One of THOSE parents...

I could very easily fall into the habit of being "one of THOSE" parents. We all know the type... The parent that gets too involved in their kids problems, the parent that gets too excited at the ball game, the parent that is annoyed by other people's inadequacies. Watching Megan's first ball game of the season last night, I found myself judging the coaches decisions, whispering to Dutch about how to help, wondering why it wasn't played differently. I don't like myself when I do that. I realize that "If I could do it better... why don't I just step in and do it???" reason #1. I don't have enough time to commit to that. reason # 2. I can't deal with parents like me. I had a big pep talk with myself last night to stress the importance of the kids having fun. It is hard to deal with change. Having had GREAT coaches for 2 years and having a 17 and 0 season last year with a championship year was amazing... but it is over. Before the season, we kept telling Megan that this was going to be her break through year. I can see already that it will be. Perhaps all this is designed on "purpose" to give her confidence. She is awesome compared to the others. She was 2 for 2 last night with 1 RBI. She is a team player and a leader amongst the group. THAT is what I want in her. The little ones look up to her.... I think one of them thinks she is a superstar. But I lose all that when I see the little shortstop boy (name withheld) FORCE himself on her base. Megan plays 2nd base and this little guy can't figure out that he DOES NOT have a base. He forces his little body onto 2nd and won't move for the runner or for Megan to make her play. As I said above.. I hate myself that I want to go and yank him off her base.
He is 6 years old. He SHOULDN'T know how to play shortstop! Megan ended up getting a runner out at 2nd despite the "basehog". Way to go MEGAN!! End score was 5-2 (the other team)... but end score REALLY was that the kids had a blast and 1 little boy (and Dutch) almost cried because he was so happy to have gotten a hit. He made it to 3rd before another batter left him on the base with an out.... he didn't care... all he cared about was the hit.
I will work on my behavior. I need to appreciate the little things and realize that whether the head coach is "bad" or "good" the kids are gaining by being a part of the team and having coach Dutch there (when he can) to encourage them and cheer for them.