Just got back from my youngest daughter's softball game.
She's 12, and has a natural aptitude behind the plate. She's been playing rec ball for four years now, and this fall - as a seventh grader - will be able to try out for high school junior varsity.
With years of coaching under my belt, not to mention even more years of playing and/or covering high school and youth sports, I've seen the good and bad of parental interaction with their kids. I watch Becky and encourage her, but usually spend most of my time at games off to myself, sitting quietly and not interfering.
One thing I haven't been able to do, though, is spend a lot of time working with her. At least until the last couple of months, when the weight I've already lost has allowed me to do more with less back pain and less struggling for breath.
She's getting an inkling that her old man used to be be athletic, and now when I tell her something about her batting stance, or her footwork behind the plate, it seems to make more of an impression on her.
And while I made a promise to myself a long time ago that I'd never coach one of my own kids in an organized sport (talk about seeing the bad side. Parents coaching kids can be a disaster waiting to happen), my desire to coach baseball again has been rekindled.
I don't think I'll be able to anytime soon because of my schedule, but it's interesting that as I've gotten even a little more active the desire seems to have returned.
For now, though, I'll stick with helping Becky.
And love every minute of it.
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1 comment:
excellent blog. this is the kind of writing I enjoy reading. real slice of life stuff like you used to get from some of the truly great writers in the south like Louis Grizzard, Grantland Rice, Furman Bisher, Bob Gillespie, etc. i am glad i ran across this and hope to read more about your adventures. are you being successful in your weight loss goals? good luck and the best of wishes to meeting whatever goals you have in life! Philip Volpe (Notre Dame '77). If you see my old friend Tim Bourret, please tell him I said "Hello." He's a dear friend from our days chasing trouble around South Bend! I could tell you some stories about Tim, including how he got the nickname "Blackbeard."
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