Last week, my son Maddox had his first baseball game ever. I love baseball—the smell of the grass, the excitement and joy, the seeds, dirt and bubble gum—and so does Maddox! He wears his baseball uniform literally everywhere we go (we have to pry it off his body to go to school), he watches baseball highlights non-stop, and he pretends to frequently "win the game" with walk-off home runs.
Because Maddox is our first born and this is our first experience with youth sports as parents, I'm also scared. I'm scared I will miss these beautiful moments, be too worn out to enjoy them or that life will move too quickly. I'm scared I will become cynical, or judgmental, or put too much worth into a game. I'm scared of becoming like "those parents" we swore we'd never become.
And I'm also scared for Maddox. He will strike out, get cut and not make the team. He may also be good, which is a struggle in its own way. The demands to play a game will pull at him from every direction. I'm scared we won't be able to navigate all of it in a healthy way—that our lives will end up revolving around the weekly sports schedule. I've seen too many families get sucked into the vortex of youth sports with no room to breathe.
My wife and I grew up playing sports competitively through college. We love baseball and believe there's a TON of great things that can happen in a person by playing sports in general. We are also fortunate to have parents who helped us navigate these seasons well and now I get to watch other amazing parents do the same for their kids. But we also know how treacherous this world can quickly become.
Parents, the world of youth sports is all so fun and difficult and scary, isn't it? Then, I read this yesterday: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." (2 Timothy 1:7). I believe Maddox can learn what this means by playing a game, and it's my job to coach that spirit from him.
Whatever my fears are for my son, when it's all said and done—no matter how long it lasts—my hope is that Maddox learns to have fun, work hard, overcome adversity, maintain self-discipline, love others and find his worth from God, not from a game.
