I’m not sure about all of you but nothing seems more American to me than baseball. It’s our National Pastime for crying out loud! While other sports draw larger viewership on TV like Football and Basketball, it’s baseball that’s been around for more than 125 years and there’s just something special about playing catch with your son or daughter.
Now, when you combine two things that you love Baseball and America………Now we are on to something! I vividly remember the day 2 1/2 years ago that I first learned of the 12U National Team. I was sitting at my desk, playing on Twitter working hard when I stumbled into the world of USA Baseball
I spent the next couple of hours researching the 12U National Team trying to find a way for Kip (10 years old at the time) to get involved. Little did I know that age requirements for Team USA are vey different from Little League and Travel Ball. Kip was actually considered an 11-year-old in the world of USA Baseball. In order to make the 12U National team you tryout as an 11-year-old in hopes of making the 12U Team the following year.
That afternoon I made calls, researched online and finally was directed to Rich Janor, the Midwest Director for Team USA. I was able to connect with Rich and I learned that we were already very late in the process. Kip had already missed Round 1 Tryouts in KY and the second round of Tryouts were coming up in just a couple of weeks in Rantoul, IL.
I had to put on my very best salesperson hat and convince the area Scouts at the time that Kip deserved a shot to be at the 2nd round of tryouts. Once Kip officially got the invite, I booked a room. Oh yeah, then I realized that I couldn’t take Kip and Lindsay would have to take off work and make the 6-hour drive to Rantoul, IL! 😊 {Side Note: It’s amazing that Lindsay has put up with my crazy ideas for 20 years! She’s a Saint!}
Kip and Lindsay made the trek to Rantoul and Kip performed well enough to make one of the two Midwest Teams and was honored to get a chance to go to Cary, NC (Headquarters for USA Baseball). He was pretty excited, more so for getting a few days out of school than playing baseball, but a chance to make Team USA was a pretty cool opportunity.
Kip’s first year on the Midwest team didn’t bear much fruit. Our team didn’t perform very well, and Kip was not invited to the 40 player “Call Backs” where they narrowed the list of players down for Team USA. That 1st year was tough, not for Kip but for me, as a parent. I’ve made a lot of mistakes as a parent, A LOT of mistakes. I had a moment in Cary that year that could very well be one of the harshest moments I’ve ever had with any of my kids.
When we found out that Kip didn’t get a “call back”, as we were walking back to the car that afternoon, I took it out on him. I was brutal! I’m telling you, I was awful. Kip cried, Lindsay cried, and honestly, I cried as well. I chastised my child for not being big enough, strong enough, or as good as the other kids (he was 11 at this point).
That encounter isn’t something I’m proud of and it’s something we don’t talk about at our house. I did apologize to Kip and Lindsay for my behavior but the words I uttered that day are still things I wish had never come out of my mouth. But they did.
Here was the crazy part, it wasn’t like Kip played bad, he didn’t. He held his own in every facet of the game but at that moment in time, some of the other kids were truly bigger, faster, and better than Kip.
When I started writing this post, I wanted to share about the process of being involved with the National Training Identification Series (NTIS) but somehow, I ended up sharing one of the biggest parenting failures of my life. I will write a 2nd post on that process and some personal news I’d like to share as well but we’ll get there soon.
As for Kip and his NTIS experience, we are making strides. He made the Midwest Team as a 12-year-old and a 13-year-old and handled his business. As a 12-year-old he pitched the Gold Medal game throwing 6 innings of shutout baseball (9 innings for the week, 0 runs allowed) and his Midwest Team has won the Gold Medal 2 consecutive years defeating 11 other Regional NTIS Teams each season. He’s had some success but, he’s still looking for that “call back” for the Player Development Program and Team USA.
I’ll share more soon but just know this. Mike Trout was cut from 18U National Team and making a Regional Team is a HUGE accomplishment!
