Stretching is such a vital component to staying healthy, fit, and ready for the field. Yet it’s so often overlooked. Especially with younger athletes. 

That was especially true for my son when he had a growth spurt. Suddenly his legs and arms were longer than the day before (obviously, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, I think). And, he was thinner, more sinewy than ever before. He started complaining about aches and pains that weren’t there before. He was tighter before and after games

I’m not a big believer in New Year’s goals. However, I am a big believer in accountability and saying my goals out loud. If I own my goals and aspirations, I’m more likely to work towards achieving them. I also am inspired by a clean slate - whether that happen on Day 1 of a new year, the first buds on a tree in Spring, or simply after I complete a long project and have a literal clean slate ahead of me.

People come into our lives at different times to teach us lessons. I firmly believe this. Every November, when we celebrate my son’s birthday, I am reminded of one very special person who has greatly and indelibly impacted our family’s lives.

We all have that one person that stands out in our memory. Whether a coach, a teacher, a club leader, a Girl Scout/Boy Scout leader, a church leader…someone at some point in our life, if we’re blessed, we come across someone who truly impacts our lives in ways we don’t appreciate in the moment. But looking back, you see it clear as day.

It’s our first Rivalry Week with high school sports as a family. More importantly, it’s my son’s first time experiencing all the emotions and activity that come with Rivalry Week, especially as a football player. He gets to put on that jersey and helmet, wear his school colors with pride and a mission to represent for his community.

One of the most beautiful things about raising a kid is watching them experience life. The look of wonder when they learn something new. The sense of pride when they do something they didn’t think possible. The joy when you watch from afar as it all starts to click. Sure, there’s the pain of the failures. Nothing quite prepared me for how much I would hurt watching my son hurt - get cut, kick a play, etc. But you can’t learn without a little misstep here and there. Bouncing back is also part of the process and the beauty. You get a chance to try again.

We’re at that place…social media is a reality. It’s not only a social pressure, but it’s also a recruiting pressure. But when’s the right time to make the jump?

The kid claims to not want to be on social media. Sure, his friends are there. In fact, his position group in football has a “group chat” on Instagram. Not SnapChat, not text. But Instagram. I had no idea that was a thing. But I thought that would be “the thing” that pushed us to have the discussion. However, even then, he said he wasn’t interested. He’d continue to communicate via text to stay in the loop on any plans. Sure he’d miss out on the banter and back and forth. But, as long as he was in-the-know on plans, he was fine.

Sitting in the stands has never been my thing. I get nervous for the kid. He works hard, he carries a bit too much weight sometimes (despite our best efforts to help him realize that’s not the best approach), and I just want to see him succeed. Rather than show him my nerves, rather than trying to distract myself by chit chatting with other fans, or worse, rather than me saying something I don’t mean to say, I pace. I walk down the sidelines, I take a stroll down the foul line. I also hate to hear parents from our team saying anything negative about our players. Any players really. And I tend to not hold my tongue, which can cause problems with parents.

That post-game car ride is always a wild card…at least for me. Do we talk about what happened? What if they lost? What if they lost big? What if he had an error that led to the winning run scoring? What if he struck out to end the game? What if he won big? What if he had the winning hit or made that game-ending catch? Emotions run the gamut and I’ve never been too confident how to approach either conversation.

I keep seeing all these posts on social media from travel ball parents about what they’ve learned or wish they knew before starting on their travel ball journey. We are playing year-round baseball on a “scout team.” It’s not technically travel ball. So take that into account when considering these lessons.