Little League tryouts are next week here in Southern California and I know it can be a nerve-racking experience for players and parents alike.
Here's some quick advice on how to handle the "pressure."
I put "pressure" in quotes because, really, there's no such thing as "pressure" in Little League. Pressure on a baseball field is when you're in High School playing in front of college scouts, or when you're in pro ball trying to perform to keep your job. Little League is supposed to be about FUN and LEARNING so my #1 advice for tryouts is...
1) HAVE FUN!
First and foremost, the biggest reason kids play sports is to have fun. Period. They don't sign up with the primary goal of "winning a championship" or "making my parents happy." Kids play games with their friends (yes, baseball is a game) to have fun. So even at tryouts, let's remind them to have fun.
This accomplishes another goal, however. All players perform better when they're having fun. So by emphasizing fun, not only will their tryouts be more enjoyable for them, but they will play better if they're having fun. Very few people perform to the best of their abilities when they are nervous and miserable.
2) CELEBRATE EFFORT!
Often times, the nerves a young players experiences on the field has nothing to do with the situation in the game, but rather the pressure of trying to make you, their parent, proud. If you are only proud of your player when he has a good game from a statistical or results standpoint, then they very quickly begin to believe that your support is conditional on their performance. What could possibly make baseball less fun than thinking, "If I don't play well today my parents won't love me"? Of course, we all unconditionally love our sons, but that might not always be apparent to our players if our reactions towards them change based on their game performance.
So, at tryouts (and all other times!), if we remind them that we'll be proud of them regardless of the results as long as they try their hardest, they won't feel nearly as much pressure and will absolutely play better than if they felt that they had to be perfect on the field to earn your support.
3) IT DOESN'T MATTER
Guess what? Everyone who signs up for Little League makes a team! So while of course baseball matters, and effort matters, and having fun matters, the "results" of tryouts literally don't matter...at all. Your son will get to play baseball this season. So let's just try to enjoy the first day on the field. Speaking of which...
4) TRYOUTS ARE LIKE GIVING A TEST ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
If your son is playing lots of different sports year-round like he should be, then he probably hasn't put a ton of time into baseball in recent months, and that's absolutely OK. Maybe your son hasn't picked up a baseball since the last game of the season in May, and that's OK too. So as much as we'd like to see every kid catch every flyball and hit 5 line drives during tryouts, the truth is most players are rusty and their performance at tryouts will probably reflect that. No big deal! Opening Day isn't for another 8 weeks so there's plenty of time to get ready for the season.
Maybe you didn't know this, but back in the day, professional players would show up to Spring Training having not touched a baseball or a bat since the end of the previous season and would use their time in Florida or Arizona to just get back into shape. Nowadays, unless you've got a guaranteed MLB contract, you need to show up on the first day in close to tip-top shape because the fight for a job is so competitive. Trust me, I know from personal experience; there was no off-season for me in pro ball, but that was ok because I was a professional and it was my job. These are kids who have tons of other sports and activities going on - baseball is simply another game they play and we need to maintain perspective.
Have fun on Saturday and I'll see you all on the field soon!