My Possibly Left Handed Son

I want my son to play sports and to be good at it. I was no superstar by any stretch but I held my own in competitive sports for a good portion of my life. All of these dreams of mine have been heightened by the early indications that my son may be left-handed. It sounds bad but the first thing I thought of as I saw my baby boy reach for his Whoozit with his left hand is how valuable left handed pitchers are in the major leagues. It was then quickly followed up with how deceptive a left handed tennis serve is. It"s funny how instead of worrying about all his left arm sleeves being forever stained with pencil and how we would need to buy special scissors I thought about whether he should be a finesse or power pitcher.

Power pitchers get big endorsements and higher mass appeal because they bring on the heat. But finesse pitchers have longevity and a pitcher needs longevity to build up enough stats to make the hall and won"t it be cool when I go to Cooperstown not as a fan but as a VIP of an inductee? And wouldn"t it be cool when I first see a baseball card with my offspring"s face on it? And won"t it be cool when I get to go to any baseball game that I want to?

The desire to dream big for your kids is a natural and healthy thing. But setting specific goals for your kid to primarily boost yourself is a dangerous path to travel down. Sure every dad wants what"s best for their children but it is a very difficult thing to figure out the fine line between pushing as motivation and pushing as unhealthy obsession.

Enjoy your kids being kids and give them all the tools they need to succeed down the path you want them down. Just be prepared to go with the flow when they decide they love doing something completely different.