My career unfortunately takes me away during my kids Little League season. My wife is great at sending me videos of their at bats and of them pitching along with inning by inning text updates. It’s not the real thing, in person experience, but it’s what we do.
Both my kids are decent little players and usually have a good game. Zachary, my younger Dude is still shy on the phone and doesn’t really give me much info about his game. When I ask him questions, the answer is almost always, “Good”. Cracks me up every time.
My older Dude, Christopher, has some talent. We talk after every game when he is in the car on their way home. I make it a point to always ask him how his team did. Who had a good game? Who pitched well? Who got the good hits? Who made good plays in the field? Then after that’s all said and done I will let him talk about himself just a little.
My children will be brought up being considerate of others and I believe baseball can be a great way to teach them this lesson. It’s important to me that they naturally recognize others and their efforts. Too often I see, and hear, players who all they seem to want to talk about is themselves. At my level, we call this a “Me Guy”. Trust me, this is a reputation, and label, you don’t want to have. This type of attitude can be traced back to one place, how they were brought up. These kids grow up in a house where all the parents do is tell them how great they are. I understand how as a parent we are proud of them and their accomplishments, but sit back and think about what type of person do you want your Dude to grow up and be.
My Dudes WILL NOT be “Me Guys”.