No trophy for you!
My son's first baseball season has come to an end. At least I thought it had and then there were playoffs.
For 5 & 6 year old coach-pitched teams. Seriously?
Even though the kids lost miserably, there were a couple of wins. Like only a couple of kids still cried when they were tagged out at first. And they did get a little better at fielding the ball. Though the concept of throwing it once it was in their glove was still a bit foreign.
And really, it was more fun just yelling at them to run fast around the bases (LIKE WHEN I CHASE YOU UP THE STEPS TO YOUR ROOM WHEN YOU'RE IN TROUBLE, SON!) and watching their excitement when they hit the ball off the coach's pitch or actually stopped a ball and got a runner out.
And while there were official scorekeepers, and team records, I don't think anyone really kept track. At least I didn't anyway. I mean, when one team gets 7 hits which automatically ends the inning, it seems sort of silly to celebrate a win. Or sulk at a loss.
Besides, I don't think my bladder could take actual competition considering I pissed myself cheering when my son finally made a stop at 3rd base.
It's all really for the parents anyway, isn't it?
So when an email went around wondering if the kids were going to get trophies since a few expected them, I was surprised.
I'm pretty sure my son was pretty happy with the snacks.
Nutter butters! Weird blue squeezy drinks!
And look, I'm all for a celebration. Have an "End of Your First Season of Baseball or Something That Kind of Resembles That Sport When it's Played by Kindergarteners" party. Give out some Chick-Fil-A gift cards.
A t-shirt.
But a trophy? I think that signifies actually winning something.
And they didn't.
I wouldn't have even cared that much except they decided to hand out the trophies at the end-of-season party so if you didn't buy your kid one then you'd end up looking like a smacked ass if you went.
And then fast forward 30 years and our kid is in therapy talking about how he was the only one with parents too stubborn to spend $10 on a stinking trophy.
So we skipped the trophy and the party.
And hey, I'm all for promoting participation, but I don't think that kids need to be rewarded for it. Not because I'm a big meanie, or even a cheapskate, but because I don't think it's good for them in the long run.
They start expecting it for everything. Trophies for playing a baseball game become prizes for making their bed. And then what? Money for doing homework? Cars for going to college?
I'm trying to teach my kids that losing is okay, and winning can be awesome, when it happens.
But just playing the game, doing your best, and making your own freaking bed is what we do in our family. Not because you're going to get a trophy, but because it's part of life.
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