Cheer on Bravery

Cheer for anyone who is brave enough to step up to the pitcher’s mound and do their best even though the outcome might not always be stellar.

I love little league baseball. There’s something so comforting and empowering in watching a game where every play gives kids a chance to be heroes: every catch, every strike out, every well-connected crack of the bat. And maybe another reason why I enjoy it so much is because I used to play as a kid and when I see a particularly stocky kind of awkward kid do something good for his team, it reminds me of those times in my life when I was very much that kid.

So I was thrilled to stumble on a little league game in my nearby city park. The starting pitcher was really struggling. He had decent speed but no control, and so walks slowly turned into runs.

But then I noticed something in the mood and behavior of the crowd. At the start of that first inning, everyone seemed to be cheering for their own kid’s team. The field had to sets of bleachers and I could easily tell which team’s fans were which. But after a few runs been racked up because of all of the walks, the whole crowd—both cheering sections—started cheering on that struggling pitcher. When a few strikes were called mingled among all of the balls, the entire crowd erupted into encouraging shouts and applause.

Eventually, the pitcher was replaced and the inning ended, but I couldn’t help but think about what a powerful thing it would be to cheer each other on. Just cheer for anyone who is brave enough to step up to the pitcher’s mound and do their best even though the outcome might not always be stellar. If we celebrated just entering the ring, knowing, just as this young pitcher did I’d imagine, that the going would probably be rough and we don’t feel totally prepared, and focused less on the outcome, I bet we’d see more courage, integrity, and innovation. And, it makes more better feelings on the ball field too.