https://padlet.com/tenzermike1/b4hf31ot3vi6hwn8 Winning my baseball tournament en-us 2021-06-13 17:54:23 UTC 2023-02-17 05:40:43 UTC hello@padlet.com tenzermike1 https://padlet.com/tenzermike1/b4hf31ot3vi6hwn8/wish/1603556787 2021-06-13 17:55:45 UTC https://padlet.com/tenzermike1/b4hf31ot3vi6hwn8/wish/1603556787 tenzermike1 https://padlet.com/tenzermike1/b4hf31ot3vi6hwn8/wish/1603557201 This is a day that I will never forget. It was in 2005 and I was 11 years old, in 6th grade. An 11 year old baseball phenom (which is what I thought of myself back then). I had a lot of competitive issues when I was younger, I hated to lose. I still hate to lose but I am much better at accepting it than I was back then. The competitive drive is always what enabled me to succeed in the sports that I played.

I was a pitcher for my team, and I would still say to this day, one of the best pitchers of my age group back in middle school. I had just helped (or as my 11-year-old self would say, carried) my team to a victory to win our tournament and crown ourselves champion. I had just thrown the game of my life at the time, tossing a six-inning complete game, one hitter, where I struck out 15 batters. I recently reread the email that the manager of my team (my best friend's dad) sent out. It was sent to everyone in our district where it highlighted the team's and my stats from that game.

Back in that day I had a rival on another team who thought he was better than me and would hit a home run off me when we faced each other. The competitiveness in me drove me towards hatred of this kid and I wanted nothing more than to shut him up. We wound up playing his team in that final championship game where he went 0-4 with four strikeouts. Again, the angsty competitor in me rubbed it in his face at the conclusion of the game. Myself now would have told my 11-year-old self to be humble and let your action do the talking.

I often look back on those days as some of the best and worst parts of my life. On one side, I was on a much higher level than all the kids I faced which made me feel really good. But on the other side of it, I let that identity consume me and if I wasn't the best player on the field that day I let everyone know it in a negative way. I have definitely become more grounded in the way that I handle my competitive drive and not letting my emotions get the best of me anymore. I do feel as though, these experiences allow me to relate to students who are also struggling to ground themselves a little bit more. 

When we grow up and look back on our previous life encounters we often think about how we could have handled a situation differently and more successfully. The reality is, early adolescents think they know what is best for themselves, and I believe that I really embodied that idea during my teenage years. As a teacher, I believe it is part of my duty to guide my students in a direction of awareness and accountability, even if they don't believe they need to accept it.]]> 2021-06-13 17:56:24 UTC https://padlet.com/tenzermike1/b4hf31ot3vi6hwn8/wish/1603557201