Inside the Cupboard

With baseball and softball around the corner, let me just rant for a bit.

In a world full of softies today, we hear an excuse for just about everything imaginable. You don’t make the ‘A’ team at middle school, “Johnny’s parents are friends with the coach,” or you don’t make varsity your freshman year in high school, “David’s dad bought a pitching machine for the team, so coach is gonna play him for sure.”

And the excuses go on and on. “Take my bat bag for me, it’s too heavy. After all, I’ve got five bats in here.” Keep in mind, that player hasn’t had a hit since Hector was a pup.

This older than water woman firmly believes if you are old enough to play the game, you’re old enough to tote your own equipment necessary to play (I’ve never known anyone to need FIVE bats to play a game. I don’t know of a single child who collapsed carrying a glove, a bat, and let me add, catcher’s equipment is NOT that heavy either.

If you know of one who suffers any long-term psychological problems from this, please let me know and I will acknowledge it.

Then you have the other end of the spectrum with players who give it all for the betterment of the team. That is what a true team player is.

Sometimes, parents have to realize their child is having a bad game, their child is not the best short stop, the best first baseman and be proud of their child’s many other accomplishments.

I have seen more baseball in my lifetime that I could possibly tell you. I have seen friendships lost over rec ball decisions that in ten years, none of the players involved were vying to be a top draft choice or even an offer from a college. It’s easy to offer an excuse rather than looking in the mirror, it’s easy to say I don’t have a dad to help, a mom to encourage or an array of other excuses.

But let me assure you, any excuse is just that – AN EXCUSE! And the sooner your child(ren) do away with the excuses, take the bull by the horns and MAKE things happen, the better off they will be (and you too).

Learn to accept what you cannot change or what you cannot do as it applies to your choice of sports and to change what you can. Work hard for the right things day in and day out, not just when you have the time from your fun activities. You cannot fake your way through certain jobs, so you need to learn early how to succeed in school and extracurricular activities.

Remember this, when you once carry your own water, you will learn the value of every drop. Make 2026 the year of NO EXCUSES and that’s the way it is from Inside the Cupboard.