Sorry to post things about my daughter but I don't have a son. We just finished a tournament this past weekend which had 19 teams in it from 5 different states. Teams came from Louisiana, Michigan and Missouri. Most of the teams were from Illinois or Indiana as the tournament was close to the border between Indiana and Illinois. We drove a couple of hours to play in the tournament.
My daughter was sitting in our car as we were leaving the tournament after having been eliminated. She had done so well. She had numerous extra base hits, had most of our team's RBIs during the tournament and, averaged more that 2 k's per inning pitched. She only gave up 2 earned runs in the tournament. She was voted MVP by the opposing teams. Well, I told her how proud I was of her and then it was like the dam busted. She started crying and couldn't stop.
The first thing she said was, "Dad please don't be mad at me." I couldn't believe she said that. FOR WHAT? I was so proud. Finally, she said she wanted me to forgive her for not being good enough to win the tournament. I was shocked that she would say such a thing. Not only do I not put pressure on her, I find myself constantly trying to get her to take a day off from practicing. Then she said that she had worked so hard that she should have done more to help her team win. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE.
As one parent to all others, we need to realize the pressure that our kids put on themselves. Also, I think I need to look at myself. Until this tournament, I have always sat down the foul line. She begged me to coach her and the team in this tournament "so that we could win it all." (I do coach the team's practices!) When a child perceives that her Dad will be mad when she loses, something is wrong. Well, just wanted to share this in hopes that we all take a better look at ourselves. (Oh, we are here at school getting ready to PRACTICE.)
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