Let me say first that I don’t think parents make, or should even try to make a baseball player but we parents are an integral part of them reaching their baseball goal if they decide to chase that goal. I have no idea if I did the right things while my son was younger but it seemed to work for us. Maybe you can get something from it, totally disagree with it, or add something to it.
Discussing their goal with them in my opinion is paramount in establishing a bond that is necessary to being able to help them. These discussions should help them keep it all in perspective and help the parent keep it in perspective too.
Here are a few things I think can help a young player chase his dream.
1. Work ethic: Work ethic is really a labor of love for the young player and should be kept in that context. If you push the young player you “turn them off”. You don’t make them work, you help them work. The key words here are "play" and "game".
2. Compete with them: As young players develop and grow the first person they want to “out-do” is mom or dad. It does a kid good to be able to hit the ball farther than dad or mom. Make it a game. They are competitive and you can develop this competitiveness.
3. Devise mini routines: I used to soft toss my son golf whiffle balls and we would keep score as to how many were pop-ups, ground balls, and line drives. Pop-ups and ground balls were strikes and line drives were hits.
4. Criticism and Praise: You have to do both but how much and when? Each player responds differently. I would always try to lend my constructive criticism when my son was being self critical and I always tried to reduce the praise I wanted to give him. Praise is like eye make up and sugar. We all enjoy a little, but too much is ---- too much! Tone it down.
5. Perks: I would use perks like new batting gloves or a dozen balls or a new bat. I would also re-lace his gloves and keep his equipment in top condition. This always seemed to invigorate the desire.
6. Parental Sacrifice: This was my subliminal “guilt trip” I would put him on. I knew if I made sacrifices then he would sacrifice too. I never complained but I did point out that I was making the long trips too. I was quick to point out that all the sacrifices I was making were well worth it. Kinda like fishing in the rain. He felt the same way.
7. Share the joy and the pain: Let your son know that you have the same feelings as he does. The strike outs and the homeruns make you feel the same as he. Baseball is an emotional roller coaster and I think it’s comforting to the player to know he’s not alone on this hectic ride.
8. Keep it in perspective: Make sure he knows this is just a game and his baseball goal is merely a practice run at life. Should he reach his goal it will just be icing on the cake. The real rewards are in the chasing of that dream. It’s the trip that’s important, not the destination!
Enjoy the ride,
Fungo
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