Dear Athletic Support: My son never wants to play catch. He’s nine. He’s been playing baseball since he could hold a bat, but he never wants to practice. He doesn’t even want to play catch. I don’t get it. I know so many other guys — so many other dads — who never ask their kids to play. They don’t take the time. I make the time. I love playing catch with my son. I want him to be a good player, maybe a pitcher in college one day. Baseball seems like the perfect sport. You don’t have to worry about getting hurt like you do in football, and my son is not quick or tall enough to be great at basketball. Baseball is his best bet, by far. But he never wants to work at it. He’s not willing to put in the time. He doesn’t mind going to games. I think he likes the games, and he performs well enough. He’s a bigger-than-average kid. His size has gotten him this far, but if he doesn’t start working on his pitching, all the other boys will catch up. How can I convince my son to come out and play catch with me again? — Ready 2 Play
Dear Ready: Sounds to me like you’re not wanting to “play” anything, but instead you’re trying to mold your son into a collegiate pitcher.
If that seems harsh, just know that I’m also speaking to myself.
My son isn’t quite three yet. I bought him his first glove a month back. I made a big presentation out of showing him his new glove (I actually got him two gloves, one for both hands, in case he’s a leftie). I had high hopes that he’d want to stand out in the backyard and toss that ball around all afternoon.
After about thirty seconds of him trying to put his glove on the wrong hand, he dropped it and ran off to play “Trucks!”
I say this to say, as parents, we have to temper our expectations. We cannot let our own hopes and dreams take the place of what our kids really want.
In other words, you can’t make your son into a college baseball player. Great players love the game. They enjoy putting in all that time and practice because there’s nothing else they’d rather be doing.
In The Sandlot, one of my all-time favorite movies, the narrator says, “You see, for us, baseball was a game, but for Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez, baseball was life.”
If you haven’t seen the movie, “Benji” goes on to make it to the Big Leagues. Making it that far in any sport requires drive and determination, not to mention a great deal of talent.
If your son enjoys his Little League games, maybe that’s good enough. At least he’s having fun.
Eli Cranor is a former professional quarterback and coach turned award-winning author. His debut novel, Don’t Know Tough, is available wherever books are sold. Send in questions for “Athletic Support” by using the “Contact” page at elicranor.com.
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