“sport of families”

I don’t know when it happened but it did. I didn’t plan it, I didn’t seek it, it just kinda found me. I’m now a HSBW Old Timer. Wow, is that cool or what?

My son is only a soph in HS and knows 10 times more then I do about baseball.

I love the umpires forum and when a situation is described and the official call is made (thanks PIAA and others) I approach my son as the all knowing dad with the situation. 99% of the time he knows the right call – I hate smart kids!!!

The hitting and pitching forums are over my head……rotational versus vertical and horizontal versus molecular …..whatever. I have no idea what you all are talking about…..but I share the pieces that are positive with my son and he does get it.

The folks that post in the catchers forum are just awesome. I/we have learned a lot. Several of the posters coach catchers for a living but they share their knowledge with us for free – again, wow!!!

There are so many people on here that provide humor, advice, experiences and just good ole family values that I increasingly treasure this site. Folks like Fungo – who makes you think, ouch, cut that out, to TR who makes you look at reality, ouch, ouch and ouch. I also sneak a peek at the ladies forum and that grounds me, that boy out there is my son, not a player, but my son!!!

I shared with MNMOM in a private conversation, that just about all of our close friends are now baseball people – they will go out of their way to help you or your son,,,,,,,don’t know why but to me baseball is the best “sport of families” (hope that makes sense)

I played baseball in HS and I was one of those guys that just crushed it or struck out. Unfortunately, it went around the league that I couldn’t hit anything but a fast ball. But I did look good in the uni but just became frustrated with the game: K, K, K.

On the other hand, my son started playing baseball when he was about 8. One day he said “dad, I stink”, I said no son, your ok. He then looked me square in the eyes and said “DAD, I STINK!!!!!”. From that day forward I have no idea how many balls I have hit to him or pitched to him and I’m embarrassed to talk about the expense of balls, bats, equipment, training, travel ball, etc. He pushed me, not the other way around.

Things are a bit different now, I still bring him for workouts, hitting, etc, but I can’t keep up with him. He pitched to me a couple of weeks back and to be honest I was down right scared – not only did he throw hard but the ball moved as well – that’s just not fair. We also were practicing throws to third, him from catcher, I caught the ball wrong and my left hand still hurts.

Obviously I can’t keep up with him physically but I can stay ahead of the curve to make sure he has opportunities in the future (grades and other things) that you all have helped me on. Can he turn pro – 1 in a million, but go for it, Can he go D1, 1 in a million but go for it, etc, …….the future is in his hands and I will support him in any way I can…..just need more padding in the glove and better eyesight.

Had this off the wall thought the other night: the power of HSBW during negotiations.

A college coach sitting at the kitchen table with our family. Me with the laptop in front of me typing all the pertinent things the coach says on the HSBW chat room site and reading all your replies. Group negotiations if you will – could be fun…..or it could be we would never see that coach again.

I forget the exact quote but it is something like an ignorant man knows everything but an intelligent man knows that he basically knows nothing. Well I admit that I know basically nothing…..so that makes me intelligent right?

Thanks for letting me hang around so long!

Dave

PS: Last thought, rose colored glasses are off, my son is an excellent catcher and (didn’t get this gene from me) he can hit a baseball

And MNMOM rocks! Thanks for all you do to keep this site up and running and your encouragement to some geeks like me