Evan has not experienced team stability when it comes to summer baseball. He's played for 5 teams over 5 summers - Blues, Thunder, Rebels, Repetition, and this summer the Landsharks. Even though this team had the winningest record (barely... 14-13), it was imo the worst team he was on. Other seasons and coaches were problematic in various ways, but never has Evan been personally treated so poorly. It was a difficult season, and I truly hope he doesn't experience that sort of coach neglect ever again.
That being said, there were many opportunities for life lessons, and as one baseball mom friend said, hopefully something good will come of it, whatever that may be. By my count, Evan had two positive baseball outings, and that's better than nothing, I suppose.
Baseball before Italy - We had high hopes. That baseball mom friend I referenced above helped connect us with this team. Her son is a school teammate of Evan's. Her son is a catcher and he and Evan have good catcher-pitcher rapport. He chatted with the coach and thought he seemed funny and light, supportive. Evan worked hard with the team in the off season. In the first tournament of the year, he told Evan he'd be their first reliever. He also played third. (Also, all photo credit to this "baseball mom friend".)
In their very first game, they faced one of the hardest teams they'd face all season. Their starter didn't even make it through the first inning. Evan came in and held them off a bit, but the team ended up getting beaten soundly. Sadly, that first game, in retrospect seems like it was the beginning of the end.
pictures from the one tournament Evan played in before our Italy trip
Baseball after Italy - He just could not get momentum back after Italy. He missed one whole tournament, and was rusty and jet lagged for the tournament immediately following our return. The team kind of took shape without him, he wasn't performing optimally, he got in a negative headspace and at times projected his negativity, his coach didn't coach him. The coach let it fester, which killed Evan's motivation, mindset, and playing, which made the coach pull back even more. It was an unhealthy cycle for the rest of the season.
You may ask - Why didn't you talk to the coach? That was my instinct, but trusted people advised against it, saying it might "make it worse" for Evan. We all decided Evan should advocate for himself and say something to the coach, which he did. He asked what it'd take for him to get a chance to pitch. The coach seemed surprised, which was confusing.
action shot at third
On July 16, the first game of the next tournament after Evan asked about pitching, the coach finally let him start a game. He went all 7 innings and the they won the game. This is one of the season's two bright moments I referenced above.
sadly, one of the only smiles of the season
some other cool moments at third base
Attempting camaraderie - By the end of the season, we were considering just skipping games. One of the coaches called him "Ethan" in the last tournament. He would sit entire games, was not called in to pitch, the pitching rotation was not systematic, I could go on and on. Even though it felt like he didn't really exist, to his credit Evan really battled to stay positive and connected. When the coach tried to organize a team outing at the last tournament, Evan was one of only four who showed up. Says something about the state of team culture.
Evan struggled at the plate, likely because he had so few reps, and little to no coach support. Neglect takes a mental toll. To be sure, he's never been a huge hitter, but this level of struggle was like nothing we've seen before. Hopefully, he can build back his confidence at the plate. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure that the coach managed by batting average. In other words, since Evan's batting average was low, he didn't get a shot. Simple as that. There were teammates who were given more leeway and playing time because their batting averages were higher. Long story short, hitting is king. While this is understandable to some extent, it does not feel like it means license to ignore a player and leave him stranded without encouragement and development - especially when we paid so much for season.
On top of it all, he lost his sunglasses, which were not cheap.
The coach invited everyone back for next season. There was NO way we were returning. We never told the coach that officially, but by the end of the season, it was mutually understood Evan would not return. The coach, in cowardly passive-aggressive fashion, sent a long text to Evan, Burke, and me. He said thanks for working hard in the off season, there is a certain level of respect expected, Evan has negative body language when he's frustrated, he needs to work on controlling his emotions, he has potential and a high baseball IQ, and offered best wishes for the future.
This was infuriating to me! I wrote back, we don't necessarily disagree with the feedback, did you directly say any of this to Evan during the season. He said he didn't, he wanted to let Evan "work through it". I said, Evan was denied an opportunity to course correct and salvage the season and relationship. Didn't get a response to that.... of course!
We're all trying to move on. Evan has an increase in drive, and got a hard lesson in the effects of negative mindset. Whether he keeps up that motivation and learns the lesson about mindset remains to be seen.
Burke and I remain hopeful that Evan can recover from this setback and actually leverage this experience to evolve into a more self-aware, thriving, confident human and ball player.
hopeful
As of right now, he's committed to playing with the Great Lakes Canes for next summer. That was his other option last season, and we went with the Landsharks instead, which in hindsight was a mistakes. We'll see how the story continues to unfold.... We will follow Evan's lead, and right now, he wants to keep playing. 💙⚾🤞
