Shine On | by Dominick Albano

It’s February, and for some people, this month symbolizes love. It makes them think of Valentine’s Day or maybe, the coming of Lent… or just taking time away to someplace warmer. For me, when the calendar turns to February, I can only think of one thing:

Baseball season is upon us.

I know, I know—it’s probably a little early for many people. The die-hards know when pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Florida or Arizona, but the rest of the world still considers baseball a summer activity. And February feels pretty far away from summer.

But for me, February doesn’t just have me thinking about Major League Baseball. It has me thinking about the teams I’ll be coaching this coming Little League season and the games that are right around the corner.

What I’ve learned from coaching baseball over the years has very little to do with winning games—and almost everything to do with how we love the people entrusted to us.

I coach both my 10- and 12-year-old’s teams—10U and 12U, respectively. Believe it or not, we’ve been practicing since December, and our first tournaments begin in March. So, it’s around this time of year that I start thinking about the preseason parent meeting, held during the week before our first games.

A good amount of time goes into preparing my comments. Many topics are pretty standard: how we approach playing time and positions, when and how parents should come talk with me regarding an issue, behaviors I’d like parents to avoid… that sort of thing.

But the most important thing I try to communicate to parents is this:

Be your kids’ biggest fan.

Too often, you see grown men yelling, “Don’t worry, you’ll get ’em next time!” to their favorite Major League player after a strikeout—but yelling, “C’mon, bud, what are you swinging at?!” to their own 10-year-old after the same thing happens.

It’s all well-intentioned. Parents want their kids to have fun and do well. They get nervous for their kids and react out of that nervous energy—sometimes saying or doing things they regret—rather than being a source of calm amid the storm. Parents think they can help their child do better next time by yelling instructions, now.

So, I tell parents: your kid doesn’t need you for motivation. He wants to succeed more than anyone else wants him to succeed. He doesn’t need you for coaching—I’ve coached about 400 games, and I take this responsibility seriously. The one thing he does need?

His biggest fans…

… Those people who will cheer him on no matter what. Who believe in him completely. Who think he’s the best kid on the field regardless of the outcome of a single at-bat or a single game.

Baseball, more than any other sport, is built on belief. It’s a sport where you fail more than 60% of the time. It’s a sport where they literally track your mistakes and display them on the scoreboard for all to see. If you go to the plate expecting to strike out, you probably will. If you go to the plate expecting to hit a home run, you’ll probably still strike out. And yet, somehow, you still have to step into the box believing that something good is going to happen—hoping for something you can’t be sure of.

I tell my baseball parents all this, not just because I want the team to play well, but because I want the team to be built on something greater than winning, or fun, or even skill development.

I want the team to be built on love.

This might not be the language I use with parents. To them, I say my goal is to help these kids become the best versions of themselves, on and off the diamond. But in reality, love is the reason for the game. Love is the reason for the team.

If the team is built on love, it can’t fail.

You can strike out.

You can make an error.

You can lose the game.

But you can’t fail when the whole thing is built on love.

Because “love never fails.”

—1 Corinthians 13:8

As we prepare for Lent, take a look at the different areas of your life, and consider what you’re building on. Move past the obvious. Sure, we all know our parenting, our marriage, and our relationship with God should be built on love. Go deeper… Think about how you approach your work, coaching your kids’ team, or serving on the parish council.

Ask yourself:

What would this look like if it were built on love?

Dominick Albano is a passionately Catholic husband and father of four boys. He has been writing, speaking, and leading Catholic retreats for more than 20 years. He is the co-founder of the National Society for Priestly Vocations

This article appeared in the February 2026 edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here.