We have established that I took a ride on the crazy train this
summer and allowed our family to juggle four teams at one time. Two of those
teams were travel teams. I went in knowing there was a
good chance I would regret the decision, but Jaron was so excited to be joining
this team. Nothing lights him up quite like playing sports. He tries to be
reserved a lot of the time, keeping a straight face whenever possible. But
sometimes, when he has a ball in his hands, and does something impressive with
it, he forgets how much he wants to be a man, and he smiles a real smile with
teeth. I have to be quick to catch it. He does not let it linger, but I see it
every chance I can, and I love it. So when I find something that puts a big
smile on his face, I almost always say yes to him.
As one of the youngest kids
on the team, he really looked up to some of the bigger boys. He tended to walk
a little taller and speak a little lower when he was around them. I knew going
in that he was the new kid to an established team, which might be a struggle
for a quiet guy. And I knew that as one of the little guys, there was a good
chance he would spend some unfamiliar time on the bench. I was completely fine
with this, but somewhere in the back of my mind I was concerned that this would
put him off from baseball and diminish some of the fun for him.
I had nothing to worry about. Although I know he tried, he could
not contain his smile when he played with the Rattlers. He learned a lot about
hitting and throwing mechanics, leading off and stealing bases, and pitching
from the wind up and the stretch. He started diving head first into bases
whenever he got the chance and he loved every minute of it. He played some
different positions and always got to bat, and I felt like he improved in several areas, including confidence.
At the end of the season, at our team celebration, I did not
realize Coach Davis was going to be handing out awards. I had a flashback from
the year Jaron was the youngest kid in preschool and he got the dreaded “most
improved” award. I am not saying you shouldn’t be proud if your kid gets that
award, but to me it has always said something like “you were pretty terrible
when you started but now you are not so bad.” I wondered what he would come up
with for my son but I had a feeling it would be a repeat from preschool. When it became Jaron’s turn to get his certificate, Thad said,
“No matter what I asked this kid to do, or where I asked him to play, he did
it, he never complained, and he tried hard. He is the most coachable kid on
this team, and that’s why I am giving him the Most Coachable award.”
I might have cried a little. I know. There’s no crying in
baseball. But this is not a “Most Improved” award. In fact, this award has
nothing to do with success or failure. This is not about his batting average or
caught fly balls or how many stolen bases he had. To me, this award says that Jaron
is a good kid who does what he is told, gives great effort, and doesn’t talk
back. Between you and me, I think all of my kids are good kids, but I am their
mama, and nobody has loved them longer than me. Except maybe Jesus. I am programmed to look for their good qualities. Nothing touches a mother’s heart
quite like someone recognizing the good in her child. Best. Award. Ever.
And something I have learned about travel teams is this: they are like everything else in life. Some of them are good and some are bad. Some are loud
and obnoxious and some are snobby and rude. Some of them really do have egos that a baseball dugout cannot contain. But some of them are pretty great.
They have parents who get along and encourage the boys instead of tearing them down. They have coaches who will sit a boy on the bench for throwing his helmet in the dugout, because they value character over talent. I am so grateful Jaron got invited to play for one of the great teams. If you look at the Rattlers win/loss record, you might not be very impressed. But if you look at the things that matter the most, I think you will.
