My son has been in love with baseball since he could hold a bat. He has played t-ball, coach pitch and now this year regular baseball with the kids pitching. Well all of a sudden he HATES it. He has two games per week and it is a struggle to get him ready and he is almost 10 years old. Unfortunately last week he got hit in the eye with a ball and then at the neighbors house he got hit in the mouth with a bat. He hated it before this all happen and now he is really scared to play. My husband and I think that he should finish out the season which is only 5 or 6 games, but it is such an emotional drain to get him there. By the time we get there, my hubby and I are furious, he's crying..... Is it really worth it? Should we just let him quit..if we do, what are we teaching him???
Yep--once the kids start pitching it really is, literally, a "whole new ballgame"! This is when lots of kids give up baseball!
I do agree he should finish the season though.
I think you should give him a break. Tell him that after the last game, he gets a hiatus. Take him for ice cream afterwards. Tell him that you are proud of his play each time. Give him something to look forward to after the game.
Regardless of how your husband feels, he is done. It's okay too. He as played for a long time and he needs a change. Find something else that he can do.
Dawn
We are a baseball family. My oldest son plays HS and travel ball. My younger plays in house and my husband has coached in house for years. My oldest is still sleeping, but I polled the other two and got very different responses.
My husband the coach says he should "tough it out" and finish the season because he probably has teammates relying on him. He recommended he practice hitting in a batting cage situation to get over the fear of getting hit by a pitch and to get back into swinging.
My 12-year-old in house player (who FYI suffered two hockey concussions this winter) says you should let him quit if he's "suffered that much pain." He said that getting hit in the eye by a ball really hurts.
I suspect my older son would think it's no big deal. Getting hit by pitches is a part of baseball and he gets beaned regularly. If you want to play baseball you get used to it (otherwise you find another activity). He's been hit at least 3x this year in a league in which the kids are pitching 60-65 mph.
My opinion: I like the poster's idea who suggested you try to find out if more is going on. Does it have something to do with his coaches or teammates? How do the coaches interact with the kids? How is the team chemistry when the kids are on the bench? How comfortable do you feel with the coaches, can you ask them for advice? They might have experience helping kids transition to kid pitch and helping them get over anxieties about getting hit by balls or bats. If he just doesn't like kid pitch, there's nothing more serious going on and his injuries weren't significant I would lean towards having him finish the season but don't play next year. If there is something more serious going on or his injuries required medical treatment then I might let him quit. (FYI--my son's concussions turned into a 6 month recovery and he IS quitting hockey.)
Good luck!
Kid's pitch is sooo different then what they have played.
It is, honestly, when my son quit baseball and switched to soccer. I think he preferred headbutting the ball on his own, rather than getting hit in the head by a ball thrown by someone else. Ha.
But, my "rule" was to always finish out the season. And we did basketball one season also - oh, he hated that. I told my son since he made a commitment to the team, that he needed to honor it.
Sit down and talk to your son - not on a game night - and try and find out what it is about the game that he dislikes so much now - aside from the physical fear of a ball/bat to the head. Is he feeling inept at the game now that it is kid's pitch? Does he have new team mates that he doesn't like or feels inferior too? Is it the Coach or the Coach's style? There could be any number of factors contributing to his new feelings about the game.
Maybe he could go to the next game, and with the Coach's permission, just sit on the bench and watch the game - get back into it by seeing that it is not common to get hit in the head with a ball - oh, gosh, it is not common, right?
Ultimately, you know your child best. And honestly, if mine had cried and it had become a huge struggle to even get to the game, I might have allowed him to quit mid season. But, then, he would have sat out the next season, or had to figure out a way to pay the league fees himself - even at 10 years old.
Good Luck
Kid pitch is when a lot of them drop out-mine did. It is a whole different dynamic than before. I would let him stop if I were you. It can be really scary when the kids pitch so fast and since he has injuries from that it will be even worse for him. He is truly afraid to do it now. So you need to seperate this out from the usual mantra of "my kids should finish what they start or they won't learn a good lesson." This has moved beyond that and nothing good at all will come from him playing the next couple games. Sometimes it IS ok to give up or quite something. Its not lilke he wants to quit because he just doesn't like it. THat would be different.
Also you need to think about the reputation that he is putting out there for himself by crying at the games. He is probably embaressed to death over this and I can guarantee you that the other little boys are probably teasing him about it. This could possibly follow him for a while.
himself.
Since he has been playing all those years already, I say make him finish, his team probably needs him.
~However, you know your child BEST...if he is crying and such only you can answer this. This year a child quit mid season on my oldest's team, he would cry and hide in the bathroom b/c he was so scared to get hit while batting, in that case I think the parents made the correct choice for their child!
