Heartbroken kid
Just a vent. No need for input really. Just feeling sad for my kid.
My son started playing baseball in a fall LL season when he was 8. He just turned 12, so he’s just under 4 years of playing. He had buddies playing select ball before he even tried LL. He has worked his butt off and gotten pretty good. He’s got an aptitude for the sport, but has to work harder for it than some of his friends do.
We live in an area where probably 75% of LL players also play select. He is on his second year playing select and LL. Last fall, for middle school, his buddies all made JV, and he made C team. He took it well and continued to work hard. This spring, there was a marked difference. His work was clearly paying off. He started getting some attention from other coaches. This was the first year that it was clear coaches knew who he was. He even got his first intentional walk which cracked him up.
We’re part of a very large and highly competitive LL, in an area where our local 4A high school goes to the state baseball tournament almost every year. Baseball is BIG here. A friend of mine is on the board for our league and he let me know that my son’s name came up in conversation at the all star meeting. And while the votes and tallies are secret, he said there was a solid chance my son made it.
We just found out today that he didn’t. I never told him what I’d heard. He only ever asked about all stars a couple of times, and I always just said “we’ll have to wait and see.” His baseball buddies all made it. They’re a group of 5, and he’s the only one who didn’t get the nod. He’s devastated. It’s breaking my heart.