Inevitably, questions circulate this time of year about what to do next.  Season is over, and your kid wasn’t selected to an all-star team.  So, what next?

1. Take a Break – Most new baseball parents are burnt out by the end of a tee-ball or coach-pitch season.  I wonder at what point we parents forget THAT feeling… and start believing that it’s a good idea to roll right into summer ball, then fall ball, theeeeeeeen back to spring?!?  Take a break already.
2. Be a Kid – Go swimming.  Go camping.  Play outside.  Do nothing.  It’s summer time, kids are supposed to be bored.
3. No Baseball? – I don’t think you should have to make a rule that says “no baseball”.  If a kid isn’t playing too much baseball, then there’s no problem with wiffle ball, pickle, or other games that involve throwing.  Only when an 8-year old is playing 75 games a year might it be necessary to institute a “no baseball” rule.

I WOULD definitely recommend that all parents keep an eye on the amount of throwing your athlete is doing after baseball season.  Ensure that they get a good long break – both physical and mental.

But what about All-Stars?  My kid got hosed!

A wise man once told me, “Don’t waste a single drop of energy on things you can’t control.”  Chances are, you can’t control whether or not your kid makes the all star team.  So, move on.  It’s time for a break anyway.  Have a good, honest talk with your player about handling adversity… and get busy doing other, fun, kid-stuff.

What Just Happened?

I typically ask parents to take a quick assessment of the season that just was:

• How was your season?
• Did your kid have fun?
• Was the coach good? (this is always a great question, because I don’t say anything about what makes a coach “good)
• What did YOU learn?
• In what areas did your kid improve?
• What areas, do you now know, that your kid need to improve?
• What was the highlight of the season?
• Are there any special moments that you should talk through with your athlete?

Reflecting on the season helps you in several ways.  It gives both you and the athlete closure, and puts a lid on the season.  That’s it, done, finito.  Time to move on to summer things not involving baseball.  That means YOU too.  Fix that fence, redo that sprinkler head that’s been flooding the yard for 2 months, patch the hole from where you pulled the screw out of the wall when you should have just unscrewed it… you know, stuff like that!

You just got your Saturdays back, but that won’t last long!

By the way, I just Google’d “what should I do with my kid now that baseball season is over…” and THIS is what I got.  Happy reading, there’s some great articles on the page.  Be careful though, I need the last 35 minutes of my life back!

What do YOU recommend?