One day at K’s baseball practice, while I was waiting for my walking partner to arrive. I noticed K not playing catch with the other boys, but lying face down in the grass, off to the side. I figured he was doing a “drama king’ thing because he didn't: get his way about something, but after it had gone on for a few minutes, I thought it was overdone and went to talk to him about it. When he looked up at me, his eyes were wet with tears and his cheeks were streaked. I asked what had happened and he said one of the other boys had said no one liked him and no one wanted to be his friend. My heart sank. I gave him a big hug and told him it simply wasn’t true and that was a very unkind thing to say to him. But I also told him that he was here to learn to play baseball, and he needed to take a deep breath, be brave and go back and do his best. About that time the coach called the boys in and Keary rather glumly sauntered over. I heard the coach ask Keary what was wrong, and I heard Keary say that someone had said no one liked him, but I kept walking away and did not hear the rest.
My walking partner had arrived in the meantime and had been using the port-a-potty and heard the coach’s speech. Unaware of what had preceded it, she said to me, “Boy, I’d hate to be the offending party!” I asked her about it, and she said the coach was saying that all of them were on the same team, on the same side, helping each other, supporting each other, and if he EVER heard anyone talking meanly to another teammate, he would call their parents on the spot and they would be going home.
An hour or so later, when I went to pick K up, he was a smiling, happy child. And I was thankful that my son had a champion.
