Preparation

I don't know about you; but, conversations with friends occasionally create more than the usual amount of thought and reflection. Such was the case yesterday when one of our fellow TBR members told me a story about a friend and his son.

In this case, the son had devoted years of hard work through high school to become the best baseball player he could be; and, his father had supported him in every way he possibly could all along the way. When it came time to choose a college, the decision was made to attend an NAIA school with the hope/expectation that he'd win a spot on the baseball team's roster via the mandatory tryout process.

When the tryouts' results were posted, the player's name failed to appear on the list of those chosen; forcing him...and his Dad...to face the unwelcome news that his baseball career as a player was probably done.

As a player's father, it took me to a few related thoughts; ones that have come up for me every time something has reminded me of the inevitability of the conclusion of my son's (and every other player's) playing career:

(1) While playing careers may end at various stages for players, every playing career ends. Just as inevitably, a new chapter in the player's life begins at that moment.

(2) The hard work and determination that have taken the player to whatever point he's reached on the diamond can be applied productively and successfully to whatever pursuit(s) he chooses after he hangs up his cleats. The same can be said of the valuable life lessons he's learned from his time as a player.

(3) Given the inevitability of the conclusion of a player's career, a great deal of care needs to be taken along the way to make sure that skills unrelated to baseball are developed. Successful life beyond baseball requires such diverse elements as knowledge, faith, and social skills (among quite a few others). Parents owe their sons the benefit of their consistent guidance in this area; to make sure that their children are receiving and devoting appropriate attention/effort to those dimensions outside of baseball that will help make them successful performers later in life.

(4) Finally, players and parents alike need to step back every once in awhile and ask if they're appropriately balancing the baseball part of their lives with the non-baseball portion.

For what it's worth, these thoughts have helped me prepare for that inevitable day when my son calls and tells me that it's "time to move on" to pursuits beyond the field. As I've told him, the day that occurs will be a positive day for us both. Despite the fact that I'll miss no longer having the opportunity to see him perform on the field, I'll be excited for him and his prospects for success in the chapter that begins unfolding at that time.

A minuscule percentage of players are chosen to play in the major leagues. Everyone, however, gets the opportunity to experience the "major league of life."

 

Thanks for a thoughtful post, and great guidance!

 

Prepster at his best!

 

Prepster, so insightful as usual!

 

Great and timely post. I would venture a guess that anyone who has visited this site has more than a passing interest in the game of baseball, and at some time based their, "rasion d'etre" on the fortunes of their kid on the field. As one who has been guilty of this, many thanks to Prepster for reminding us not to tip the scales in the wrong direction.

 

And I thought Peanut Farmers were uneducated folks....excuse my french!!!

Raison d'être is a phrase borrowed from French where it means "reason for being"; in English use, it also comes to suggest a degree of rationalization, as "The claimed reason for the existence of something or someone".

The French concept is more elaborate than a simple statement. Once the reason an object exists is defined, criteria to measure the object's degree of success can be enumerated. For example, a phone has the purpose of enabling communication between two people. Some phones meet that goal better than others. When measurable criteria are known, gaps can be identified that show where the particular object fails to meet the prototypical object's reason for being. When gaps have been fully identified, strategies can be implemented to close the gaps and bring the object closer to the true fulfillment of its raison d'être.

In the truest sense of raison d'être, French philosophers lay an elaborate road map of descriptive text that contrasts the current status of an implementation of a prototypical object with the purist view of perfection that the object should achieve without the hindrance of imperfections. The philosophical road map brings to a crescendo the imperative urgency that motivates participants to immediately take the steps necessary to achieve all the intended qualities that an object was designed to exemplify.