The Award Your Kid Actually Needed
MVP went to the kid with the .450 average. Most Improved went to the coach's nephew who finally learned to stand still in the box. Then the awards ran dry, and your kid got "Team Spark Plug."
You watched their face. That split-second before the smile—the one where they checked if this was real or a participation trophy dressed up in better language.
Here's what the award actually meant: your kid kept showing up mentally when the scoreboard wasn't cooperating. They stayed locked in after a terrible call. They didn't poison the dugout energy when they went 0-for-3. They asked questions instead of making excuses.
That's not filler. That's the difference between a player who folds under pressure and one who doesn't.
The mental side of competition doesn't get a shiny trophy usually. It gets noticed by coaches in the third inning of a tournament game when your kid is down 0-2 and still hunting fastballs instead of hunting reasons to quit. It gets noticed by teammates who follow their lead.
The MVP will feel great for a week. The Spark Plug? That one sticks. Because it's about what they do when nobody's keeping score.
Read the full story → https://wheretohit.com/dugout/end-of-season-award
Originally published at Mind & Muscle
Train your mind. Dominate your game.
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