Throwing Live Pitch

In a lot of ways, throwing live pitch is a metaphor for raising a child.  I have a pitching machine for Logan, but for actual batting practice, you need to throw live pitch.

I don't have a very good arm.  I don't have good control, but there are certain things I need to practice with him.  Yesterday, I actually let one get away from me and it hit Logan in the head.  Fortunately, he responded exactly the way he should:  by turning his head so it glances off the helmet and doesn't crack him in the face.

I also have practiced deliberately throwing high and away and high to teach him to look for those pitches and lay off them. 

I also work a lot with throwing inside because those pitches are probably the hardest to handle, but can be turned into great hits if you know how to deal with them.

Sort of like an innoculation, you do a little bit of nasty stuff to them in a somewhat controlled environment so the really nasty stuff won't hurt them, later.

As a parent, you have to expose your kids to some dangers (small ones, with minimal consequences, you hope) to make sure they can handle them in your absence.  With that foundation, you hope they'll be able to handle bigger dangers later in life when you won't be there to watch.

I am not entirely comfortable with live pitch for a lot of reasons.  One is that my control isn't that good.  Much easier to load up the pitching machine and let it throw perfectly predictable balls to my boy. 

Just like in real life, though, he needs something a bit more challenging and realistic to prepare him for the real world.

The reality is that even at his age (in the Under 9 league), he's facing pitching that's harder and nastier than what I throw in practice.  Just as life will, at times, come at him harder and nastier than anything he's seen in the controlled conditions of living at home. 

The best you can do is prepare them as best you can, but realize that once they leave the on-deck circle, they'll truly be on their own.  You can cheer.  You can support.  However, you have to give them the chance to stand up and succeed or fail on their own merits.

I occassionally have to remind myself that I survived it with the benefit of far less preparation he did.  He'll do just fine when the time comes.