Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Smile, I'm paying for it.


           Since our season is so long and obviously a bit more serious than we had anticipated.  Hubby and I decide it might be a good idea to get the kid some extra help in the batting department.  Don’t get me wrong, the kid can hit, but after his last 6 at bats resulted in 4 walks, one single, one strike out, we figured he needs an intervention.
           
We purchase a 12-lesson package, at a place called Hitstreak.  They film the kid, break down his swing, great stuff, I highly recommend it.  We luck out and get a great coach.  Young guy, Marcus, played high school ball at a local high school and then spent some time in the big leagues.  Very nice guy, he looks like he is having fun, smiling and cracking jokes.  I honesty think this guy is thrilled to be making a living teaching kids the sport.

            My kid is 11 and probably too young to be getting private lessons.  At least I’m not paying for my 6 or 7 year old to take privates.  But let me tell you, someone else is.  I almost fell off my chair.  I’m watching my kid bat, I look over at this little cutie-pa-too-tie, and wouldn’t ya know it, he is in a private lesson.  I don’t know if he is any good or not, but I figure at his age, it’s anyone’s best guess.

Clearly, this has got to be a bit of a waste.  At 7, does the kid even know if he likes baseball, football, lacrosse, perhaps water sports?  We live in the burgs of upper middle class America.  The options are limitless.  Why not wait till the kid has the ability to pick what he really likes.  When my kid was his age he liked Barney and Power Rangers, things change.  I at least waited till me kid could rationalize to me, why he wanted to play at this level.  (His answer, “because I loves baseball, seriously mom, I LOVE baseball, please, please, please……”)

            So junior is hitting, then coach asks junior if he wants to pitch, or should I say lob the ball.  Should they even really throw at that age?  Have you ever seen a 6 or 7-year-old pitch?   If Dante could rewrite the Inferno, he would defiantly make one of the lower rings of hell a 7-year-old kid pitch game, brutal.  Those at bats go on forever.

            Well, me thinks this poor coach was feeling like this private was going on forever.  He looks like I do when I go to the dentist, except this is a game, he chose to do teach it, and he’s getting paid.  I get it, we all do things we don’t really love, just to pay the bills, tide us over till we get to the good stuff.  But for Gods sake, fake it man.  If you look like you would rather be playing in traffic, just say no I’m busy and don’t take the kids money.  Come on parents, you should really go to your kid’s private lessons.  For 35 bucks you can get the 12 year old down the street to watch the brat all night.

            So I’m relieved we got the coach we got.  But I tell you right now.  I’ll be at every single lesson.  I certainly do not need to pay someone to look miserable while my kid plays baseball.  I can do that for free.

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