There are signs of spring everywhere. If you look carefully around your neighborhood, you’ll see kids emerging from their homes to play outside, and the baseball fields, once full of weeds and devoid of life, are being prepped with fresh brick dust, chalk lines, and sod. For a baseball mom, spring means digging the bat bag out from under the bed, buying new cleats, and preparing for the endless hours spent sitting on the uncomfortable bleachers outside the nearest baseball field.
The Joy and Responsibility of Being a Baseball Mom
It’s a wonderful thing to involve your child in sports. When they love the game, watching them play is incredibly fulfilling, and being a baseball mom gives you something to look forward to. Even if you’ve never loved the game before, when it’s your child standing at the plate, bat in hand, filled with the optimism of hitting a stinger deep into left field, baseball or softball become exciting. You cheer when they strike out and practically jump off the stands when they make contact with the ball thrown their way. When they catch a pop fly, slide into home, or make the perfect throw to first for the final out of the inning, there is no better feeling than being a baseball mom. You feel proud, almost as if it is you out there playing.
Still, the sport can take over, and competition, pressure, and the backward attitudes of other parents can ruin it all if you aren’t careful.
Being a baseball mom means many things. It means taking your kid to practice even when you don’t really want to go. It entails missing dinners at home in favor of boiled hotdogs and popcorn sold at the park, and interacting with other parents and children, many of whom you may not like. It means supporting the coach and allowing your child to learn the lessons of hard work, teamwork, and persistence. Being a baseball mom also means you allow the coach to work his magic—even if you don’t agree with it—and you hold your tongue so your pessimism doesn’t wear off on your child. It also means watching your child succeed and fail more than once in a single game and refraining from comparing your child to their peers. Above all, it means giving your child the opportunity to do something that is entirely their own, thus owning the rights to their performance. Talking them through a losing streak without blaming teammates and biting back your anger or frustration when you feel your child didn’t do their best—after all, they are just children out there on the field, playing a game they love.
There seems to be a defining line between children who succeed at sports and those who don’t. Often, this decision is made by the parents. Parents need to encourage their children and make sure they follow through on their decision to play. Many may want to quit after a practice that was nothing more than running suicides and may be upset if they don’t get to play the position of their dreams. As a baseball mom, you have to ensure your children persevere, making sure they don’t become quitters in life when things don’t go their way. While it may be easier to just let them quit or skip out on practice, the truth is, you are teaching them that there is an easy way out in life every time they are uncomfortable. While the measure of success is different for every child, kids who show up for the work, the games, and participate in the team should always be heralded as winners, whether they scored the winning run or spent the entire 9 innings picking weeds from the outfield fence.
Too many baseball moms become so involved that they act like hyenas on the sidelines. They scream at coaches, coach their children through every swing, and yell at the referees when a bad call is made. They stomp and pout, making themselves look like fools and embarrassing their poor children. When you decide to make yourself heard on the sidelines, being a baseball mom means doing it when there is something positive to applaud. When you see your own child or others hanging their heads in defeat, you encourage them rather than blame. Sure, everyone wants to win, and chances are your child wants it more than you do! However, it’s difficult for children to process the unrestrained anger of their mothers and fathers who sit too boldly on the sidelines chastising the efforts of others.
Being a baseball mom is satisfying. It’s nice to spend the days outdoors indulging in the dreams of your child. It’s also a time to reflect on your own childhood and realize that you are allowing your child to become and bloom into something you perhaps never did. Still, it’s vital to understand that being a baseball mom doesn’t mean living through your child or undermining their efforts or abilities. Games for children are meant to be fun, and excess competition and stress will only drive children away from the sports they love out of fear. As a parent, it’s difficult to sit on the sidelines of a child’s life, no matter what the circumstances. However, the most important gift we can give to our children is the constant, comfortable, and unwavering support that often means their life takes precedence over our own. When that is combined with pride for both their successes and their ability to persevere through failure, bonds are forged that will last a lifetime.
Being a baseball mom seems to come naturally during springtime and gives each of us a new opportunity to sprout deeper roots with our children—roots that are soiled with respect, tolerance, sportsmanship, and pure, honest love for the game.
By: Stef Daniel – Softball is for Girls
Softball is for Girls is dedicated to all the parents, coaches, players, and fans of softball—from pitching machine to fastpitch—who make it possible for the millions of girls playing… to play.
View Website – softballisforgirls.com/
