The beginning of Baseball season- SAME OL' STORY

Can I just express how much I detest the start of EVERY baseball season!!!  Garrett is a really good player, yet every season he has to EARN a position on the team.  Most of the boys have been given positions since they were in second grade due to the typical politics that occur in sports.  Our son is not one of the fortunate boys.  We do not have the family name.  His dad is not the coach.  We are not the huge financial sponsors/donors for the program.  And Garrett's parents do not hang out at the baseball fields barking in the coaches' ears about how great he is.  We have always felt that he can just prove how great he is by how well he plays, his attitude, and his great work ethic.  It always works, but not until a few games into the season.  The start is always really rough!!!

This year was NO exception.  Garrett did not play football for the first time since 3rd grade this year so he could focus on baseball. Instead, he played Fall (base) Ball.  It was the first time he had played with the upper classmen and was a little intimidated at the start.  AND he was using a bat that had "lost its pop" in the middle of the previous season, and was like hitting a baseball with a marshmallow.  About half way through Fall Ball, he loosened up, began using a different bat and really began playing well.  His confidence was pretty high by the end of Fall Ball.  He then continued to work out with the older boys, conditioning, strength training, participating in hitting league.  He was one of the top sophomore batters in hitting league.  Then came the pre-season tournaments.  Garrett played amazing.  In a four game tournament, he had a triple, two doubles, four singles, two walks, and two strike outs.  His fielding was perfect!  Only one other boy was equal with him in batting.  The other boys only had 2-3 hits the entire tournament.  He just really OUT-SHINED every other player except the one. Garrett was feeling so great about his chance of making the JV/Varsity team.

We went to the Dominican Republic and Garrett actually missed the first day of tryouts.  He had talked to the coach who assured him it would be okay.  He made it home and went to the next two days of tryouts.  He didn't hit as well as he would have liked, but still felt that he played as well as the other boys.  Then the team announcements were made and Garrett was one of only three sophomores that did not make the JV/Varsity team.  We were VERY upset.  One boy that had made the JV/Varsity team had only had one hit in the entire tournament, his other at bats were ALL strike outs, and he had made 4 errors in ONE game... that cost us the game!  But, he made the team.  Another boy had only had two hits and one of those he only got on because it was a fielders choice and they threw the boy out running to second.  Again, he made the team.  One boy actually said to Garrett, "My dad is best friends with the JV coach, so I know I will make the team".  Another boy that did not play summer ball or fall ball because of other sports- and did not even try-out, made the team.  I could go on and on.  Garrett was very embarrassed and discouraged.  You could see the confidence just blown out of him.  He had NO happiness about him.  For the first time he was not excited about baseball AT ALL!  He said he finally realized that he cannot make a break in the "Santa Clara Aristocracy", as it is so called. As his mother, I was dying inside.  I couldn't sleep.  I couldn't eat.  I was crying every day.  What do you do?  I wanted him to quit!  I was so tired of baseball politics!  But Garrett said he couldn't/wouldn't.
After the first day of practice I was talking to Garrett and asked how things were going with baseball.  His response was, "Its not like this is something new.  Every year this happens and every year I prove them wrong and that is what I am going to do again this year".
And so season started... He had a rough first few games adjusting to the slower pitching and shorter hits coming off the bats.  He had a couple of players on the JV/VARSITY team (that Garrett SOOO out-played during Fall-Ball and the tournament) taunting and teasing him about playing with the freshmen, whom I wanted to strangle with my bare hands but somehow resisted the urge. But Garrett took it in stride and continued getting up at 5:30 a.m. and heading over to the field with his dad, still pitch black outside, and working individually on his long toss, pitching, and hitting.
So far, it is paying off.  Garrett has batted 1000 in the last four games.  He hit the warning track in left field at his last game- a one hop to the fence.  He is leading the team in "quality" hits, on base percentage, stolen bases, and is in the top with RBI's.  Let me just say that he is making it very obvious that he SHOULD be playing at the JV/VARSITY level...he IS proving them wrong.  He is fielding well and pitching okay (he had one really bad inning against Canyon View when it was 15 degrees outside and the wind was blowing and he could hardly hold the ball, but has otherwise pitched okay.  Keep in mind he has only pitched a couple of games in all of two seasons).
The JV/VARSITY coaches have not said one word to him since placing him on the younger team.  And his current coaches give the boys almost NO feedback/praise/recognition whatsoever.  It has been extremely frustrating.  As parents, we have had to spend 3 months building Garrett's confidence back up.  I think we have done a pretty good job.   I am amazed by Garrett.  He is truly a great kid and I am grateful he works hard, and rises above what he is dealt. I am sure he will be a better person because of it.
I am grateful that Heavenly Father is blessing Garrett this season.  I felt Garrett really needed to know that Heavenly Father was aware of his struggles and his efforts to overcome them.  I am confident that Heavenly Father knows him, loves him, and wants him to be successful in this life.  It is nice for Garrett to have someone other than just his earthly parents and grandparents routing for him.