Fall
baseball is over for La Roche. All the
games were intra-squad except for a double-header at Seton Hill. Sadly, I did not see my son pitch. I know
only what he tells me and he tells me that as hard and intense as it is, he
absolutely loves it!
Tyler
has story upon story of his freshman year so far. Most revolve around baseball; stories of
past, present and even future happenings with the team. I can hear the passion and excitement in his
voice, which makes me smile. But there have been a few times that I heard
frustration, worry and sadness.
Leaving
Tyler at La Roche has been like setting a kite loose in the wind. Even though a
string is attached to the kite, once it catches the wind it tosses and turns with little regard to the string that is trying to keep it grounded. Like this kite, Tyler’s freshman year has
been his first taste of freedom.
With regards to baseball, the start of his Freshman
year means the “courting” is over.
Think about this……when you first start dating someone, everything is
perfect. Each of you smell nice, look
nice and act nice all of the time. At
some point during all this “niceness”, you fall in love and decide to make a commitment
to a long-term relationship. Once the commitment
is made and possibly marriage happens, reality sets in. No longer does each of you smell, look or act
nice all the time. That is what
recruitment is like….once Tyler decided to commit and his freshman year
started, things got real!
The
focus of baseball at the collegiate level is to win games. Winning games isn't always enough. College teams must have winning seasons. Winning seasons make their school more
attractive to baseball players, alumni and sponsors. With that being said, Coaches must select the best players for
their program. Baseball players,
pitchers to be more specific, are a dime a dozen. Tyler realized real fast that he had to work
hard in order to keep his spot on the team.
He had to become mentally tough, disciplined and most of all, he had to
act like an adult.
And
he has!
It
is time for me to toughen up and prepare for the rigorous world my son has
committed to…..the closest thing to boot camp without sending my son off into
war. Okay, so I’m exaggerating a little, but bottom line is it is time for me to
tuck away my hanky and toughen up. There
will be no more coddling of Tyler Booher….from coaches, players or (sniff…sniff)
his mother.
Off
season practices were at least 3 hours long and on off days, he had to run and
lift. Like I mentioned above, he played
intra-squad scrimmages which he pitched 2 or 3 times a week. He had good days and he had bad days. It was easy to tell by his voice which days were
good. I always listened quietly as he
told about his experience on the mound for that day. My heart either swelled with pride or cracked
a little from the sadness I heard in his voice.
And a couple times my blood boiled in fury.
“What
do you mean he sent you to lift after you told him your arm was sore and you couldn't pitch anymore today? What type of coach does that? What do you mean he
yelled at you? He told you to get off the field?!?! He told you that you needed to lose weight?
Your core isn't strong enough? What the hellllllll?”……..
In
my brain as he was explaining the scenario to me, I was writing a not-so-nice
email in my head to that coach. Who was
HE to call my kid FAT? CORE-SCHMORE…..maybe
he should run with them a little……..or do a few sit-ups…..what if that were HIS
kid out there getting told to leave the field?....Yeah, I’ll tell him and give
him a piece of my mind….I’m Kim Booher, afterall…..
But
instead I found myself saying things like, “Well, Tyler, he knows best…..He’s
been doing this for a long time….championship teams….good coach….maybe cut out
Pepsi…..”
Then
when I hung up the phone, I cried.
Geesh, this was tough! He was
crushed by a man he adores as a coach.
He was yelled at in front of others.
He was told he needed to lose weight!
He needed a hug…or maybe a cookie or two.
Maybe
I’m not cut out to be a collegiate baseball mom!
Or
maybe it’s time for me to learn from my son.
He’s no longer that blonde little boy with the over-sized hat standing on
the mound. He’s a grown man that takes
command of the field when he’s on the mound.
He’s disciplined, mature, and can take what is thrown (or hit) his
way. His future is right now and he is
meeting it head-on.
I've done my part in helping him develop his
mental toughness. He still needs me, but
more so to just listen and be supportive.
He doesn't need me to fight his battles anymore …..he just needs me to
be there.
And
I will…until the fat lady sings. Well, unless she was told to lose weight .......then
I’ll be there until the skinny, little chick sings.
