All Stars

My middle son played on the All Stars team this year.  Bless his heart, he was SO excited.  He was (and knows this) an alternate pick.  He played hard and listened and had a great time. They won 1 out of 3 games, but they did get the Sportsmanship trophy. You would have thought they won the whole tournament!  What a happy bunch of boys.  They played great games and in the last one made the other team earn their win. 

I try to be a supportive, but not overbearing Mama.  I know he will roll his eyes if I call him "Baby", or would rather hide in a hole than have me hug him at a game.  I also try really hard not to say anything before he bats.  Now, when he gets a hit, I'm all about some hollerin'!  I got a new camera recently and it has a sports mode. He loves to watch the pictures of himself and it is fun to capture the moment when he hits the ball. 

The All Stars was a new experience for me as well.  You get a combination of parents you have been with through the years and then throw in some you might know from the ballfield, but usually sit across the way from.  It can be an intersting mix. Emotions run higher at these games.  The boys are all pumped up and so are the parents. But, there are only 9 positions on that field and there are 12 players...you just know someone is not going to be happy.  My son knew he was not going to get to play the whole game and had a pretty good idea that he would be in the outfield when he did.  I think, or would hope, that all the other kids knew riding the bench was a possbility.  I try to be a realist and understand the coaches want to win and will use the best players available.  There is a rule that each player has to play at least an inning in the outfield and have 1 at bat.  That is all they are guaranteed.  We were good with that.  However, there were parents that were not and got upset.  What are we teaching our children when we get so upset about everyone getting their turn and fair play?  I'm prone to get excited and let my emotions go, but just not at the people in charge.  I tend to to it at home, which is just as bad! We all need to take a deep breath and remember, it is just a game and there are more important lessons to be learned.
The Proverbs I read this morning, kind of says it all.
 Above all, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Proverbs 4:23
If we remember to guard our heart, we will guard our outbursts and it will make us better examples for our children and to each other.  Then we will all be All Stars!