The Importance of Showing Up

On our 21-day RV trip from Virginia to South Dakota, we were able to take in two baseball games – one professional (St. Louis Cardinals) and one little league. Obviously, very different experiences beyond the most excellent hot dogs available at the Cardinals game.

The professionals were polished, seasoned, prepared for virtually every scenario.

For the little leaguers, literally everything was a new experience. For many of them, the mere presence of the ball somewhere close to them sets them into a bit of a panic. While the professionals have practiced various scenarios so much that they’ve got muscle memory that allows them to react virtually without thinking, the little leaguers haven’t had that experience. They also haven’t developed the confidence in their own abilities or their knowledge about how much energy is required to throw from the pitcher’s mound across home plate and back again.

We take for granted that a person can stand up next to home plate and willingly wait until the pitcher hurls a baseball to within inches of the batter’s body.

One little leaguer stepped up to bat and his nerves were obvious. It was very sweet that he kept looking over his shoulder to where his mom was sitting. After seeing her there, he seemed to regain his courage and step up to the plate – rehearsing some of the batting prep he’s probably seen on TV. Oh to be able to be a person who can give another person the courage to do hard things!

Oh to be able to be a person who can give another person the courage to do hard things!

He never connected with the ball to get a hit, but he was there! The courage of each of the boys was inspiring. For everyone who shows up for the sake of other people and for your teams, whatever those teams look like, THANK YOU! The pitchers whose arms had to be exhausted, the catchers who did their best to catch the balls being thrown mostly in their direction, the infield who saw most of the action, the outfield who did their part, the coaches who balanced critique with encouragement, the parents and families who showed up to cheer and to sweat in the evening heat and humidity.