What pumps you up?

Hope this doesn't fall too much into the negative catagory, but for my son it's someone not respecting his ability or thinking he's not "big" enough. This year it's happening again. Three of his classmates (soph.s) were pulled up to varsity and he wasn't. We found out that this had been pre-determined prior to tryouts even starting. That was hard for him to swallow.
Anyway, he started his first j.v. game and took out some of his frustration on the other team. He was only supposed to go 3 innings but the Coach let him go 4... 15 batters faced with 2 weak hits, 1 walk and 9 K's. At the plate he was 2 for 3 with a double, a stolen base and 1 run scored.
I have talked to him about taking his frustration and turning it into motivation. His time will come and the people that doubted him will be proven wrong.

What truly pumps me up is the pitcher who says "Coach, I want the ball every day. I want to be our closer!"

Passion on the field -

The pitcher that's having problems, but looks as cool as a cucumber.

"Old School" players - know baseball and you can tell they want to to be the one to get it done - they're the ones that want the bat or ball in their hands in a clutch situation.

The kid that's on the bench, but he's supporting his team with his whole heart - whether it be bullpen catching or giving a high five to a teammate who just did what needed to be done.

Offense!

Defense!

Players and parents that show/demonstrate respect for the other team.

Just the thought of picking up a ball and glove or swinging a bat.

What pumps me up is when guys bust there arse down that line regardless of where or how hard the ball was hit.

My son, after he looks at his HS schedule and finds the best team in his league and tells me he wants to start both those games. Then he bets me five bucks he strikes out their best player. It's going to be a fun year!

How about this - You walk out to the mound to visit the pitcher. He is struggling a little and you not sure that you need to pull him or not. How you feeling son? "Coach Im fine this party just got started". "I'll find it and when I do these guys are in trouble".

A good loss with positive thoughts.