I loved playing baseball as a kid. Although when I started playing rec ball, I learned quickly that I wasn’t very good. During practice, coach would send me into the outfield and blast fly balls my way. Sometimes I would snag them, other times the ball would drop and blow right past me.

As you can imagine, I didn’t see much playing time at first—coming off bench in the last innings. When I did play, coach threw me in the actionless right field. While it was discouraging, one midseason game changed everything.

We had an away game and I expected to get the usual late innings and low batting slot. I was surprised when I was told to scurry out into left field in the third inning. The time was uneventful until a husky, right-handed batter stood behind the plate. My coach yelled for the outfielders to shift to the right. I don’t recall which pitch the batter hit, but the ball blasted off from his bat like cannon fire into my direction. In the background, I could hear the coaches and parents cheering for me to catch the baseball. I took a few steps forward and then raised my glove high into the air. “Pow!” I had it! That was the first ball I had ever caught in a game. I got a lot of praise when I got back to the bench.

That one play ignited a fire within me. I went from late-inning sub to earning my way into the starting lineup. My coach kept me in left field where I was productive, and I became a solid leadoff batter, too.

It’s amazing how one event can change our confidence. Whenever I face adversity, I reflect on this story. This lesson stuck with me as a parent, too. My kids are no better at life than I was at baseball, so I stay observant to see where in life they seem to excel. My 10-year-old loves science and math, so he chose weekend STEM classes. My 5-year-old loves soccer and martial arts, so he’s active in those. My 2-year-old loves music and dancing, so we dance at home. My hope is that I can provide them with as many opportunities as they desire to bloom in the right soil—the soil where they can be most productive.