What they hey. I'm gonna play proud papa here.

My son has played dixie youth baseball since he was four years old. He's always been a good player, but has never quite managed to put together a season that lived up to his potential. He has always tended to kill the ball when hitting in practice, but then get nervious in games, and not perform anywhere near of what he is capable.

This year (he is nine), that all changed. He hit consistently, and hit for real power. He was one of the elite hitters not only on his team, but one of the best in his league - especially nice considering he moved up to a new age group this year, and was the youngest player on his team. Add to that that he has been an effective pitcher, but better, an excellent (no daddy bias here) catcher, and it was a great year.

He was a unianimous selection to the league's all star team - something he has hoped for, but never accomplished in the past (made alternate once, but never made the team before). It appears that he will be the team's starting catcher... he is excited.

He has another year in this league; if he continues to work hard (which he has - we have put in MANY extra hours of practice, many times at his urging, not mine), he has a chance to be a dominant player next year. It is good to see that work pay off, and I am proud of him.

Sweet, O. Thats cool. I wish I could play baseball to any decent degree.

Congrats on the little prodigy man

Since baseball isn't played in my country except maybe in sparetime (no leagues or any official training) I don't know half the rules or what half the positions are supposed to do, but it all sounds great for your kid and I'm happy for you

Give him my regards from Iceland and tell him there is someone there rooting for him

Talent is defintiely part of it - he has that, there's no doubt. However, he's not at all a big kid (one of the smallest on his regular team, much less the all star team), and was the youngest player on his regular team.

The secret has been good old fashioned hard work. Last night, for instance, we practiced two hours with the team. Everyone else went home, but as we packed our gear, Caleb asked me if we could stay and hit some more. He had made good contact during batting practice, but had not hit for much power.

So we worked on it for another half hour until he was consistently ripping balls into the outfield again.

I'm hoping that this sort of thing will prove to be a valuable life lesson for him - when you consistently work hard and apply yourself, good things happen.

That is totally awesome, Olan.

Question: I don't really understand how you practice baseball... I suppose I have the same problem as Skari, people don't really play so much here.
With basketball it's easy to practice since the ball doesn't go so far away. The same goes for soccer or tennis etc... but baseball? You can throw the ball once, but then it gets hit away, right?

Great news about Caleb. Glad to hear things are working out well for him.

Baseball - good game, but it would be better if it was played on ice...

With a team, the other players field balls you have hit.

With one on one batting practice, like the extra practice my son and I did last night, you bring an entire bucket of baseballs, pitch them all, then pick them up once you are done. Otherwise, you spend hours chasing the ball.

**smites Alacrity** You say everything would be better on ice!

Racing or Water Polo (arguably rougher than rugby considering you are treading water and you can't breathe water).

lol I may be canadian but I can skate nominally well, and never really played hockey or curling, though both are cool to watch.

Baseball = too much stats, not enough action for me to watch.

Baseball is a thinking sport. There's a lot of stragegy that goes into it, and that's what the stats are about... Of course, if you aren't into the strategy and stats, then you'll probably ever really get into it. I played a few games as a kid, but I never much got into it for that reason.

Also, I'm very glad to see you stressing what's important here. Too many people are quick to jump on calling things a talent or a gift. That encourages laziness. Most of the time what you actually have is skill. Talent is something you're born with, an accident of chance. Skill is something you work for. It represents long hours of hard work and dedication. It requires drive, heart, grit, and determination. Skill is something you EARNED. It's something worth being proud of, because you accomplished it yourself, it wasn't handed to you on a platter. Here's hoping that the lesson hits home with the young one, Olan, he'll grow into a better man for it. The desire to actually work for what you want is becoming a rarer and rarer thing in our society, and it does my heart good to see a chance at resurgence in it. This country was built by great men working hard and refusing to give in no matter how difficult it got. It's been inherited by a bunch of whining weaklings with their hands held out.

Also, there are few sounds in thsi world quite so satisfying as the crack of bat against ball, are there?

What Olan is proud of (and any parent should try to instill in their kids) is the effort and determination Caleb shows in getting better at something he loves. Skills take time and effort: it's muscle learning that needs repetition and we are a society that craves instant gratification. I admit to some impatience when I try to show someone how to do something and their first (and second and third) response is "that's too hard", but patience is a skill I've learned (it's no gift, trust me ). My daughter rebuffed previous attempts to learn to knit, but this summer, she asked again, and is working on her very first scarf.

Do feel proud, Olan, it's a shared experience that you and your son will carry with you all of your lives.

I played softball and three pitch throughout my primary school years, and my dad coached our teams every year that we played. A computer technician in the early days of computerized payroll, we didn't see my dad much during the week, but he was at every practice, every game, every summer.

The teen years were tough, and my dad's not the easiest person to get along with, but the fact that I even have a relationship at all with him now is because I remember those games, and the times in the backyard tossing the ball back and forth.

Hehe...I'll be waiting for little Olan to make the majors. Go tiny Mr. Suddeth!

Congrats to Caleb and you too Olan, old friend. What makes me especially happy for you is the fact that your boy's been so keen on practicing himself, not because you want him to.

That's where many parents go wrong (not that I ever imagined you would). Often it's the dad who, after the kid's initial enthusiasm, keeps the hobby going on even if the child doesn't enjoy it anymore. I know mine did. I kept on swimming for years before I was big enough to say "no more." For a boy of 12-13, having pool practice six times a week (doing 1.5-2 miles every time) and a "dry" training once a week is just too much, if his heart is not in it. Mine wasn't. Haven't done much sports since. Kinda killed my interest... and it shows.

Like you said - a valuable lesson for Caleb, but one for you parents as well.

I did push too much back when my daughter played softball, and she no longer plays. However, she is very active in dance, which I support, but do not push (learned my lesson).

Caleb stated for extra practice last night again. We had already practuced for two hours and fifteen minutes, and the team was let go. One of the other coaches was going to stay and hit extra grounders to his son (the kid had bobbled way more than usual in practice), and my son wanted to stay, so we did.

Two weeks until tournament time!

We've been doing the baseball thing again, and my son has played very well, so I thought I'd update a year-old thread to brag some more.

In the first post in this thread, I metnioned how Caleb had a chance to be a dominant player in this league during his ten year old season, and that has proven to be true. If he isn't the best player in the entire league, he's certainly in the top three.

He has hit very consistently, and hit for power. For the first time in his life, he's been called upon to play shortstop in a fair number of innings (for those who do not know baseball, the shortstop is uaually the best defensive player on the team). He has been an elite pitcher - had a four inning, one hit game this past weekend.

Last night was his best offensive night ever. 4 for 4, with a single, two doubles, and a grand slam. The slam was especially huge since our team was down 10-5 at the time with two out. Those four runs put us right back in the game, and we went on to win.

Anyway, there's my bragging.

soooo cool!! Spendng time with the yunguns and teaching them things. I wish my parents had taken time to do things like that with me. He will remember and cherish these times without a doubt.

My hubby's great uncle is in the Baseball Hall of Fame but none of his talent filterd down to my hubby