Harlen’s first baseball season has come to a close. He played for Salisbury Landscaping, in the Tris Speaker t-ball/instructional league. Harlen had practice once per week, and one or two games per week. The practices were, unlike some of the sports he’s played, real practices. The coaches instructed the players in the finer points of hitting and fielding. The games consisted of three innings. Outs were called, but everyone got to bat each inning.
After the first practice, Harlen didn’t want to play any more. I think he was putting pressure on himself because he wasn’t as skilled as some of the other kids. Maggie and I aren’t exactly athletic types, so he hasn’t had much “at home” instruction.
One of Harlen’s traits is that if, in his opinion, he cannot accomplish something, he simply won’t do it. He is hesitant to work at certain things, even before he’s had the chance to really try them. I think he gets it from me; I’m a bit of a perfectionist.
So we told Harlen that he needed to hang in there for at least one game. He was a bit upset, but he decided to stick it out. It was hard to see him working through it. He knew he wanted to do it, but he was scared about it too. After the next game, he was able to enjoy himself and had a great time playing with the other kids. Oh, and it may have also helped that we told him he could have ice cream after each game.
