Why should I have to say this?….
Given the recent pull/push regarding “accomplishments”…..It might be helpful to take a look at the HSBBW in ways that we all profess to understand, highly value and promote…as a team.
In team play everybody plays a role and does a job to the best of their ability. With good leadership players come to see, and buy into the team as a vehicle to a greater goal. Players understand that individual accomplishment (while great and noteworthy) is far less satisfying and far less rare that what can be accomplished as a team. In any team culture (be it a baseball team, the HSBBW, or a family) overt bragging and bringing attention to one’s self beyond a level that supports team goals, beyond a level fits into team culture, and beyond one that takes into account one’s supporting role in the team structure, can be both counterproductive to team goals and personally ostracizing, and can very easily shut down the very results that a player/team may want: communication, attention and respect…and in the end love.
Despite the current fascination with Twitter and Facebook there IS a difference between narcissism/advertising and communication. Most definitions of communication include the terms (exchange) and one could easily go out on a limb and say the ultimate value of communication is not the information itself but using two way interaction to foster a greater understanding and depth of relationship over time, which only makes the team and the individual stronger.
On the other hand advertising is defined as “the act or practice of calling public attention to one's product, service, need, etc”…nowhere here does it say anything about the two way process of communication or relationship or team building …or long term goals or bigger priorities. Even great advertisers, great marketers understand the fine line between me and we, between advertising and the real two way exchange of information…and listen closely to their teams/market culture and work within that structure brilliantly. The current fascination with celebrity, with narcissistic self importance, with the endless spewing of personal minutia is often counterproductive to both the individual, the team and the culture. And when it becomes abusive, decisive action is often taken by the team, or team leaders to rectify the threat to team unity and culture…for example, the moderators moving the Karma Thread to the HSBBW Gulag.
How does that apply to the HSBBW? Yes, every young man who has a secondary face here is a superstar, a celebrity. And every baseball journey should be celebrated. But if we as team players and as denizens of the HSBBW want others to listen to our posts and our son’s accomplishments (not just spew them) and tell their amazing stories…then we have to stay out of the “extreme” and become team players. We have to judge the culture, support and respect the sensitivities of others, encourage them and their son’s endeavors/accomplishments, understand what might be something pretty wonderful and what is minutia and generally become a team player. On the other hand if all we want is narcissistic advertising them we need to establish our own twitter account or blog (as there just ain't enough room in a twitter account for MY son’s accomplishments).
The real beauty of the HSBBW is that it is a team, it has a team culture, and that is what sets it apart and makes it so special. It exists primarily, not to advertise but to help us all understand, educate, share (not spew), avoid the pitfalls of, and to celebrate the youth baseball experience. But there has to be a balance. And the goals are far bigger than any one account, or the stats for one game. Each baseball journey has lessons to give…most are bigger than stats and results and all star teams…some are very hard earned. It is that that I find the most interesting, fascinating and amazing in your sons stories…great stories of perseverance…overcoming the odds…beating the system so clearly numerically stacked against them. There is no better place for celebrating the journey, the lessons, and the humanity…not simply the statistics. I do like the statistics, the all star teams, the 5/5 days…but when this board becomes nothing other than a minute by minute youth baseball twitter account, the team will break down, and something special will be lost.
By the way…MY son got out of bed today…
44.
