Fall Baseball

We have had a frustrating battle with the last few seasons of baseball with the same coach who kept drafting Bryson. Bryson played 4 or 5 seasons with him, and we really liked him at first, but then Bryson spent last fall (2023) season batting last the entire season. We felt it was unwarranted; Bryson was middle-of-the-pack with his batting average. Bryson got up the courage to ask the coach why one time, and the coach said he needed a strong batter at the end of the lineup. He only ever played Bryson in centerfield. We used it as an opportunity to encourage Bryson to prove himself at every practice and every game with positivity and hard work.

Prior to the spring 2024 season of baseball after the coach drafted Bryson again, I emailed him and asked if it was possible to bat Bryson anywhere other than last. I have never tried to tell a coach what to do or how to coach, but I felt like this was a special circumstance since Bryson was going through therapy at that time developing tools to deal with anger and some depression. I told the coach that Bryson's self esteem really struggled the previous season because no matter how hard he worked or how well he batted, he was still last in the lineup. The coach thanked me for the email...and then continued to bat Bryson last! That season, Bryson had the 3rd highest batting average on the team.

After that experience, Matt took matters in his own hands and coached Bryson for the fall of 2024 so that coach couldn't draft him again. Bryson batted 1st or 2nd in the lineup all season, and mostly played shortstop. It was amazing the difference that made to have a coach believe in him, and it showed in Bryson's playing. He was so confident batting or on the field and his stats improved even more. Matt even gave him the opportunity to pitch a few times.

Austin had a great season as well and improved a lot. It was his first time making a AAA team (higher level), so he had to work really hard to keep up with the other kids. The main thing was that they could mostly all throw harder than him. His team got 2nd place in the play-offs. His team had a commanding lead in the championship game, but then we ran out of our good pitchers and ended up walking in runs allowing the other team to win. :(

Matt led Bryson's team to a victory in the championship game.