If Nobody Believed In You

The little boy held up his hand. The bat felt so heavy in his hands. The helmet seemed to weigh more than his 90 pounds did. He didn’t want any part of this anymore.

As his teammates roared their protests and the over-enthusiastic crowd of parents jeered, the little boy didn’t even try to take a swing. He dropped his bat and turned to the tunnel.

His team didn’t have faith in him, his father’s words rang in his head, loud and mean.

You’ll never amount to anything.

No matter how much that little boy worked, he was never good enough. He could never face his team. He was always seen as the one who would never amount to anything. He was a waste and he never let himself forget it, neither did anyone else around him.

That little boy quit trying. To the backdrop of jeers, he just turned and walked away. A single teardrop rolled down his face.

But frankly, tell me how you would feel. You’ll probably give up too, especially so if nobody believed in you.

From: If Nobody Believed In You
By Joe Nichols