neither have I

Neither Have I

What's the secret to success? Jason Voldner finds out

By Rochelle M.Pennington/ Illustrations by victor chiu

From A Fifth Portion of

Chicken Soup for the Soul

　　
　　I believe we find life's most profound lessons in the most unexpected places. Places like a neighborhood Little League baseball field, for example.
　　One day I came to watch my young son's baseball game. After sitting down, I looked over at the pitcher's mound. Was that Jason Voldner?
　　Jason was a nice, popular kid, but I didn't remember

 

 

 

him to the season, he spent most of his time either in right field or on the bench.
　　In fact, I believe every ball field has its own version of Jason Voldner.
　　The Jasons of the world eagerly show up for their first Saturday morning practice. While the good players start off in good positions, the Jasons wait their turn to play the seventh inning. Right field. Their playing time is not only limited, it's conditional: only if the team is already winning.
　　By the end of their "chance to play ball," the heavy-hearted Jasons return home, disappointed. They remember the boy who hit farther, the boy who ran faster, the boy who actually knew what he was supposed to do with the glove.
　　Yet here, now, I saw Jason Voldner pitching the game of his life .

The Trouble with Jason

　　I realized that the person sitting beside me was Jason's mother. "Such talent," I said. "I've never seen your son pitch before."
　　In a quiet voice she responded, "Neither have I," And then she told me this story.
　　"Four weeks ago," his mother explained, "Jason returned from his first practice in a bad mood, I knew something was amiss, yet my questions led no closer to the elusive pain."
　　"Later, after bedtime, I was awakened by the sound of Jason crying and overheard his bitter complaints, He was upset about not being chosen for a good infield position."
　　As Jason's mother calmed her son, he explained that Matthew was going to play second base "because his dad is coaching." John was playing shortstop "because he's Matthew's friend." Brian also had a good position "because his brother is on the team."
　　Listening to Jason, his mother's heart ached for him. There should be a word that takes empathy to another level a word for the exclusive use of parents.
　　"While my son was waiting for me to agree with him," said his mother, "I was making the difficult decision not to. First I explained to Jason that we should trust the coach's judgments."

Working Hard

　　"Secondly, I reminded him how we often passed the nearby park and saw Matthew, Jahn and Brian practicing baseball on their own. Playing infield is about working hard, not about getting special treatment.
　　"All through your life you will meet people with more talent than you. They may be winners on theball field, in the classroom or in the workplace. Does this mean you are unable to achieve what they have? Certainly not. You simply have to choose to work harder. Resentment, blame and excuses will only poison your potential."
　　Jason's mother said to her son, "You're disheartened because the coach doesn't believe in you, Jason . But before you can expect others to believe in you, you have to believe in yourself. If you earnestly feel you deserve a better position, then prove it." With those words she kissed him goodnight.
　　Jason's mother laughed softly. "We spoke more in those few minutes than in the weeks since. Our contact recently has been through notes that Jason leaves me on the kitchen table:'Gone to practice. Gone to prove it .'"
　　She paused. "…and he did."