Sometimes in life when you are down and out you get the urge to just give up. Never give up.
I remember a story that happened when I was coaching a baseball team of young men 13 to 15. At that age, peer pressure can be great and can literally destroy a person’s self-confidence.
I had a nice, young fellow named Eddie that was playing for me. He was not a very good hitter. The other kids his age would be hanging around the fence and riding him as well as a lot of other players. They had an informal club that when somebody struck out three times they would yell that they belonged to the KKK … The KKK Club and they would yell it for everybody to hear. A K is the baseball symbol for a strike out.
In one particular game we were playing a team that was a big competitor of ours and it was a very important and close game. Three times during the game Eddie came to bat with runners in scoring position. Each time he struck out and the young men in the stands were yelling at him that he was in the KKK club. Eddie was sitting in the dugout crying. His self-confidence was destroyed and the other boys had reduced him to tears.
I took Eddie aside in the dugout and explained to him that many, many times in life you are going to run into situations where things just seem insurmountable … It seems you can’t do anything right and you just want to give up. I told him not to give up, that life has a way of redeeming itself and that Eddie would find a way to come back and earn everybody's respect and restore his self-confidence. I told him that it might not be that day or that week but if he had confidence in himself and didn't give up eventually he would make a comeback.
Late in the game the score was tied and we again had runners in scoring position. One of the best pitchers in the league was pitching for the other team. As fate would have it, who came to bat but Eddie. I reminded him of our little talk and told him that he could do it … Just watch the ball and have confidence that he could hit it.
Well you can imagine what happened. Eddie got a hit to right field scoring two runners and we won the game. Eddie was a big hero. He went from being a bum in the KKK club to being a hero in the eyes of his peers.
Don't ever give up no matter how bad things seen or how down you are. Remember to have confidence in yourself and always strive to do better.
I remember a story that happened when I was coaching a baseball team of young men 13 to 15. At that age, peer pressure can be great and can literally destroy a person’s self-confidence.
I had a nice, young fellow named Eddie that was playing for me. He was not a very good hitter. The other kids his age would be hanging around the fence and riding him as well as a lot of other players. They had an informal club that when somebody struck out three times they would yell that they belonged to the KKK … The KKK Club and they would yell it for everybody to hear. A K is the baseball symbol for a strike out.
In one particular game we were playing a team that was a big competitor of ours and it was a very important and close game. Three times during the game Eddie came to bat with runners in scoring position. Each time he struck out and the young men in the stands were yelling at him that he was in the KKK club. Eddie was sitting in the dugout crying. His self-confidence was destroyed and the other boys had reduced him to tears.
I took Eddie aside in the dugout and explained to him that many, many times in life you are going to run into situations where things just seem insurmountable … It seems you can’t do anything right and you just want to give up. I told him not to give up, that life has a way of redeeming itself and that Eddie would find a way to come back and earn everybody's respect and restore his self-confidence. I told him that it might not be that day or that week but if he had confidence in himself and didn't give up eventually he would make a comeback.
Late in the game the score was tied and we again had runners in scoring position. One of the best pitchers in the league was pitching for the other team. As fate would have it, who came to bat but Eddie. I reminded him of our little talk and told him that he could do it … Just watch the ball and have confidence that he could hit it.
Well you can imagine what happened. Eddie got a hit to right field scoring two runners and we won the game. Eddie was a big hero. He went from being a bum in the KKK club to being a hero in the eyes of his peers.
Don't ever give up no matter how bad things seen or how down you are. Remember to have confidence in yourself and always strive to do better.
Never give up!
I can only imagine the satisfaction you had as a coach when Eddy came through!!! Sometimes athletics can teach you great life experiences you don't appreciate till you are older, great story........
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