10 Players from SAME town make it to The BIGS !

Imagine driving past Columbus Middle School and seeing former Dodger Shawn Green catch fly balls in right field.

Or maybe Currie Middle School and seeing Tim Wallach, a former Montreal Expos and Dodgers star, picking up a grounder at third base.

Or some other college, minor league or major league star who once called Tustin home, and played on the fields at those schools and others in town – Utt, Currie, the Tustin Pony League field on Red Hill, and the baseball diamonds at Tustin and Foothill high schools.

Those fields and more have been home to hundreds of thousands of youngsters who have played playground or organized baseball in the city since it was incorporated in 1927. In 1960, the city had four Little League organizations playing at four middle schools.

Green (Tustin High), Wallach (University) and Mark Grace (Tustin) are three of the 10 players from town who reached the major leagues, between them playing more than 50 years and reaching star status in the game before retirement. Green set the Dodger single-season record for home runs, Wallach was a star in Montreal and is a Dodgers coach, and Grace was probably the most beloved member of the Chicago Cubs during his 13 seasons there.

There are four players in the majors today from Tustin – Phil Hughes (Foothill), Brad Boxberger (Foothill), Heath Bell (Tustin) and Gerrit Cole (Orange Lutheran). All are pitchers and three of them are former first-round draft picks.

“This has always been a baseball town,” Vince Brown said, and he would certainly know. Brown was the baseball coach at Tustin from 1986 to 1992, and has served in a variety of jobs at Foothill since 1995 – baseball coach, assistant coach and athletic director.

“The baseball dynamic here has always been great. The youth programs have been feeder programs for Tustin high schools and other high schools nearby. There were kids who were clearly headed for success and kids who weren’t on anyone’s radar at the time.

“They had the opportunity to play in quality programs that prepared them for baseball and for life. You have to be very fortunate to get to the highest level.”

The 10 players whose paths began in Tustin took different routes to the major leagues.

Wallach blossomed in college. Grace was a low-round draft pick out of college who became an icon with the Cubs. Bell was undrafted and spent six years in the minors before becoming one of baseball’s best closers with the San Diego Padres.

Green and Cole had success in local youth leagues before becoming first-round draft picks out of high school. Hughes matured while in high school, also en route to becoming a first-round draft picks.

Green’s family moved from San Jose to Tustin when he was 12, and he was an immediate standout for Tustin Western Little League, helping the 12-year-old all-stars reach the sectional title game. He excelled in Tustin Pony League after Little League.

“It was a good baseball town with good coaches,” said Green, now an entrepreneur living in Newport Beach. “Tim O’Donoghue was my Little League coach, and he made sure we had fun while learning the game. For someone who dreamed of reaching the major leagues, it was a great start.

“You learn a lot more as you grow. Vince was a great high school coach. What I remember most is how much baseball talent there was in the city – it helps so much to be around good players – and how supportive parents were. There were so many teammates (in youth ball) who went on to play in college or professionally.”

“Shawn was a great youth player and came into high school with a lot of expectations,” Brown said. “He was the only player I ever had who was on the varsity for four years. By the time he was a senior he was still kind of a skinny kid, but he could put the bat on the ball. I knew he would have the opportunity to grow into a great player and man.”

Wallach played at Tustin National Little League at Currie Middle School then advanced to Pony and Colt baseball.

“That was back when kids played all sports,” Wallach, now the Dodgers bench coach, said. “We played baseball for four months and then moved on.

“What I remember most was going to the field and spending the whole day there, either playing or watching other games. I don’t remember anything negative about my youth baseball experience, which may have been the best thing of all. We played ball and had fun. They didn’t make it bigger than it should have been.”

Wallach lived in Tustin but went to just-opened University High in Irvine.

“We didn’t have a lot of success, but I had a good coach in Ken Trotter,” he said. Wallach was honored as a distinguished alumnus at a gala in 2012.

Wallach was a solid player, but he was undrafted out of high school and remained undrafted after two years at Saddleback College. His career took off when he went to Cal State Fullerton in 1978. By the time he finished his 1979 senior season with a College World Series title and a slew of school records, he jumped to the 10th pick overall in the 1979 draft.

“I learned a lot from coaches Dick Stuetz and Jim Brideweser at Saddleback,” he said. “But Fullerton is where I grew up. Augie Garrido took me from being a good player to being someone who was drafted.”

Grace and his family didn’t move to Tustin until he was in the eighth grade but was impressed by the level of baseball being played at area high schools.

“I was coming from Tennessee to a place where baseball could be a year-round sport because of the climate,” he said. “And once I was on a team, I realized how good the level of baseball was here than most other cities. I was probably the third- or fourth-best player on my team. It was just better baseball.

“There were so many great programs nearby – Santa Ana, Orange, El Modena, Villa Park. The old Century League was full of big schools with big players. We’d go play in these Easter Tournaments and there was just so much baseball talent on those fields.”

Brown says the legacy for Tustin baseball is that everyone has stayed close to the city.

“I didn’t know Mark Grace well. He played before I got here,” Brown said. “But I had a chance to meet him years later at a Dodgers game. When Shawn signed with Toronto, he made a donation to the high school program. A few days later, Mark called to match the donation.”

Mike Champion was the first area player to reach the majors, in 1976 with the Padres, and years later Brown coached his son Skylar at Foothill. He also coached Mike Schwabe, who would go on to set pitching records at Santa Ana College and was an All-American at Arizona State. Schwabe is now a coach at Tustin’s baseball clinic.

Brown was athletic director at Foothill when Brad Boxberger led the Knights to a CIF title in 2006 and watched Phil Hughes’ development.

“Neither Brad nor Phil were acclaimed players when they got to high school, but they had high expectations of themselves,” Brown said. “Brad’s dad Rod pitched at Foothill and USC, so the family is attached the city. Brad came in with the desire to be as good as his dad.”

Brown laments that Cole never went to Foothill. Cole led the 2003 Tustin Western Little League deep into the all-star playoffs, as well as a Tustin Pony team a year later. His family chose to send him to Orange Lutheran High, where he earned CIF honors and was named to USA Today’s All-USA team. He was a first-round pick by the Yankees in 2008, but spurned them to play college baseball at UCLA. He was the first pick in the 2011 by the Pirates and already is the team ace.

Brown saw Hughes develop virtually overnight. He made a few appearances with the Foothill varsity as a sophomore. “By his junior year, I was talking with his parents about preparing for his being a first-round pick,” Brown said.

“Phil was driven with a passion to be a success. Every kid is different; they all mature at different times. But what I’ve seen often over the years is so many kids with the desire to be a success, no matter where in baseball they wound up.’’


THE PLAYERS

DAVE STATON, Tustin High School
Staton was a power hitter who had a .575 batting average with eight home runs as a senior in 1985. He played two seasons at Orange Coast College, and in 1988 he had a memorable summer with Brewster in the prestigious Cape Cod League, hitting .359 with 16 home runs. He's a member of the league's Hall of Fame.

He then had a blistering season at Cal State Fullerton in 1989, hitting .371 with 18 home runs and 77 RBI, the latter mark breaking Tim Wallach's single-season school record. Staton, who struggled with lupus as a teen and had to sign a medical waiver to play baseball, was a fifth-round pick by San Diego in 1989.

He won the triple crown in his first pro season for Spokane in the Northwest League (.362 average, 17 home runs, 72 RBI). He hit 103 home runs in the minors from 1989 to 1993. He got two trials with the Padres in 1993 and 1994, hitting nine home runs in 108 at-bats.

He was signed by the Dodgers for 1995 but declined to play for the major league team as a replacement player during the 1994 players strike. He spent one more season in the minors before retiring. He now coaches hitting at a baseball academy in Tustin.




BRAD BOXBERGER, Foothill High School

The right-handed pitcher was the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 player of the year as a senior at Foothill, going 12-0 with a 1.17 ERA and leading the Knights to the division title with a 4-3 extra-inning win over St. Francis. He was a three-year starter at USC, with 11 career wins and a 3.20 ERA as a freshman and 3.16 as a junior.

He was a 2009 first-round pick by Cincinnati (43rd player overall). He was traded to San Diego and made his major league debut in 2012, posting a 2.60 ERA in 24 relief appearances. After another year with the Padres, he was traded to Tampa in 2014 and had a breakout season, going 5-2 with a 2.37 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 63 appearances out of the bullpen.





MIKE CHAMPION, Foothill High
Champion was the first Tustin player to reach the major leagues. A shortstop, he was a second-round pick in the 1973 draft by San Diego, and spent three seasons with the Padres. In 1977, he was the starting second baseman, playing in 150 games with 12 doubles and 43 RBI with a .229 average.

Champion's son Skylar was also a star athlete at Foothill.













MIKE SCHWABE, Tustin High
The 6-foot-4 right-hander was a star at Tustin whose career took off at Santa Ana College, where he won 25 games in two seasons, the record for most career wins. He was 13-2 with a 1.16 ERA in 1985. He transferred to Arizona State and went 12-6 with a 3.02 ERA to earn all-Pac 10 honors and help the Sun Devils to the 1987 College World Series.

Detroit drafted him in the 21st round of the 1987 draft and he made his debut in 1989, throwing five-plus innings to get the win in his first start. He made 13 appearances in 1989 and one in 1990 for the Tigers. He spent a few more years in the minors before starting a coaching career. He is the pitching coach for GWE Baseball in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.






HEATH BELL, Tustin High
A standout Tiller, Bell's major league career took awhile to take off. After two years at Rancho Santiago College, he signed as a free agent with the New York Mets in 1998 and spent six years in the club's farm system before a trade to San Diego.

He had five strong seasons with the Padres, posting 40-plus saves each year from 2009-11 and was named to three all-star teams. He pitched for Miami in 2012, Arizona in 2013 and Tampa in 2014, and has signed a contract with the Washington Nationals this year.

Cole grew up in Tustin and was on the 2003 Tustin Western Little League all-star team that reached the regional finals and won a Pony League championship a year later. He was an All-CIF pitcher at Orange Lutheran and a USA Today All-USA pick after the season. He was drafted by the Yankees after his senior season in 2008, but chose not to sign and played three years at UCLA. In 2011, he was the first pick in the amateur draft and has already become the Pittsburgh Pirates' ace. In two seasons, he has a 21-12 record and 3.45 ERA in 41 major league starts.









MARK GRACE, Tustin High
The lean first baseman played at Saddleback College and San Diego State before being a 1985 24th-round draft pick by the Chicago Cubs. He made his debut in 1988 and quickly became a fan favorite. He finished second to Chris Sabo in the National League rookie of the year voting in 1988 and would play in three All-Star games and win four Gold Gloves.

In his 16-year career, 13 with the Cubs, Grace hit for a .303 average, had 511 doubles, 173 home runs and drove in 1,146 runs. In 1989, he was 11 for 17 in the National League championship series against San Francisco, the Cubs just missing their first World Series appearance since 1945.

He finished his career with Arizona, hitting .298 with 16 home runs in 2001 and helping the Diamondbacks to the World Series over the New York Yankees. He started the D-backs' pivotal Game 7 two-run, ninth-inning rally with a single. He was a broadcaster for the club for nine years and is now a hitting coach.

SHAWN GREEN, Tustin High
Green was an All-CIF player at Tustin, where he led the Tillers to the 1991 CIF-SS 3A title game. He was a 1991 first-round pick (16th overall) by Toronto and had a breakout season in 1999 with 42 home runs. He was traded to the hometown Dodgers after the season and had three seasons with 40-plus home runs, including a club record with 49 in 2001. He shares the major league record for most home runs in a game (four).

He had a five-year career with the Dodgers and also played with Arizona and the New York Mets before retiring. In 15 seasons, he hit 445 doubles, 328 home runs, drove in 1,070 runs and stole 162 bases. He finished in the top 10 in MVP voting in 1999, 2001 and 2002 and was a two-time All-Star.

Green does community service work with the Dodgers and is an entrepreneur living in Newport Beach with his family. He wrote a 2011 book on his baseball career and his philosophy toward the game, "The Way of the Baseball: Finding Stillness at 95 mph."








PHIL HUGHES, Foothill High

Hughes developed tremendously during his career at Foothill High, by his senior season in 2004 becoming one of the top prospects in the nation. He was a 2004 first round draft pick by the Yankees (23rd overall).

He made his major league debut in 2007 and has posted a 72-60 career record in eight seasons. He spent seven with the Yankees, going 18-8 with a 4.19 ERA to earn an all-star spot in 2010 and was 16-13 in 2012, also with a 4.19 ERA. He signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 2014 and was the Twins' ace, going 16-10 with a 3.52 ERA and career highs of 186 strikeouts in 209-plus innings.







TIM WALLACH, University High
Wallach grew up in Tustin but was assigned to the new University High in Irvine because he lived near its border. A standout there, he was undrafted out of high school and played two seasons at Saddleback College before transferring to Cal State Fullerton.

He blossomed with the Titans. In 1978, he hit .394 with 16 home runs and 80 RBI, all school records; in 1979, he hit .293 with 20 home runs and 102 RBI while leading the Titans to a 60-14-1 record and first College World Series title. He was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011.

He was Montreal's first-round pick in the 1979 draft (10th player overall) and he made his major league debut in 1980, the first of 17 seasons in the majors. He played 13 seasons for the Expos, four with the Dodgers and part of one season with the Angels. He was a five-time all-star, won three Gold Gloves at third base, finished fourth in MVP voting in 1987, and ended his playing career with 432 doubles, 260 home runs, 1,125 RBI and a .257 average.

Wallach immediately went into coaching and managing on the minor league level, starting in the Dodgers system and moving up to be manager of their Albuquerque AAA team before joining the Dodgers' coaching staff as third-base coach in 2011.

Source: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/baseball-651781-tustin-high.html?page=1

5 mistakes parents make at their child's game

"Shoot the ball Billy!"

“What are you doing Billy!"

"Don't you know how to play basketball Billy?"

"Take him out of the game coach!" 

Have you ever been to a game where it feels like one of the parents is trying to do more coaching than the actual coach?

There are many ways to be supportive of your child during a game, but there are also many ways to be a bad fan. Here's a quick look at the top five mistakes parents make at their child's games.

1. They don't stay seated

Try as they may, some parents don't have it in them to stay seated in the bleachers and watch the game as a spectator. Instead, they find themselves standing up, moving up and down the court or field, trying to coach the team. This is a no-no in the sports world, and parents should do their best to simply be a fan.

Not only is it embarrassing for players to see their parents running up and down the court, but it's also extremely aggravating to the coaches. A coach trains his players to listen to his commands, but when a parent tries to fulfill the coach's role, this distracts the child, and he or she will find it difficult to 'keep his or her head in the game.'

2. They fail to provide support

When players are running up and down the court, you can count on the fact that they are turning their heads (or they are at least looking out of the corner of their eyes) every few minutes to see the look on their parents' faces. If they see disapproval and no support coming from their parents, it can be detrimental to their ability to play ball. It should always be remembered that support is most needed when a game isn't going well.

There have been more than a few great athletes who have succeeded without the support of their families. However, you can rest assured that there have been many more successful athletes who did have the support of the parents. Support is key because it provides a child with added confidence.

3. They scold their children during a loss

When a player is in the middle of a game that's not being won, this is the most important time to be shouting words of encouragement. After all, it takes a boost in confidence and an assurance that winning the game is possible in order for a child to overcome the challenge of turning a losing game into a victory.

Unfortunately, though, there are some parents who find themselves at a loss for words when it comes to being encouraging. Scolding a player, though, will only result in defiance and a decrease in self-assurance -- both of which are a combination for failure, not only on the court but in many other areas of life too.

4. They fail to act as mature adults

There's no denying that a child will follow the example set by his or her parents. And while a calm, poised and controlled parent is indubitably an excellent example to follow, for parents who can't act in this way, it's not uncommon for a child to act in the same manner. And when you put a child on the court who is out of control, doesn't listen to the commands of the coach, and lacks respect for the game, this child will soon be put on the bench.

5. They try to talk to the coach during the game

When it comes to talking to the coach, there's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to converse about the progress a child is making. But during a game, this is absolutely not the right time to be making small -- or big -- talk with the person who is trying to lead the team to victory.

And at no time -- before, during or after a game -- is it okay to ask a coach to give a certain player more playing time. This will only exacerbate a coach, and if the child finds out, it will cause him to lose confidence in the fact that any playing time given to him is coming only because it was asked for by his mom or dad.

The takeaway

How you act at your child’s games does matter. Be mature, supportive and respectful. It will go a long way to supporting your child.

Source: https://www.youthletic.com/articles/5-mistakes-parents-make-at-their-childs-game/?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=outbrain_country_test

Science: Why Lefties Make Better Baseball Players

Watching the Twins' Justin Morneau lead off the winning rally in the 15th inning of Tuesday night's All-Star game with a single to shallow center, there was no reason to be surprised that he throws righty but bats lefty. Although only one in 10 civilians are left-handed, one quarter of Major League Baseball players are southpaws. That's no accident, says Washington University aerospace engineer David Peters, who has used math and physics skills to confirm that lefties have a considerable advantage on the diamond. Of the 40 players in Tuesday's All-Star game, 18 are either left-handed batters or switch-hitters. And it's not just the MLB where lefties excel, says Peters. Among the thousands of young players populating the nation's baseball and softball fields for summer tournaments, chances are the left-handers are getting on base more frequently and pitching better than their righty counterparts. NEWSWEEK's Andrew Bast spoke with Peters about the mechanics of national pastime. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: You argue that left-handers have a distinct advantage in baseball. Why? 
David Peters: Twenty-five percent of players are left-handed, where in real life only 10 percent [of people] are left-handed, so that's proof that they are two-and-a-half-times better. There are several reasons why. One reason is that the left-handed batter is closer to first base, so he's got a couple steps advantage trying to beat out a grounder. Over the course of a year, he's going to beat out a few more. Also, as he swings, his momentum is turning him toward first base. But that is not the biggest advantage. The biggest has to do with the angle of the ball. Three quarters of pitchers are right-handed. A right-handed batter has to look over his left shoulder and the ball is coming at quite an angle. The offset of your eyes gives you depth perception. So when you're looking over your shoulder, you have lost the distance between your two eyes quite a bit, so you have lost that 10th of a second to see the ball. That's why batters switch hit.

Is the inverse also true? 
A left-handed hitter facing a left-handed batter means double trouble. First, it's coming over his shoulder, but second, he hasn't seen that many left-handed pitchers, because he's mostly learned from right-handed pitchers.

And the stadiums, too? 
Most ballparks were built thinking of right-handed batters. The left field was usually further away than right because of the power of right-handed batters. So when a lefty comes to the plate, he's got that short right field. I used to watch Stan Musial when I was a kid in the old Sportsman's Park where they had a very short left-field pavilion. Or [the] Polo Grounds in New York was the same. All of those old parks definitely had a shorter right-field fence. And, of course, the House that Ruth Built, Yankee Stadium, is a prime example.

Do coaches make calculated judgments accordingly?
Yes, they have all kinds of statistics how every batter hits against both righty and lefties. For instance, the Cardinals have Chris Duncan who probably doesn't start if there is a left-handed pitcher. That is why switch-hitters change when they do. Now some batters do better with their stance, but most lefties have a big advantage.

A friend of mine says that his mother lied to him all his life, telling him he was really a lefty, only to recently discover that he's right-handed. If we want our kids to make the big leagues, maybe we ought to do the same? 
No, teach them to switch hit. That is what Mickey Mantle's dad did. From day one when Mantle was 5 years old, he learned from both sides. Pete Rose was a similar kind of story. That gives you the advantage. I was actually left-handed, and my parents and schoolteachers actually made me switch. They weren't thinking about baseball as much as they were thinking about normalcy. I stutter to this day because of it. The desks at school, scissors, the Palmer Method of penmanship, none of them worked for a lefty. Now, throwing in baseball is not as critical, though there has hardly ever been a left-handed catcher, because most batters are right-handed so if you want to throw out someone stealing second, the batter is in the way. Babe Ruth wanted to be a catcher, but there were no mitts for lefties. So they made him a pitcher instead.

Would all the same lefty rules apply to softball, also? 
In fast-pitch, it's the very same thing. In fact, it's a bit shorter to first base, so that extra head start is even more important. Also, the pitcher is so much closer in softball, the reaction time is cut down even further.

This year's Wimbledon winner is Rafael Nadal—a right-hander who plays tennis left-handed. Does the left-hand advantage carry into other sports? 
There is always the advantage that the other player hasn't seen as many lefties. It's the same in boxing. A left-handed boxer circles a different way. Even in bowling, left-handers have an advantage because the lanes wear from so many right-handed bowlers and the lefty doesn't get caught in that worn groove. One game that doesn't work for left-handers though is jai alai.

You're an aerospace engineer. Should major-league front offices start talking more to scientists? 
There's a lot of things they should talk about. Now we have trouble with the maple bats, and there's a question whether we ought to use aluminum. Scientists could help a lot there. We had the controversy with the ball, how it was getting more lively with all the home runs. Already a lot of teams have mathematicians and computers in their dugouts figuring probabilities. So there is a lot of place for science in the game of baseball. Ted Williams was really the first to think of hitting as a science. He discovered it was bat speed, not bat weight that was so important. After him, people went to lighter bats. Ruth used some huge 36-ounce bat, but Williams discovered, no, it's actually the speed.

Source: http://www.newsweek.com/science-why-lefties-make-better-baseball-players-92783

Baseball: The Game of Fathers and Sons

If there is one movie scene that can make a grown man cry, especially those of us who lost our fathers at an early age, it is the one at the very end of “Field of Dreams.”

Ray, the character played by Kevin Kostner, meets the young catcher John Kinsella, his long dead father brought back to youthful glory by the power of dreams and Hollywood special effects.

Uncertain as to what to do, Ray says to his father, “You wanna have a catch?” A tear in his eye, John answers, “I’d like that.”

“They throw the ball back and forth,” read the director’s notes at movie’s end. “And as we pull up higher and higher we see a father and son bathed by white floodlights and car headlights on the silent satiny green of a baseball diamond at the edge of a cornfield.”

Pass those hankies!

This scene works so well because baseball, unlike any other American sport, is a game of fathers and sons. This has always been true, but it is even more true today.

Unless a father inspires his son to play baseball he is unlikely to pick it up on his own. Except in Latin America and maybe a few odd pockets here in the U.S., sandlot baseball no longer exists.

I find myself ruminating on this subject because I have watched more baseball in the last month than I have in the last 30 years.

The reason is simple enough. My homies – the Kansas City Royals – made it to Game 7 of the World Series.

The Royals’ emergence has seemed here in KC very nearly miraculous. The team had not been in a playoff game since 1985. From 1995 through 2012, the Royals had but one winning season.

From 2004 through 2012, the Royals lost at least 90 games eight times. Then late in the 2014 season – they had a losing record through the first 100 games – it all came together.

I, like just about everyone else in town, will have watched at least 15 games, most in their entirety, just in the month of October. Doing so, I have noticed things that I had all but forgotten.

Jack Cashill’s investigative-reporting skills shine in his many books — see them now in WND’s Superstore

Baseball is a wonderfully communal game. In Kansas City at least, women follow the game as intensely as men. I watched the final game of the American League Championship series in a bar and everyone in the bar oohed and aahed in exactly the same way.

In that baseball is not really a contact sport, fans tend to hate the opposition less than they do in football or basketball. There is also no equivalent of the end zone dance and much less physical taunting. As a result, opposition fans are better tolerated.

At the ballpark, the fans tend to behave better as well. There is less violence than at other sporting events and much less profanity. This likely has something to do with the number of fathers who bring their children.

New Yorkers, of course, are something of an exception to the rule. “Nowhere else in the country,” said now retired pitcher John Rocker, “do people spit at
 you, throw bottles at you, throw quarters at you, throw 
batteries at you, and say, ‘Hey, I did your mother last
night – she’s a whore.’”

Although basketball and football are generally more interesting to watch, for those who really care who wins, baseball retains its emotional energy until the very last out, regardless of the score.

In timed sports, the outcome is often sealed minutes before the final horn, and endings are anti-climactic. In baseball, with the opposition’s final out – or the home team’s walk-off hit – there is huge collective moment of pure joy unrivaled in any other sport.

With the possible exception of soccer, baseball has also become the most spontaneously diverse of all major sports. Baseball has the advantage, though, in that its diverse players actually get to score.

The Royals’ game-six starting lineup featured four white Americans, one African-American, three guys from Venezuela, one guy from Japan, and a starting pitcher from the Dominican Republic.

Despite the sport’s diversity, the media have worked hard to inject their inevitable racial angle into their reporting. The one controversy they have fixed on is the decline in participation by African-Americans in Major League Baseball.

A generation ago, roughly 20 percent of big-league players were black Americans. Today, that number is roughly 8 percent.

The San Francisco Giants – the team that gave us Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Barry Bonds – did not have a single African-American player on its World Series roster.

Sports reporters, who think quite like their newsroom colleagues, fan the issue’s flames, failing to understand why the issue exists.

True to form, they will cite any number of reasons beyond the obvious. Racism being an unlikely explanation, they lean now toward classism.

“The evolution of travel teams and pay-to-play leagues have instinctively turned youth baseball into a corporation that weeds out the under-privileged and promotes the privileged,” opined Steven Wetherill recently in USA Today.

“It’s quite simple,” Wetherill concluded, “if you don’t have the money, you don’t get the exposure.”

In reality it is simpler than that, Steve. If you don’t have anyone to ask, “You wanna have a catch?” you will never learn to love the game.


Source:  http://mobile.wnd.com/2014/10/baseball-the-game-of-fathers-and-sons/#q0X4YKse6ulxjJ04.99

Why Do So Many Lefties Play Baseball? It's Built for Them

Anyone who has watched their fair share of baseball games has heard TV analysts, and probably other fans, wax ad naseum about strategic match-ups between righties and lefties. No truly complete lineup, they say, lacks at least one left-handed power hitter. No bullpen is complete without at least one left-handed relief pitcher to oppose those left-handed hitters.

But why are there so many lefties in baseball in the first place? Twenty-five percent of baseball players are left-handed, as opposed to only 10 percent of the general public. Are lefties naturally more athletic?


No, says David Peters from Washington University in St. Louis. Rather, he argues, the science of the game, right down to the dimensions of the diamond, favors left-handed people. Consider the following:

1. When a right-handed batter swings, his momentum takes him toward third base. He has to stop, and then re-start toward first base. But a lefty’s swing takes him toward first base, and Peters says that an average lefty reaches first base one-sixth of a second faster than an average righty, which could make the difference between a hit and an out.

2. It’s not just the infield, either. Because of the preponderance of right-handed people, who can’t hit the ball as far to right field, the outfield fences in historic ballparks like Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park were built notoriously close to the plate.

3. Left-handed hitters fair better against righty pitchers, who are the majority, because they pick up the ball easier. If you’re a right-handed hitter, the pitch looks like it starts out behind your shoulder. But a lefty sees it in front of him the whole way.

4. Lefty pitchers stay in demand because they can reverse that visual effect—left-handed hitters see the ball start out behind them. But lefty-against-lefty is additionally troubling for the hitter—because there are fewer total left-handed people in the world, lefty hitters have less experience against lefty pitchers, and end up taking some goofy-looking swings.

5. Left-handed pitchers face first base, making it easier to hold runners close to the bag or pick them off.

Overall, the odds of any one person making it to the Major Leagues are remote. But if you’re born left-handed, consider it a leg up. That is, unless you want to play catcher. Then forget it.

Source: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2008/07/08/why-do-so-many-lefties-play-baseball-its-built-for-them/#.VLQCNCvF9jA

Mixed Martial Arts Makes Inroads in Baseball Training

Mixed martial arts may be illegal as a competitive sport in some states, but several baseball players are incorporating its fighting methods into their training routines.

Adam Dunn of the Chicago White Sox, Brad Penny of the Detroit Tigers and Russell Martin of the Yankees have used the sport’s punches and kicks to improve their throwing and swinging. In addition to improving overall fitness, Martin said, mixed martial arts can make an athlete mentally tougher.

“You tolerate the pain and get through it,” he said. “Mentally, I know I’m in a good place because I worked hard.”

Mixed martial arts is a combination of karate, judo, jujitsu, boxing, wrestling and tae kwon do. The sport is also popular in Brazil and Japan. Pay-per-view telecasts in the United States began in 1993, with the Ultimate Fighting Championship staging the most lucrative matches.

Unlike Martin, Dunn and Penny guard the secrets of their workouts as if they were team signs.

Penny acknowledged training with Dan Henderson, a star M.M.A. competitor, but he declined through a Tigers spokesman to discuss his training. Dunn declined through the White Sox media-relations office.

Henderson said that he had had Penny practice the kicks and punches used in M.M.A., but there was no sparring.

“We use focus mitts,” Henderson said, referring to the oversize padded gloves that he wears while athletes kick and punch them. “Physically, it works different muscles than players tend to use in their own sport. The training gives them something different to push themselves through.”

Henderson said the workouts could indirectly help Penny’s strategy on the mound.

“It might give Brad a little more confidence when he’s pitching inside,” Henderson said. “And he’s prepared in case anyone rushes the mound.”

Jay Glazer, a football analyst for Fox Sports who runs MMAthletics with Randy Couture, a mixed martial arts star, has trained N.F.L. players in the sport. Glazer said his clients included Ryan Grant, Jared Allen, Clay Matthews and the Atlanta Falcons team.

While the workouts for the football players emphasize wrestling and hand-fighting techniques, Glazer said the routine for baseball players concentrated on emulating the movements of their sport.

Ryan Rowland-Smith, a left-handed pitcher in the Houston Astros organization who battled arm and back injuries the last couple of years with the Seattle Mariners, worked with Glazer in the winter. “I’m in the best shape of my life, for sure,” said Rowland-Smith, a surfer while growing up in Australia.

Glazer said: “In the case of Ryan, we look at film and break it down frame by frame and come up with a combination that mirrors his pitching delivery. A knee, a punch, followed by a kick. We have him do a ton of that for his hips. Power comes from his core, his hips and his legs, even though he uses his arm to pitch.”

Mentally, Glazer said, the mantra is the same for baseball players as it is for N.F.L. players.

“Own your space,” Glazer said several times. “We get the players thinking like a cage fighter. When the door shuts, it’s time to break that man’s will across from you. For Ryan, as a pitcher, it’s that 60 feet 6 inches that you own.”

Rowland-Smith said the rigors of M.M.A. training made it easier to tolerate physical and mental challenges on the mound.

“If you have some small injuries or you’re not feeling 100 percent, nothing can compare with what you go through with the training, so you can fight through it,” he said.

Martin, a catcher, worked with Jonathan Chaimberg, who trains Georges St.-Pierre, the U.F.C.’s welterweight champion. Martin said he was searching for a way to regain his All-Star form after two injury-marred seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

After a few months of six-days-a-week M.M.A.-style training sessions with Chaimberg in Montreal, where he lives, Martin increased his endurance and explosiveness and lost body fat. He said his upper-body routine was called the big rope.

“It’s a thick rope that you attach to a base of a wall and has a loop,” he said. “You create waves with the rope, and it’s like a 20-second sprint, a 10-second rest. You don’t do it for a long period of time. You do it for five minutes, get a good workout in and work on your conditioning.”

It seems to be helping. Martin is hitting .300 with three homers and eight runs batted in.

Bobby Valentine, an ESPN baseball analyst, has managed in the major leagues and in Japan, where one would think mixed martial arts training is popular among players. But that is not the case, he said.

“It’s more prominent in the States,” said Valentine, who said he believes the training is beneficial.

He added: “Most mixed martial arts instructors teach balance, quickness and awareness of your surroundings. There are a few cases in Japan, but most players just play baseball over there.”

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/13/sports/baseball/13mma.html?_r=0

Soccer, Baseball or Karate? Top 10 Reasons to Involve Your Kids in Sports

Why so many parents willingly spend hours a day shuttling kids between sports

Before I had children, I remember a stay-at-home-mom friend commenting to me that her full-time job began each day at 3:30pm when school let out and she began shuttling her tween-age children from sport to sport. At the time, her driving habits sounded crazy to me, but now, as a mom of two elementary school-aged daughters, I am finally starting to “get” her. Why are so many parents willing to dedicate multiple hours each day to their children’s involvement in sports? Here are ten of the best reasons for being a sports chauffer:

1. Long-Term Health Benefits
It’s all over the news and everywhere you look: there is an obesity epidemic amongst America’s children. Rates of overweight children with risk factors for “adult” diseases like Type 2 Diabetes and high blood pressure are skyrocketing. Regular involvement in sports and physical activity is one of the best ways to fight obesity and protect a generation of young people.

2. Activity for Activity’s Sake
What time of day does the majority of youth-crime occur? Most people assume it is under the cover of darkness, but in reality, young people find themselves in the most trouble between the hours of 3-6pm. Participating in sports and being accountable to a group provides young people with constructive, trouble-busting structure and has been shown to reduce criminal mischief, including drug use, among kids.

3. Social Networking (Minus the YouTube account)
Speaking of being accountable to a group, sports often provide a ready-made social network for kids. For a child who has difficulty finding his niche in school, a team sport may offer the camaraderie and support that he is lacking elsewhere. Even for kids who have no trouble fitting in, involvement in sports offers connections with peers who are focused on constructive goals.

4. Encouraging Sportsmanship
Winning and losing is part of any sport. Kids who take part in sports learn the delicate arts of winning graciously and losing well. Being able to shake hands with the competition, no matter what the outcome of an event, serves children well into their adult lives.

5. Understanding the Nature of Commitment
Whether for an hour a week, or three hours a day, most sports require a commitment from kids to attend regular practices, team meetings, and games. When kids dedicate their time, energy, and finances to a sport that they like, they learn important lessons about commitment.

6. Building Self Esteem
Children develop positive self-esteem through accomplishments. Sports give kids opportunities to learn, achieve, and feel good about themselves through skill development and goal-oriented activities. When parents and coaches emphasize effort and improvement over winning or individual performances, they foster healthy self-image and positive self-esteem.

7. (Academic) Performance Enhancing
According to researchers at Michigan State University’s Institute for the Study of Youth Sports, young people who play sports perform better in school than those who don’t. Rather than serve as a distraction, participation in sports teaches kids to focus their minds on a task at hand and to manage their time effectively, as they juggle school, sports, and a social life.

8. There is No "I" in Teamwork
Children learn all sorts of valuable social lessons through sports. For younger players, sharing the ball, listening to teammates, and following group rules are fundamentals of good play. Being part of a group and learning to accept coaching (particularly the constructive kind) is one of the most valuable benefits of sports for older kids.

9. Perseverance & Persistence
On my daughter’s first day of karate, she learned the term, “non-quitting spirit.” Six years later, she still uses this term to talk herself through a challenging homework assignment and to encourage her little sister not to give up on learning to tell time. Children who participate in sports face disappointments, defeats and injuries. Those who learn to take setbacks in stride and dust themselves off for the next round benefit from life lessons in perseverance and persistence.

10. Working Towards a Goal
Winning a championship, scoring a perfect 10, earning a black belt; sports often feature an “ultimate goal” for kids. Before any milestone can be reached, however, kids have to learn specific skills and master fundamental techniques. Involvement in sports provides children with experience in breaking long-term goals into short-term objectives. Commitment and perseverance are honed as young people cast aside the instant gratification of their earliest years and work toward goals that are only achieved through long hours and hard work.

Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/passive-aggressive-diaries/201207/soccer-baseball-or-karate-top-10-reasons-involve-your-kids-in

Baseball evaluators say drive could have carried Russell Wilson to MLB

Russell Wilson the baseball player possessed "solid average" speed and an "average" arm but was seen as having a chance to crack the majors, thanks to obvious overall athleticism, good instincts and the kind of work ethic and attitude coaches dream about, baseball executives and scouts said.

A few baseball evaluators went so far to say they felt sure he'd make it to the bigs despite obvious early flaws and uninspiring minor-league stats.

"There was no doubt in my mind -- and some call me crazy -- that he would someday have worn a major-league uniform," Joe Mikulik, Wilson's manager in 2011 at the Rockies' South Atlantic League (Class A) affiliate in Asheville, N.C., said in a phone interview.

Seeing Wilson run and pass vs. NFL defenses, it's hard to understand how baseball evaluators deemed his speed and arm strength to be anywhere near average. But those evaluators explain baseball speed is somewhat dependent on a jump out of the box (he was an average 4.25 down the line from the right side) and point out the throwing motion differs in the two sports.

Those same evaluators saw no tool showing well above average in his two partial minor-league seasons, batting .229 with five home runs in his two Class A stops at Tri-Cities (Wash.) and Asheville. Not yet, anyway.

Even so, all the scouts and execs still suggested he might one day make it because of his drive. His makeup was "so far off the charts," according to former high-ranking Rockies executive Bill Geivett, who went so far as to say he couldn't recall anyone who worked harder at the craft of baseball. That is really something when considering Wilson was working just as hard at football while weighing which sport to pursue.

Coaches and managers would arrive at the ballpark around noon, only to hear Wilson was working on his hitting with the equipment manager since morning.

"Russell had it in him," Geivett said. "He's a very determined guy."

Wilson had ample smarts (he graduated from North Carolina State in three years) and understood he was probably 1,500 to 2,000 at-bats away (and at least three more years) from starting to understand his baseball future, thanks to a youth split between the two sports. When he chose to accept an invitation to use as final year of NCAA football eligibility as Wisconsin's quarterback, he told his Asheville teammates he would be leaving them. While he didn't say it, he probably also understood he'd be leaving baseball for good.

While no one could have guessed this sort of greatness, Geivett told him at the time, "I don't see any reason why you're not going to be successful in whatever you do. It's up to you."

When Rockies people drafted him in the fourth round despite the fact Wilson was only a platoon baseball player at N.C. State, they also were hearing he might be only a seventh-round NFL talent, with a future most likely in the Canadian Football League. That shows how imperfect scouting can be.

"They're wrong in their sport, just like we are. They make mistakes just like we do," Rockies scouting director Bill Schmidt said.

Football evaluators probably were hung up early on the fact Wilson is only 5-feet-11. But they couldn't measure his heart.

Wilson told Rockies people he believed he could throw with anyone in college ball, then he proved it. He surprised many by leading the Badgers to the Rose Bowl in his year in Madison. The rise was meteoric.

He became a third-round draft choice of the Seahawks, then he beat out expensive free agent Matt Flynn for the starting QB job right away, set the rookie record for passer rating (an even 100.0), tied Peyton Manning's rookie record of 26 touchdowns and led the Seahawks to win after win.

The Seahawks were in the playoffs his first year, finally falling in the second round. They won the Super Bowl his second year, and he now he has the chance Sunday to become the first quarterback to win two Super Bowls in his first three seasons.

While it's clear to everyone he made the correct call to play football, just about all his former baseball bosses believe in hindsight Wilson would have willed his way to the majors at some point. Though of course, success would not have come nearly as quickly as it has in the NFL.

"He didn't have a lot of at-bats," Mikulik recalled.

The 1,500 necessary at-bats might actually have kept him in the minors through 2014. Pitcher Tyler Matzek, a No. 1 draft choice, and outfielder Corey Dickerson, who had 32 home runs for that 2011 team, are the only two players who've made more than cameo appearances in the majors from that Asheville club.

Wilson, 26, had far less baseball experience than most because he split time between sports. But folks still saw a future.

"He was a good athlete and a tremendous teammate," recalled Schmidt, the man who drafted him for Colorado. "He had a lot of passion and amazing work ethic. It was going to take a lot of at-bats. But I thought he had a chance."

"I wouldn't put it past him," said Rangers GM Jon Daniels, whose team won Wilson's baseball rights in 2013 (technically, he is on the Triple-A Round Rock roster). "He wouldn't be outworked. He would have had to do more offensively than defensively, but I would not bet against the man if he committed himself."

Texas used a Rule 5 draft choice to take Wilson a couple years back, if only to get him to spring camp in hopes his passion and work ethic rubbed off on others. When Daniels called him to let him know they had selected him, Wilson took the 6:30 a.m. call at the Seahawks' training facility, where he was working out.

The Rangers invited him to spring training, where he took grounders, signed autographs, then talked passionately to 150 Rangers minor leaguers, who sat in rapt attention. The keys, Wilson told them, are sacrifice, dedication and preparation.

"He's got such a strong inner drive," Daniels said. "It's evident that [coach Pete] Carroll and [GM John] Schneider and their organization have put something special together and Russell is at the center of it. It seems like they feed off each other and he has such a genuine belief in himself and the rest of their group. It's pretty powerful to be around."

Wilson didn't look bad taking grounders at Rangers camp, either, leading scouts to wonder what might have been.

We'll never know, as he never got to play enough baseball to find out how good he could have been. Schmidt said he was getting better at second base, others noticed a little pop and everyone said he had about the best attitude and work habits they've seen.

There were flaws, like a little loop on his swing. But he had barely played. He needed to become acquainted with the spin of the breaking ball. There was a long way to go.

But, as Mikulik said, "From the git-go, you could see the real passion and desire and work ethic. He was really driven to be the best baseball player he could possibly be."

But a little thing called football got in the way.

Source: http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/writer/jon-heyman/25015106/baseball-evaluators-say-drive-could-have-carried-russell-wilson-to-mlb

Hitting - Fear of Being Hit

The fear of being hit affects most young baseball players. Young pitchers that don't have much control can often throw very hard. This combination gives many kids a real fear of stepping into the batter's box. This fear of being hit affects their ability to develop a good swing and approach at the plate. In addition it quickly reduces confidence and enjoyment of the game.

The younger they are, the more chance that they will freeze when a pitched ball is thrown at them. Often they try to get away from the ball by backing away. This puts them in a position to get hit in the side or front of the body or possibly the face. Once a hitter has been hit a couple of times, it can be a major task for them to overcome those painful experiences.

One of the most effective ways of dealing with the fear of being hit is to teach kids the proper way of getting out of the way. Often young kids that are afraid of getting hit will step in the bucket and bail out of the box. There is no way they are going to hit with this approach, and honestly, if their fear is great enough they are probably happier about not getting hit than they are sad about striking out. By teaching the player to get out of the way properly, you can also emphasize that stepping in the bucket actually exposes the front of their body and face to the pitched ball. Above are three images demonstrating how to properly get out of the way of a pitched ball. This method protects the front of the body and the face. It also puts the back in a position that allows the ball to glance off, which hurts much less than a direct blow.

You can practice this method as a station during batting practice as follows. First couple of times you work on it, have a parent or coach stand 10-15 feet away from a player in the batter's box. Use either tennis balls or soft incredriballs. Start by tossing the ball softly over the plate, the batter should not swing. Then start moving the ball inside. When the hitter thinks he will be hit, he should turn his body away from the pitch. Rather than giving the kids instructions about how to bend their back and where to keep their arms, etc., I tell them to turn and place the end of the bat directly on the ground behind them. This forces then to turn away and duck down to place the bat on the ground. They seem to get this and have an easy time repeating it.

As the kids get good at turning away from the ball, I add to the drill by throwing some of the balls over the plate and some that they have to get out of the way of. On the balls over the plate, have them hold or stride like they are going to swing.

If during the drill, the player starts stepping in the bucket and tries to back away, stop the drill and have them hold their position. Show them where the ball can hit them in this position and ask them if they think it will hurt worse getting hit in this position or in a position where they are better protected.

When a player is comfortable getting out of the way, they will have much more confidence stepping up to the plate.

Source: http://www.qcbaseball.com/hitting/baseball-hitting-fear-of-being-hit.aspx

Mike Matheny's Failproof Tips for Becoming the Most Hardass Little League Coach Ever

St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny didn't know what to expect the first time he read his "manifesto" on coaching to the parents of a little league team.

It was 2009, and Matheney knew that before he could agree to sign on as coach, he'd have to be upfront with the team moms and dads about his tough-love approach -- including his belief that, as he says in his five-page, 2,556-word manifesto, "the biggest problem with youth sports has been the parents."

"As I am writing this, I sound like the little league Nazi, but I believe that this will make things easier for everyone involved," Matheny wrote.

Six years and a new job leading the Cardinals later, Matheny publishes a memoir today called The Matheny Manifesto: A Young Manager's Old School Views on Success in Sports and Life based on the manifesto that made such a splash in baseball circles across the country. Billed as an inspirational look at how sports can teach everyone to win on and off the field, Matheny has filled his new book with the same throwback beliefs about discipline, faith and respect.

Since it was Matheny's "manifesto," written in a haze of determined frustration on a flight to St. Louis from New York, that inspired the new book, Daily RFT had a look at it to find tips for the wannabe Matheny inside us all.

Here are six things we learned from Matheny's original manifesto:

1. Your real opponent isn't the other team. It's your players' parents.
Want to be an inspirational, effective coach? Start by getting the parents in shape. They're the real barrier to greatness, Matheny says, and the best way to stop the interference is to "nip this in the bud right off the bat." (Note the flawless use of a baseball pun.)

"Let's pretend that [players] are at work for a short amount of time and that you have been granted the pleasure of watching," he writes to parents. And that includes water breaks. Matheny says players should have "some responsibility for having their own water" so parents behind the dugout stop interrupting to ask if their child is too thirsty or hungry or hot or tired or sweaty or whatever parents say.

Matheny says he's doing parents a favor by keeping them at arm's length during coaching.

"I have taken out any work at all for you except to get them there on time and enjoy," he says.

2. The coach is right, even when he's wrong.
The idea that adults are "always right" has lost a lot of popularity in recent years, but just because the times are changing doesn't mean Matheny has to. The Cardinals skipper quotes this piece of throwback wisdom learned from his father to stop parents from complaining to him when their children have to play positions they don't like.

"Our culture has lost this respect for authority, mostly because the kids hear their parents constantly complaining about the teachers and coaches of the child," Matheny says.
So if your kid doesn't like his playing position, the batting order or anything else about Matheny's methods, tough luck. The coach is always right.

"The principle is a great life lesson about how things really work," he says.

After all, if the coach is really wrong, he'll apologize.

"I hope that I will have enough humility to come to your son if I treated him wrong and apologize," he says.

3. Be who you are unapologetically.
Matheny is upfront with parents that his Christian faith guides his life.

"I have never been one for coercing my faith down someone's throat, but I also believe it to be cowardly and hypocritical to shy away from what I believe," he writes.

Matheny knows this will make parents uncomfortable, but he never shied away from his beliefs as a player and didn't plan to start as a little league coach, he writes in the manifesto.

"You as parents need to know for yourselves and for your boys that when the opportunity presents itself, I will be honest with what I believe."

4. Keep your players' minds in the game.
Matheny demands the attention, concentration and effort of his players. In his manifesto, he lists his expectations: Come ready to play, shirts tucked in, hats on straight, pants "not drooping down to their knees," with hustle from the first step of the dugout and absolutely no messing around on the bench. On and off the field, Matheny says, he's constantly asking players what they're thinking to mentally prepare them for the game.

"They are boys, and I am not trying to take away from that," Matheny writes to preemptively defend against parents who decry his strict methods. "But I do believe that they can bear down and concentrate hard for just a little while during the games and practices.

5. Again, tell the parents to keep their traps shut.
Usually it's the children who are supposed to be "seen but not heard." But on Matheny's field, it's the parents who should keep quiet. Tips or even cheers -- like, "Come on! Let's go!" -- are forbidden from the bleachers because they only put more pressure on the kids.

"I am not saying that you cannot clap for your kids when they do well," Matheny writes. "I am saying that if you hand your child over to me to coach them, then let me do that job."

Matheny even makes a special plea to parents to remind their own parents, the players' grandparents, not to interrupt him while he's coaching.

"I believe the biggest role of a parent is to be a silent source of encouragement," Matheny says.

6. Stay classy.
Matheny has three goals: teach players the game, make a positive impact on them as young men and do it all with class.

"We may not win every game, but we will be the classiest coaches, players and parents in every game we play," Matheny says.

Source: http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2015/02/mike_mathenys_failproof_tips_for_becoming_the_most_hardass_little_league_coach_ever.php?page=2

Why I Never Let My Kids Quit... Anything

Quitting. We quit jobs, we quit marriages, we walk out on friendships and sometimes we let people down when the going gets tough. Sometimes it is necessary, even the right thing to do. Our kids quit teams and music lessons, art classes and after school programs. Sometimes it's necessary, but sometimes they are bored or don't like the coach or would just rather play video games at home. Deciding when to let your child quit something, be it Gymboree, Little League or SAT prep, is a question that never goes away.

My kids have tried it all. I have driven them to sports, found drum teachers, glass blowing lessons, painting and ceramics classes. They have tried their hands at their school newspapers, student government, ESL tutoring and computer programming camp, though why that qualifies as camp, I am sure that I will never know. In the end, they did not commit to most of these activities and no one in our house plays lacrosse or is student body president, but at the same time, I never let them quit a single activity.

Our rule is simple: Try any activity that we have the resources to make possible. Go once, go even twice but if you commit, I told my kids, there will be no quitting. At the risk of overgeneralizing, I think our children have so many choices of ways to enrich their lives that quitting has become an easy response to frustration or boredom. I regret many of the things in life that I quit, not because I was enjoying them when I left, but because if I had stuck it out and reached any sort of competency, I might have found that illusive enjoyment.

In reality, this meant that my kids had to stick with a team until the season finished or an art class until the sessions ended. There was no walking out on computer camp because it was dumb or quitting drums because we recognized a dearth of musical talent. Every activity was to be seen through to completion.

Why was I so tough on them? Why draw what might seem like an arbitrary line in the sand?

Constancy, commitment and loyalty are all values I hoped to instill in my sons. Learning to endure something even when it became boring or unpleasant, when the coach or teacher didn't like my kid, or vice versa, seemed a lesson truly worth teaching. I thought that the first time I let them walk away from something just because at that moment it didn't suit them was the last time I had any credibility about endurance or resilience because the refrain henceforth would have been, "but you let me quit...."

Over time, my kids learned they were never going to allowed to quit things so they should be careful about what they committed themselves to, because the word commit was going to be taken literally. The result? Good things and bad. Perhaps they didn't try things they might have, although we usually made clear up front that you could try something (say by going once or twice) but after they signed up we were done with discussions.

But we had bad days, really frustrating end-of-my-rope days. There were tantrums and miserable practices and screaming scenes where I reminded them that this was something they had said they wanted to do. The upside? They had long, enduring relationships with instructors, coaches and teammates who changed and enriched their lives. One high school son has been on the same soccer team for nine years. It is the stuff that childhood memories are made of.

I sound so confident now, but on a weekly and sometimes daily basis I was wracked by self-doubt and misgivings and even now am not sure if what I did was right. The one thing that I have observed is this: My college-age sons have true passions, things they study in school and activities they are involved in outside of the classroom.

Passions are not like dreams for most of us, we don't wake up one morning and find they have miraculously come to us in the night. Parents often talk about helping kids find their passions. But passions do not always reveal themselves unbidden, as often they are a result of hard work and dedication, the joy that comes of doing something well.

My kids' passions are the result of endless hours spent learning a subject or mastering a skill. In each case, it is something that in childhood they begged and pleaded with me to quit and in late adolescence they have told me how much they enjoy. I made them stick things out because mastery, even at a child's level takes time and repetition. Competence breeds confidence but success and accomplishment breed self-esteem and social well-being. Should I have let them walk away knowing this?

This weekend, my 19-year-old son drove 10 hours with his college club team to play in a tournament in a sport that, many mid-seasons ago during his childhood, he begged to quit. He had sent text messages about how great being on this team has been and how much he has enjoyed playing. Yet in a particular parenting low point, I pushed his 12-year-old self out of the car to make him play when the practices had ramped up and become far more difficult. Did I do the right thing?

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/grown-and-flown/quitting_b_2162195.html