Fall Ball 2011

“Effective people are not problem-minded; they’re opportunity-minded. They feed opportunities and starve problems.” —Stephen Covey

Take Me Out to the Ballgame: Fall is not the main season for baseball due to some children playing football during this period of time. As such, I recommended to a friend of mine that this was the perfect time for him to introduce his son to baseball with a little less pressure than normal. New to my area, my wife and I saw this season as a chance for die-hard coaches and the league to see the talent of our boys. My wife’s family is totally devoted to baseball (my father-in-law still plays) and our boys all carry on the tradition and have a deep love of the game. My job as a father is to optimize the experience for my sons. We ran into an obstacle for my oldest boy due to some confusion caused by his age. The league wanted him to move up to the next age bracket because he will be of appropriate age in November. At their behest, we made the request after he had already tried-out for the younger age bracket. Due to an administrative flub, he was selected for a team at the younger age bracket. After careful consideration, our family chose to keep him with this team. A representative of the league attempted to thwart our efforts. New to the league, I realized my political voice was next to none. So, I turned to the stakeholder with more political clout and called the new coach. He had voice, he wanted my son on his team and he knew how to manage the rules to make a case. I am happy to report my son is on the team we selected. Play ball…