Don't Quit

 
Those of you that read this blog more than once a week know my son plays baseball, he has played some form of organized baseball since he was about 7 years old, so about half his life. For the last year he has played on what we could be considered the New Smyrna Beach Cuda's "Farm Team". It is a program organized by the Varsity Coaching Staff at NSB High. Led mainly by Kenny Lutz these coaches put together a program that includes strength training, endurance, grade checks and promotes good sportsmanship and basically being a better overall person.

My son had played with pretty much the same group of kids for the last year, being the "pilot project" and playing in the Central Florida Baseball League (Great teams) they have lost every single game since last summer.(they play year round with a break for Christmas) It has been a humbling, character building experience for these kids. I did not know how much until yesterday.

Prior to the game our coach told the kids one of our players had quit the team. Apparently he was tired of losing and was going to play with a team in another region that wins games. Wow, really?

So after basically being told that one of their own no longer wanted to play with them because they were losers, these boys went on to come perilously close to winning the game, they tied in the bottom of the 6th inning. The game was called for the 2 hour time limit or I believe they would have won. They certainly outplayed their opponents and had plenty to be proud of.

In the truck on the way home I asked my son about the player who quit.  He gave me "the look", you know the one, the look a 14 year old gives you when he thinks you are totally nuts. He said, "Mom, you don't quit because you are losing, that is just stupid." Keeping in mind, he does not play every inning, he does not start every game, but he goes out there every day, practices, works hard and is part of "the team". You don't quit because you are losing. That says it all. I can stop writing now.