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Life Is Short. Take a Swing.
What watching my kid play baseball taught me about life
“Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.”
— Babe Ruth, Babe Ruth’s Own Book of Baseball
Watching your child play baseball can be a highly stressful experience, especially when they get up to bat. Your pulse soars and hands tense as you wonder whether they’ll triumph or return to the dugout in defeat.
Last season, my parental nerves grew increasingly agitated when my son adopted the strategy of not swinging in hopes of earning a walk. While it worked often, his coach pushed him to be more aggressive so he could gain the confidence that comes from making solid contact. The goal of the sport, of course, isn’t just to get to first base or even to score a run.
Amidst the craziness of 2020, youth baseball was offering my son and his teammates a safe environment to learn one of life’s most important lessons: To achieve your potential, you have to take some risks.
One day, as I was watching the game from the dugout, where I was helping with the equipment, my angst reached an apex. My son had just taken his sixth pitch, strike three. In an undisciplined moment, I growled “Swing the…
