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  Nolan Ryan
  Randy Johnson
  Mark Prior
  Robb Nen
  Orel Hershiser
  Dave Dravecky
  Bobby Valentine
  Dusty Baker
  John Young
  Karl Meinhardt
  Gary Heil
  Jim Brogan
  Glenn Fleisig
  Todd Durkin
  Alan Blitzblau
  Arnel Aguinaldo

  Dr. Lewis Yocum
  Dr. Rick Heitsch
  Dr. James Andrews
  Dr. John Conway
  Dr. Hank Chambers
  Dr. Todd Lanman

Baseball: It's Only a Game!

What??? You can't believe you just read that, can you!? "Baseball is only a game?" As I wrote that I could almost hear the objections from across the web! Responses like…"It's my passion!" "It's a life style!" or "It's my life!" All of which are not to be argued as I am sure they are all correct for many of the people that will read this article.

But in spite of all the objections and responses, baseball is still, and will always be, a game, a competition, a sport, something to be enjoyed by athlete and spectator alike; America's Favorite Pastime.

As October approaches and the pros get poised to enter the post season, the NPA staff took some time recently to analyze the interactions with our Members, customers and prospective customers. Most of these interactions are with parents and coaches. While there are a good number of interactions with athletes as well, the majority of these inquiries and questions come from the athlete support group…parents and coaches.

It's a great thing to see many parents and coaches involved in their athlete's love of the game. We applaud the parents and coaches that put so much effort into seeing their young people succeed. Time and time again we are amazed at the effort and attention these people put into helping their young athletes improve and succeed. With the support of these people many young people wouldn't have such a rich experience inside the world of baseball.

Unfortunately as with everything in life, at times there is a down side. Sometimes we get a glimpse of support that is not so positive. Even though its intent may be seemingly well founded, sometimes we see parents and coaches in a space that clearly is more about themselves than it is their athlete. How do we know? How can we tell?

The biggest indicator of this type of inquiry is in a particular use of pronoun. When "he" or "she" becomes "me" or "I" in the context of a conversation about a young athlete you get the feeling that the other party is no longer talking about the athlete. Many times we hear this and come to find out that there is way too much focus on the needs of the parent or coach, and that many times the needs of the athlete take a back seat to what is being requested from us. When success comes at the expense of the athlete rather than because of his/her improvement, we've missed the point and have lost sight of the purpose of the NPA…completely.

Sometimes it's truly amazing to hear the amount of anguish and pain in the inquiries we receive when an athlete doesn't make the All Stars, or isn't in the starting rotation, or didn't make the draft. Let's be honest, no one wants to lose or be passed over for these types of opportunities. These are hard lessons for youngsters, but they are also learning experiences that can teach them just as much if not more than easy success. It is up to us as the athlete's support group to make sure that our youngsters learn from these experiences. We need to be their example of learning and improvement themselves as a result of not being on the winning team, or not being the hero in a game.

Ah, but we hear just as much if not more pressure in the voices of some parents and coaches whose athletes experience success. When we hear the pride of the support group start to overshadow the heath and growth of the athlete it is a problem. When the lessons and love of the game of baseball are supplanted by an overbearing pressure to succeed or win, then once again we've missed the point. Success is a wonderful thing. Winning is awesome! It is also the perfect vehicle for learning good sportsmanship and for helping other athletes that may not have been blessed with success.

The NPA exists to help athletes succeed by staying healthy (physically and mentally for that matter) so that they can enjoy the game they love longer. We do this through instruction, research, drills, and providing other information that will give young athletes the best chance possible to play at their highest level. But when we can hear the pressure in the voices of parents and coaches about their athletes, we are concerned that the support system has failed. Let's not fail our athletes by imposing our desire to succeed upon them at the expense of their learning and enjoyment.

Baseball is a game! And of course, we think it's the best game in the world, but it is still a game. Let's love it, enjoy it, share it with our youngsters, and above all help them enjoy it and help them learn from the valuable lessons it can teach them!

PLEASE feel free to use the article feedback form to tell us of great ways you have helped your young athlete enjoy the game of baseball and learn from the valuable lessons it can teach!

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