My Son is 11 and starts baseball soon for the first time so I'm nervous for him. We know how mean kids can be. I worry that since other kids have had several seasons ahead of him they will make fun of him for being a rookie, or tell him he's no good.
Part of this is my fault. Because I was single and worked a lot I was never able to put him in any sports or activities so now he's getting a super late start. I left my dental assisting career and went back to being a hair stylist last May so I can work a more flexible schedule, it's also WAY less stressful but that's another thread... I always felt massive guilt about having to deny him of sports every Summer and had to do something about it.
I'm sure part of this anxiety is stemming from my own childhood. Kids were so terrible. I was picked on relentlessly, told I suck, I was always chosen last for every gym sport and when I wound up on someone's team dead last just to make it even I would see eyes roll and the girls would say, "Ugh great!". Grade school for me was pure h*ll. I'm sure my son is a lot more thick skinned than I was but still..
I'm sure I'm projecting too much. I just keep hoping he winds up being good at it. The coach knows this is his first time but that doesn't mean anything. There have been parent vs. parent and coach vs. coach fights that have broken out in the past and I won't tolerate any of that nonsense. It's not the major leagues.
Any experience? Advice?