Fun Over Fear

By Walter Beede

Parents, do you want to make sure your child has as much fun as possible when they start playing baseball? Did you know that youth baseball is the second most popular boys' sport in the United States? The sandlot and neighborhood pickup games have been replaced by the explosion of "pay for play" travel baseball that can start as early as six yea

• Language: English
• Publisher: Walter Beede
• Release date: Dec 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9781088017579

Book preview

Foreword

I first met Walter Beede in 1973 when we were ten years old. We became teammates for the Major Senators in the Wyoma Little League in Lynn, Massachusetts. What immediately stood out to me was his overwhelming enthusiasm, passion and love for the game of baseball. It was infectious. We quickly became friends, always playing catch or warming up together before each practice and game. Walter was tireless in his preparation, from playing catch, pepper, shagging balls in the outfield, or simply bouncing a ball off a wall in the dugout. He was always doing baseball stuff with a smile on his face. Although he was our backup catcher, and at that time, not really a top player, his drive and infectious love of the game made him a tremendous teammate.

A few years later, we became teammates again for Pickering Junior High School. Walter, through hard work had become the starting catcher. He was still the most passionate and hardest worker on the team. A trait that his beloved Dad, Fred Beede instilled in him. On the last game of the season, during a cold, snowy and blustery day at a field near Lynn Beach, Walter had what I would call, a memorable baseball moment. We were playing a rival city team. The bases were loaded with our team trailing by three runs and two outs in the last inning of play. With a cold wind and snow blowing in from the ocean behind left field, he moved his tall, skinny, gangly body to the plate and took a few practice swings. On the first pitch, Walter swung and when the bat contacted the ball, there was a loud explosion that caused everyone to jump from their seats! The ball traveled well over the left field fence headed towards Boston and was lost in the snow. Legend says that it actually cleared Lynn Harbor and rolled to Fenway Park! It was his very first home run over a fence!

In that moment, after many years and endless hours of joyfully playing and practicing via activities and backyard games, it all come together. Needless to say, when he crossed the plate his teammates were ecstatic for him, but also in disbelief. None of us had ever seen a ball hit that far!

Shortly after that game, Walter moved from Lynn and I did not see him for over 20 years. When we met years later, while reminiscing, I mentioned that moment. He told me that was the moment that changed the trajectory of his career. He would no longer be anyone’s back up.  After moving to Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Walter went on to become a Hall of Fame Player for the Fitchburg Red Raiders and one of the top players in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts earning a scholarship to Arizona State University, a national perennial baseball power and being selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 13th round of the MLB Draft.

The impact Walter left on his friends in Lynn was huge. Although we all loved the game, Walter’s passion for playing baseball left us with an added appreciation and respect for the game. For me, I kept playing and practicing using many of the drills Walter showed me. It certainly helped, as I was able to join two of my teammates from the Major Senators on the Lynn English High School Baseball team. Those 10 and 11 year olds who loved the game, practiced with each other for hours in backyards, parks, parking lots, or where ever we could, ended up winning multiple High School and American Legion state championships together. The memories from those experiences playing baseball with my friends will stay with me forever. More important than the championships, were the life lessons such as teamwork, respect, empathy, learning to overcome failure and commitment to a common cause became staples in our lives moving forward.

I encourage you to adapt the guidance, ideas and lessons presented in this book for your children. If not baseball, these lessons can easily be adapted to other sports or activities your child may enjoy. There is an old saying, that if you find something you love to do, you will never call it work.  As a parent, family member or anyone who has influence over children, one of the most important things we can do is to help children find something they love doing, something that will help them develop lifelong friends and memories while growing into responsible adults. I believe the concepts in this book can help all of us do just that. Walter successfully used these principles in raising his own two sons Kyle and Tyler. Both, incredible young men who went on to play Division 1 baseball and graduate from LSU Alexandria and Vanderbilt respectively. Tyler is currently a pitcher for the San Francisco Giants. As proud as Walter is of their baseball accomplishments, I know that he is much prouder of the tremendous young men, husbands and fathers they have become.

Although Walters playing career was cut short, he turned his love of the game and the lessons he learned into a passion for coaching, and mentoring young men during their baseball journey. In addition to his two sons Kyle and Tyler, he has dedicated thousands of hours to coaching and mentoring young players across the county to realize their baseball potential and using the lessons learned from baseball to enhance their lives. Not everyone can be a professional or college player like Walters’s sons, but the lessons you learn playing the game at any level help develop character, physical fitness, empathy toward others and the ability to successfully function on a team. One of those young men who Walter mentored was my son, who went on to have an outstanding high school career, complete with lifelong friends and memories. More importantly, he learned the life lessons playing sports teaches, which were essential in him earning an appointment to and graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point. My son’s story is but one hundreds that Walter has