My son recently completed his first year of Little League Baseball and I was fortunate to assist in coaching the team. As I look back on a successful season for my season, I can’t help but think of things that he learned that he can take with him throughout life. I believe that sports and being part of a team are a beneficial part of a kids life as they are growing. They can really learn a lot from it.
From the beginning my son set loft expectations; he wanted to play in the All-Star Game, play in the tournament championship game, and get a trophy. Pretty high expectations for someone who this was their first year in organized baseball. As a parent I learned to manage those expectations, while he learned what it took to achieve his goals. I fully believe that the lessons my son learned in his first year are lessons that will be with him throughout his life.
Lessons that my kid learned from Little League
Hard Work
Little League taught my son that if you want to achieve your goal(s) you have to work hard for them. This forced him to continue to work on his craft, as he had to stay focused on the goals he set forth. This is very difficult for any young child. Fortunately for me and my son, he was completely obsessed with baseball and wanted to play every day. This type of dedication is a valuable skill set for life, and something that will stick with him as he grows.
Teamwork
Little League forced my son to work together with the other kids on his team to achieve his goal of playing in the tournament championship game. The kids had to learn to work together with each and communicate. They called out the kids name when they through the ball to first base. They had to talk in the field when the ball was hit on who was going to get it. These are all skills that will help them throughout life.
Perseverance
My kid set goals all by himself. But like anything in life, there are ups and downs. Some games he would do really well, some it wouldn’t go as well. There were weeks when he was just on, and other weeks he was not. He learned that if he did not get a hit when he was at bat, he knew that he could try again the next time he was at the plate. He lived by the motto, ‘Try your best and forget the rest’. This allowed him to stay in the moment, enjoy playing the game and preserver throughout the season. It’s just another skill that helps later on in live and teaches us to live in each moment and not to get too far ahead of ourselves.
There are many more lessons but these are just a few that I learned watching my son from the sidelines play a game. In anything that we do throughout life there are lessons that we can take away from each situation. Some of the skills we have learned can be traced back to our early years as kids and playing sports. This is where I really seen my son learn those skills and apply them. It was just a little something that I was able to take away and reapply to my current situation.
