Make Good Memories
Ryan Lester, MASI
Inside Sales Supervisor ? Delighting Our Reseller Partners by Providing Great Products and Legendary Customer Experiences | On Target ● On Time
I had the privilege of doing player introductions for my town’s friendly competition between our Majors All-Stars and our 9U Travel team. Our Majors program consists of players in 2nd and 3rd Grade that opted not to play travel and/or were not selected to the 9U team.
There was music before the game, the aforementioned player introductions, free hot dogs and refreshments, and a sense of community where friends were competing against each other. The kids were excited for the pomp and circumstance that our baseball board put together for this exhibition.
Going into the game one would think that the 9U team would have a major advantage. Not only were those the kids that performed the best during tryouts, but they had more games and practices than a typical Majors team would. They also faced stiffer competition during the season, which should have put them in a position to win handily.
Like any level of baseball, pitching is key. The 9U struggled to find the strike zone and subsequently got into trouble. Overall, the 9U hit the ball better and made more plays in the field, but they just couldn’t overcome the control issues leading to a Majors All-Star’s upset.
I noticed how high strung some of the 9U parents were. They were supposed to win this game and they took it harder than the players. Some of them were getting pretty worked up. As an onlooker that has been in their shoes, I was tempted to tell them to just enjoy themselves. When my son was this age, I was far more intense than I am now. With a child that will be a Senior in the fall entering what is likely his final year of competitive baseball, I wanted to tell them to enjoy it because it goes fast. Like a blink of an eye fast. I didn’t think it was my place, but they certainly gave me a chuckle. The same chuckle I would get if I could look back at how I reacted when my son played 9U.
If you are reading this and have a younger child, I do encourage you to enjoy it because it’s not an exaggeration when people say life moves fast. Soon all you’ll have left is the memories. Make sure they are good ones.