How Do You Guard His Spirit? #TexasBaseball
It feels like yesterday he was a baby. Sweet. Tiny. 100% perfect to me.
I know you can relate.
Do you ever just wish you could freeze time?
He is our baby, no matter how old he is.
He has wanted to play baseball since he was 2 years old.
All of his bigger brothers have played and he has been aching to play as well. To be a part of a baseball team.
This summer we let him.
He wants to please.
He seeks you- wanting to know you’re watching.
He wants to be so good.
He runs to the base, but not always the right base.
Sometimes he runs fast.
Sometimes he runs slow.
But he arrives.
He spends time thinking on his base.
Thinking a little too long about bugs and dirt.
But I love it. And I adore him. This I want to remember forever. His naive little four year old self. 
He runs in a score, but the point is insignificant to him.
He is so proud of himself, no matter how imperfect his form is.
Mom and Dad even more proud.
I think sometimes in sports we focus too much on perfect.
I think sometimes we focus too much on winning.
I think sometimes we forget to let them be children.
There is a lot we could all learn from this little boy.
And from your little boy or your little girl.
As a parent I ask you this.
How do you guard your child’s spirit? How have you handled overly competitive coaches for your little one?
In case you didn’t know, this little guy, he has my heart.
This is such a great post. I completely agree that we often focus too much on winning and it becomes more about that than letting our children just be kids. We fell into this trap this weekend… We took our son to an arcade and it became about winning tickets and winning the games than about letting him do what he wanted. It’s important to remind ourselves of what matters.
Thanks Arena.
Sadly it is a topic I see over and over again on baseball fields and sporting events in general. I hate to see little ones with crushed spirits.
So many parents need to read this post. Sometimes we just need to let our kiddos be just that, kiddos. They need to enjoy adventure without the pressure of something else, something that really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. I hope my daughter wants to play sports and do things, but all I ever want her to do is try her hardest and have fun!
I agree, I cant wait for my toddler to be old enough to play. And to just let him play his hardest and be proud of every moment! To create memories! In order to guard his spirit I think as parents, we need to detox whenever were together. Have conversations that point to the truth we believe, and show him what true love looks like, even in our failures. Even when we make mistakes as well. Great post!
Love this! Our 4 year old started playing this summer. I love that his tball is very laid back, just right in my opinion. Today practice came to a complete standstill because a turtle was crossing the edge of the infield. They gathered around and watched the turtle for a while, just like little boys should. Then the coach gently moved it out of play 🙂
Oh Krista, I love that! That is my kind of coach!
At this age, it should totally be about soaking up and enjoying the moments.
What a great coach you guys have!
We actually had to step away from organized sports in order to reassess why we were involved. When it became too much pressure for the kids and no longer fun… we knew it was time for a break.
Staci- I can relate. We have officially stepped back and off the team. It just was not a good fit for us. We will give it another try, another season, another team.
It breaks my heart that he was so excited about baseball just a short time ago and now he does not even want to go to his games.
This is such a sweet post and I agree with you completely. We had one son that was completely turned off from baseball because of an over competitive coach. I still secretly hate that guy.
Thank you Jessica for your kind words.
Crazy thing is, he was so stoked to play baseball. That is all he talked about. Now, he just turns away from it. Breaks my heart.
We will give it another time, but for now he has taken a break.