In the Face of Adversity
Indulge me a moment…
This season has been a tough one. The kid has faced adversity, more so than probably any time in his life. And, it’s been coming at him from all angles.
He took on a challenging schedule at school. 3 Honors courses, 1 AP course, Spanish (first time), and PE, while playing 3 sports and trying to make time for all the high school festivities like Homecoming and attending plays or basketball games. Then as wrestling was coming to a close, he got sick. And it stuck with him for what felt like months.
He started the baseball season hitting in the middle of the lineup, playing right field. Everything was off to a decent start…until, he had a few days where he got too sick to go to school. He missed a few days of class, which, with a schedule like that, feels like a few weeks’ worth of missed classes and assignments. He fell behind quickly, and never quite caught up until the very end. He missed a practice and a game at baseball, and just never quite got back into the regular rotation. By the time he was not sick, he was so far behind in school that it weighed on him. It permeated everything he did.
He fell into a hitting slump the likes of which he had never experienced before. He just wasn’t seeing the ball. His timing was off.
You might be wondering where the indulgent part comes in? Well, I’m getting to it.
He faced adversity head on, and never backed down.
He buckled down and did the work to get back on track. Much to our chagrin (seemingly more than his), he surrendered his social life for the entire 2nd semester, doing homework all weekend outside of games and practices. (I know, that’s no way to live. It’s stressful, setting him up for burn out, and just plain not fun.) He never quite cracked that starting lineup again, but he went to every practice and every game and brought the energy. He was the loudest kid cheering from the dugout. He shagged every foul ball. He counted pitches. He warmed up pitchers. He warmed up the outfielders. He collected bats and ran balls out to the umpire. He high fived players coming back into the dugout. He came early to work the field and stayed late to clean it up. (I say this knowing full well it’s supposed to be a team effort to tend to the field and it definitely was not.)
When he got out in the field, he was usually the first one to his position and first back to the dugout from L or R field. He hustled at (almost) every opportunity. At practices, he challenged kids to beat him at drills, foot races, conditioning. He gave his all.
On the rare couple of hours free from homework or during a rained out game, he asked Coach Pop to work with him at the cages. Sometimes hitting, sometimes fielding, all times working to get better.
He didn’t truly break the slump. He’s not going to win any post-season awards. His stats are definitely not worth writing home about. But I am so incredibly proud of him for the effort he showed and the determination to out-work, out-hustle, and out-effort the adversity. He could have packed it in early, once he lost that starting job. He could have opted to focus on school to right his grades instead of going to a practice or two. He could have sat on his hands in the dugout or only did what was asked of him by the team and coaches.
He earned the nickname “Mr. Longhorn” from his teammates. He is Mr. Longhorn, he is Mr. School Spirit. The name on the front of his jersey means way more to him than the one on the back of it. And, that’s what being part of a baseball team is all about!
Congrats, kid, on doing the hard things. Showing up when it wasn’t easy. Working through the adversity. Controlling what you could control - your effort and attitude.
