The baseball thudded into the dirt at the batter’s feet causing a dusty orange cloud as the dry powdery clay splashed over home plate. “Ball four!” cried the umpire, and the batter took off for first base.

The coach signaled a timeout to the ump and walked toward the pitcher’s mound. When he arrived, he held out his hand for the ball and said to my son, “We can’t win, if you can’t throw strikes.”

My son walked back to the dugout in frustration. From the bleachers I watched helplessly with the agony only a parent can feel when their child is struggling. Wishing I could console him, but knowing he would be appalled if I tried, I stayed put.

Later on he said to me, “I only walked two batters. I don’t think the coach likes me; he lets other pitchers on the team walk more people than me before he pulls them out of the game.” He was feeling inadequate because the coach mostly criticized and seldom encouraged him. I tried to tell him not to take it personally, but it’s hard to explain to a child when someone they see as the expert admonishes them, that it’s probably not about him, but more likely some other pressure the authority figure is feeling.

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