An "inspirational" story

So, there was this little boy who wanted to play baseball. This story could have been about a little girl, I suppose, but then the story might end up being a story about girls playing baseball, and it's not supposed to be that.

Because the parents living in the local community weren't hypercompetitive, he was able to get on the team.

You see, he couldn't throw very well, he couldn't catch very well, and he wasn't too fast on his feet. But, worst of all, he just couldn't relax when a pitch was thrown, and always ended up closing his eyes when swinging.

He went to every practice, and always listened to the coach, and always worked hard, so he got to play in every game.

Some of the other kids, of course, made sure he understood that he was a loser, and didn't really belong on the team... just showing up for practice, and trying hard, didn't cut it with them, because they were already learning the concepts of "win at any cost".

Because this is supposed to be inspirational fiction, we can pretend that the parents found out about this teasing, and put a sharp stop to it. "It's part of growing up" never passed anyone's lips, nor did "boys will be boys".

Unfortunately, the damage had already been done. The kid had gotten the idea that he was a 'loser' who didn't belong on the team.

Inspirational though this story may be, I have to be realistic enough to say that his continuing to play on the team was partly the result of encouragement by his parents, and that part of the encouragement was "we spent money on your equipment because you said you were going to use it... now, you're going to use it!"

He played in the game against their big rivals, and struck out each time he came to the plate. By now, the other kids didn't give him any trouble for it, but he could feel the disapproval in their eyes, and he was determined to change it.

He kept going to practice, but he practiced on his own, with his friends, with his parents.

He started to get hits, now that he was keeping his eyes open, and started to get more confident. And with their second, and final, game against their big rivals, he was ready.

He struck out at every plate appearance.

He was as miserable as a young boy can be, and that's a lot more miserable than we adults think, sometimes. But this is an inspirational story, so his parents noticed it, and had the coach come talk to him.

The coach told him this.

"The first time you faced that pitcher, he could have thrown any three pitches, and struck you out. This time, he had to do some work to strike you out. That meant he tired himself out more... even if you didn't get a hit, you made it easier for the next guys to do it.

"But that's not the important thing. The important thing is, you worked hard, and you did your best. There's always going to be a better pitcher, and for every pitcher, there's always going to be a better batter. If that wasn't true, we wouldn't have any reason to play these games... we'd already know who'd win.

"In the end, doing your best is all you can do."

Because this is an inspirational story, I'm sure you're expecting that I'll report that the kid was actually some great baseball player, maybe one who is already in the hall of fame... but this is actually just a work of fiction.

The boy never became a great baseball player. He just didn't have the potential, even if he did have the drive.

But, sometimes later in life, when others were feeling beaten down by meaningless external standards and other people's opinions, he walked away from those troubles with a smile... he'd learned, long ago, that doing his best was all he could do, so he never despaired... so long as he was doing his best.

An "inspirational" story

So, there was this little boy who wanted to play baseball. This story could have been about a little girl, I suppose, but then the story might end up being a story about girls playing baseball, and it's not supposed to be that.

Because the parents living in the local community weren't hypercompetitive, he was able to get on the team.

You see, he couldn't throw very well, he couldn't catch very well, and he wasn't too fast on his feet. But, worst of all, he just couldn't relax when a pitch was thrown, and always ended up closing his eyes when swinging.

He went to every practice, and always listened to the coach, and always worked hard, so he got to play in every game.

Some of the other kids, of course, made sure he understood that he was a loser, and didn't really belong on the team... just showing up for practice, and trying hard, didn't cut it with them, because they were already learning the concepts of "win at any cost".

Because this is supposed to be inspirational fiction, we can pretend that the parents found out about this teasing, and put a sharp stop to it. "It's part of growing up" never passed anyone's lips, nor did "boys will be boys".

Unfortunately, the damage had already been done. The kid had gotten the idea that he was a 'loser' who didn't belong on the team.

Inspirational though this story may be, I have to be realistic enough to say that his continuing to play on the team was partly the result of encouragement by his parents, and that part of the encouragement was "we spent money on your equipment because you said you were going to use it... now, you're going to use it!"

He played in the game against their big rivals, and struck out each time he came to the plate. By now, the other kids didn't give him any trouble for it, but he could feel the disapproval in their eyes, and he was determined to change it.

He kept going to practice, but he practiced on his own, with his friends, with his parents.

He started to get hits, now that he was keeping his eyes open, and started to get more confident. And with their second, and final, game against their big rivals, he was ready.

He struck out at every plate appearance.

He was as miserable as a young boy can be, and that's a lot more miserable than we adults think, sometimes. But this is an inspirational story, so his parents noticed it, and had the coach come talk to him.

The coach told him this.

"The first time you faced that pitcher, he could have thrown any three pitches, and struck you out. This time, he had to do some work to strike you out. That meant he tired himself out more... even if you didn't get a hit, you made it easier for the next guys to do it.

"But that's not the important thing. The important thing is, you worked hard, and you did your best. There's always going to be a better pitcher, and for every pitcher, there's always going to be a better batter. If that wasn't true, we wouldn't have any reason to play these games... we'd already know who'd win.

"In the end, doing your best is all you can do."

Because this is an inspirational story, I'm sure you're expecting that I'll report that the kid was actually some great baseball player, maybe one who is already in the hall of fame... but this is actually just a work of fiction.

The boy never became a great baseball player. He just didn't have the potential, even if he did have the drive.

But, sometimes later in life, when others were feeling beaten down by meaningless external standards and other people's opinions, he walked away from those troubles with a smile... he'd learned, long ago, that doing his best was all he could do, so he never despaired... so long as he was doing his best.