Little League batter hit in head embraces pitcher in an inspiring display of sportsmanship

A Little League player displays what kindness and sportsmanship are

Kindness and Sportsmanship

A Little League batter rose from a beaning to console the upset pitcher in a dramatic scene at a Little League regional tournament game in Waco, Texas.

The incident happened during a Little League Southwest Regional Playoff final.

Righthander Kaiden Shelton of Pearland, Texas, was facing 12-year-old batter Isaiah Jarvis of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tuesday when a 0-2 pitch got away from him and slammed into Jarvis’ helmet. Jarvis fell to the ground clutching his head as his concerned coaches ran to his aid.

After a few moments, Jarvis’ head cleared enough for him to walk unaided to first base. Meantime, Shelton stood on the mound staring at the ground in tears over what happened.

Jarvis walked to the pitcher’s mound and hugged Kaiden, assuring him he himself was OK and that Kaiden was “doing great.” Shelton’s teammates and coach gathered around the pair to join in consoling the young righty.

It looked like it was a beautiful moment, a moment to pause and reflect on what we teach our kids about kindness and our boys about masculinity.

Parents are now wondering how they would raise a child who would behave the way Isaiah did at that moment, with kindness and empathy instead of anger and rage. How do we raise kids of any gender who are willing to take that risk of offering affection, comfort, and support in such a public space?

An opportunity for discussion

Our inclination might be to talk with our kids, to lecture them about the importance of kindness, empathy, emotional intelligence, and other “soft skills.”

I’m in favor of this approach. It’s a great opportunity to get your child to think about compassion, one of the qualities parents consistently say they want to foster in their children.

The power of modeling

Parents too often underestimate the power of their modeling on their children, yet it’s among the most powerful influences on the kind of people our kids become. It impacts their thinking, their behavior, their belief systems, and the ways in which they treat others.

High school baseball coach Andrew Santella, author of “Soon: An Overdue History of Procrastination, from Leonardo and Darwin to You and Me,” encourages parents to attend to their own behavior while at their child’s sporting events or other extracurricular activities.

“Parental behavior at games is typically far more problematic than that of the kids,” he said. “Too often, it’s parents that model poor sportsmanship while coaches are working to teach the opposite.”

“It’s also really important in those situations when your son or daughter does something sportsmanlike and showing high character, to give them credit for that like you would if they hit a home run.”

Encouraging boys to express feelings

On the field and off, we tend to encourage girls to express their feelings far more openly than boys. A 2019 study in Modern Psychological Studies suggests that gender-role-conforming boys showed a decreased tendency to openly express emotion compared with girls, but that boys experienced a higher level of stress because of emotional suppression.

Little League batter consoles distraught opposing pitcher after being hit in the head

The Little League hug can help to show our boys the power of expressing themselves emotionally, and it could even encourage them to be more expressive themselves, diminishing some of the stress they may experience.

Sports and other extracurricular activities can also present leadership opportunities to kids, Santella said. He sometimes has a player on his team who may not be the most skilled on the field, but with some encouragement can become a leader of team morale and discipline. “One way or another, sports provide an opportunity for kids to make their mark and prove themselves, to themselves. It’s a big deal in their development as a whole person.”

If your child isn’t the one bravely walking out to the mound and offering that hug, or clapping for the slowest swimmer in the pool, they are there for it. They witness it. They see that kindness and empathy beget kindness and empathy.

And most of the moments on a team are not as clear and dramatic as that hug broadcast on ESPN. Most moments consist of subtle nods of encouragement, a handshake in the dugout, or other fleeting little moments of humanity. It’s those moments that build character and provide kids with precious examples of how to show up for other people.

We can’t always teach those lessons in our homes or in school. But sports hold those opportunities in abundance.

They will be better people for it. And this is what parents tell me they want for their kids more than anything else. This is your best chance at raising a child with the courage, empathy, and compassion that one Little League player showed.

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