There is no doubt that my love for the game of baseball came from my father. I know as I improved both physically and mentally in the game he became more and more proud as any father would. However, my toughness and tenacity came from my mom. I know that my mother was my biggest fan...probably still is. Of course every baseball player or other sport, instrument, event, game, activity a young man's biggest fan should probably be their mother. I wanted to share this on my mother's birthday which is today. I am not sure that I have ever properly thanked her for helping me become the player then and the coach, father, husband, man I am now.
Moms never stop challenging their sons. At least my mom didn't. I can remember back when I was in tee ball and I was struggling with fielding ground balls. Mom takes me outside and for hours one afternoon we fielded ground balls. Was the technique right, I don't remember but I think the primary reason I was struggling was simply fear of the ball. There I was 5 or 6 years old and mom is chucking ground balls at me. Mom was the first one to tell me if I get hit that it will hurt...so catch it instead. Haha! I wanted to make her proud of me so I put aside my fear and became a little more aggressive and quickly learned how to judge a ground ball's speed and bounce pattern. Was I fielding them the right way...who knows? All I know now is that I was now catching grounders and was not afraid of them anymore. While I was in Little League, I can't remember if my mom ever missed a game. I remember when I was a 12 year old that mom had surgery and was supposed to "take it easy". I just remember mom being at the field like always. 35 years later and I am still thankful for all the support.
This brings me to my point. Everyone thinks or expects that toughness comes from the father. I am not a psychologist but when moms don't caudal when things get tough for young a man leads me to believe that this toughens up the individual. Sure nurture and care but don't help make things too easy. Baseball and life aren't easy. The sooner young men learn this the better off they will be. Sure, when I was young if mom was being tough I would say things like, "That's not fair" or "It's too hard to do" or "Why do you hate me"...the last one was my favorite. Only until my adulthood did I realize that mom knew that she wasn't going to be right there to get me out a jam or be able to fix things for me. This was her way of teaching me to be tough. A problem solver, someone who can think for themselves and be tough enough to do it on their own. Baseball moms be the biggest fan but also be tough. Continue to challenge your player both on and off the field. I assure you they will be better players and in time become better men.
Happy Birthday Mom! I love you. I hope you have a great day.
Coach Bale
