My wife used to ask

"How can hunting and killing game be fun?"

I had the intellectual answer for her that was way beyond her comprehension. That answer was

"Because it is"

Years later she had a garage sale and my shotgun shell re-loader was "front row and center". I ask why she was having so much fun selling my hunting stuff. Her answer was....

"Because it is"

.
Good topic Fungo...

Would agree with all...

My best "Fun/Fun" Story..

My sons have a tall, very athletic friend whose grandfather had been all league basketball player in the Big 10. After playing basketball recreationally for year and being VERY good, his Junior Year he went out for the team. He quit after two days.

His parents told me that it was good that he quit because they ran too much and so it was not "fun".

In the end I told them there are two kinds of "fun"...the goofing around with your friends, watch a comedy kind of "fun"...and the fun that comes from dedicating yourself to a task, challenging yourself, working hard and overcoming roadblocks to achieve that goal.

Sports are the second kind of "fun".

His parents told me that basketball would be a great deal more "fun" if you didn't have to run...

44
.

a post-post EH thought

fishing is FUN, catching 'em is FUNNER

Great question!

My view (shared I am sure, by my son) is that competing itself is fun. Losing is not.

A good friend of mine, with whom I coached a lof of youth baseball, played QB for 10 years in the NFL. He used to give a little speech at the start of each season, which has become almost a standing joke in our family.

He'd say: "It's not about winning or losing, it's about having fun.

"Oh, by the way, losing isn't fun."

It's supposed to be fun, in one way or another.

If it's not, you're not doing it right.

Clearly many don't do it right. They make themselves, and lots of folks around them, miserable.

Many of these people have problems you cannot solve. The best you can do is get the heck away from them!

You don't get to play forever, so don't let the bad apples take your limited time away from you.

Playing baseball is a holistic, esoteric experience for me. As a coach I attempt to convey that to others but not all BB experiences are pleasant.

Some of life's biggest challenges, turn out to be some of life's biggest rewards.

If it were easy to get to a said goal,... would there be any challenge? Without a challenge, are there any true worthwhile goals?

I think the challenge to get to a goal= the fun.

If we never missed a ball, only threw perfect strikes, and always hit a homerun,..would it be still considered fun?

( Philosophy major, I was not! ha!)

I am totally lost.....I have a question and not sure this is the place, but here goes anyway.....my son (15 y.o.) is pretty good baseball player, will make high school team and projected to play 4 years of baseball at highschool. The issue is he is at an academic school, doing very well with text books but baseball is not totally funded at his school. Practice field is awful, no mound. These things will be overcome, but what is the best way for Ben to get noticed? There are other good high school programs and I'm concerned for him. They play at 2A level. Any help will be appreciated.

My perspective:

• I love that feeling you get when you are walking into the park and those butterflies are tearing your stomach up. Some call it nerves but I refuse to call it that. I call it "game energy" waiting to be unleashed. I love that feeling and miss it when I'm not competing.
• The feeling you get when you know it's one on one with the pitcher having the ball and you the bat. Everyone in the park is watching. Everyone knows where cowards lurk and heros are born. Everyone sees the struggle of man in a moment.
• The feeling you get when you're rounding 3rd and the coach is waving you home. You know you don't have the speed and you crawl inside yourself for more.
• The feeling you get when you've turned two and are picking yourself up because that so and so just took you out and yet, YOU'VE DONE IT.
• The feeling from tears of joy or the agony of defeat.

Yes, there are other emotions, behaviors ... However, in the end, this game is FUN!

Well there is an outstanding 3-A HS just down the road from you in Creedmoor!!!!!! If your son is serious about his baseball you are going to have to make a move. If you leave him in this environment you are seriously hindering his development. There are some very good schools right there in Durham and the surrounding area that have a good academic reputation and very good baseball. Good Luck

Coach May, thanks for your input. My son played very competitive travel ball this past fall and did well. He's only in the 9th grade so I have a little time here. The hard part is he loves the school (Arts School), learning guitar, so he has other interests. But your point is well taken. I hope his school will play/practice at the old Bulls park eventually.

I approach it with this perspective: The art is in the doing.

It is the journey that is fun. The wins, the loses, the days when they couldn't hit a beach ball or throw a strike into the broadside of the barn, and the day when they could close their eyes an hit a bomb and the day that the ball seems to be a guided missle from their hand to the catcher's mitt. I try to always focus on the effort not the result.

What kind of a teammate where you? Did you do everything that you could do mentally and physically to win the game?

If those are satisfied then there are no regrets, no remorse.
They have to love the preparation. What would the Mona Lisa look like if Da Vinci did not study and love the act of making a single stroke of paint on canvas. Only after he made thousands of loving, skillful thoughtful strokes did people stand back and awe at the masterpiece.

Now that is fun.

The "fun" or "enjoyment" of playing the game is what it is all about, not the winning or losing---two teams are in the game and one has to win the other not and you don't lose if you did your best--you just got beat by a better team that day.

quote:

The "fun" or "enjoyment" of playing the game is what it is all about, not the winning or losing--

Tell that to the parents booster club and the administration

That is why we never had a booster club

Crying....sullen....non-comunicative....this was my kid by the time he was playing in Pony.....if the team lost, and/or if he felt he performed poorly....it was a long car ride home.....He never threw anything....he knew that would result in being grounded into eternity...he just beat himself up...

I warned him several times....this has to stop....or....we'll pull you from baseball....it didn't stop...so....called his Pony coach, explained our problem, and asked him to bench my son. The team had a double header scheduled and we agreed....benched for the first game....and he could play the second....but also cautioned coach that if this did not help son get a better attitude about the game and his role in it....he would be pulled for the remainder of the season.....baseball would be over for him.......told the same to son.....his choice.....

That game when he sat the bench....he would look over at me....and smile....I'd never seen him smile in the dugout before....and I know it was all an act.....but okay.....better than tears......know to this day he is not happy with loosing or going 0 for 4.....but he handles it better......we told him back then.... if you love this game so much....why do you let negativity overcome your senses...and hinder you as a player? That's what was happening....but, he turned it around....because....he wanted to play baseball.

....and I apologize now to all Coaches who are thanking their lucky stars they don't have me as a Mom on their team....in my defense....it was the one and only time I did something like that....but....I'd do it again....as important as baseball is.....raising a well functioning son.......IMHO......outweighed it all for me, and my husband.....

quote:

That game when he sat the bench....he would look over at me....and smile....I'd never seen him smile in the dugout before....and I know it was all an act

I rolled off my chair laughing on that one --- gotta love 'em

My son is one of those kids who loves pretty much everything about baseball.

Even catching five bullpens he thinks is fun. Conditioning, BP - about the only thing he ever complains about at all is field maintenance - and then only because as a catcher, he's got the whole home plate dirt to groom and his complaint is that his teammates don't help.

He hates to lose, but losing doesn't take the fun of the game away from him. One thing I think baseball teaches is how to handle losing games. Even the best MLB teams win 60% of the time. That's 60 losses each season!

quote:

That is why we never had a booster club

Trhit

Oh my god how did you ever survive

Will

We survived very nicely and I still talk with the coach and AD who are now retired---In fact I am still in contact with coaches at the HS and hopefully will be doing recruiting seminars there this spring

Trhit

I was being a little sarcastic. Imagine that. I got along well also.

spikebayou,

A player on our travel team left the local HS to go to the gifted school. At that school, he's about all they have, and the games get ugly.

Not to worry. Based on his travel ball showings, he got a very good scholarship with a top ACC school!

My point is, you don't have to move schools, but for your son, choice of the right travel team will be even more important.

And if he likes top academics with losing baseball, you being in Durham can always send him to Duke! (ZING!)

Lets put a different spin on the aspect of "fun" and look at it from the coaches side.

It is "fun" for the coach, at least for me anyway, to see the kids take the next step be it from HS to college, HS to pro or college to pro.


What is even more "fun" is to see kids you worked with become coaches at the college level

"Dad, I'm ready to get the next two weeks behind us, so we can play..........."

As an old English teacher I have to appreciate the number of definitions that one word can conjure up. Having said that I want to play in this definition game as well. All through high school my son played for what could be considered a premier baseball high school for what would be considerd a very difficult coach. Son was blessed with more patience than his parents had and he did well garnering an early signing scholarship to the school of his choice. Never once did I hear him tell me he was having fun and when asked if he was enjoying it he would say it was "o.k." As Chirstmas break ended this year and he was packing to go back to school he reminded me "Mom don't forget the coach said that none of us could come home this semester because of baseball season." Then he closed his suitcase and said "Well, now lets go have some fun" The smile on his face told me that he had figured out it was fun. When asked he said simply, Playing at this level is what I always dreamed about and worked everyday towards. Now its time to enjoy the ride.

Definition of Fun: enjoying the ride

What makes baseball fun?

first inning: strikeout
3rd inning: groundout
4th inning: throwing error
5th inning: groundout
7th inning: on defense. leading 3-2. bases loaded. 2 outs. diving play in left-center to make the final out. win the game.

This is fun!!! Don't remember what happened before the 7th inning.

I have a problem!

OK I have more then one Problem??

And I was thinking that maybe Fungo since he started this Thread and other's could help me out with it.
I value your comment's.

I have a Dilemma.
I could go to LasVegas to watch some College Baseball?
Are I could go to my In-Law's 50th Wedding Anniv.?

Both would be FUN.

What should I do??

EH



Only kidding, I'm going to the 50th Wedding Anniv.
Priority my friend's, Priority??

The EH,
That is a very tough choice! The wedding anniversary is a very special time. It is a time to rekindle feelings of love and compassion --- a time to once again share those moments that 50 years have eroded. But sharing of those special moments should be left to the two rejuvenated lovebirds. Give them those special moments alone. Your presence would only be a stark reminder of reality. You mention priorities? EH, don’t be selfish! For one weekend you should think of THEIR priorities. Allow your compassionate side to control your actions. Where you go and what you do are immaterial here but you need to make yourself scarce. Vegas and college baseball should allow them the time they so desperately need.
Fungo

The only thing worse than losing is not playing.

Fungo,
I believe your right on in your assessment of the situation.
Now if I could just convince you know who?
LOL
EH

bbfamgramp,
Welcome to the HSBBW.
Are you truely a granpa??

Because my son's 2 Granpa's
Were the best mentors a young man could ever have.
Both had differant interests that balanced out nicely.
So I hope your one of them?
EH