Ok, so my little shaver is trying t-ball. Being a kind of Marxist academic type, I realize that team sports serve only to introduce children to the language of capitalism, however I also know that we live a middle-class life that we would only trade for an upper-class one, so I'm gonna have to deal w/teams sports. However, that ain't the prob. Little dude will play w/me and his mom, he'll hit, he'll field, he'll throw; bu when other kids come around he drops his glove and walks off. The other kids are probably better at the game but he just quits trying when they come around. It breaks my heart. We "practice," that is we play around and tell stories to make it fun for him and I let him chase me w/the bat trying to bust my knees (LOL!). But then when the kids come around he just goes into his shell. Suggestions?

try adding just "one" of his friends, cousins or someone he's comfortable being/playing with even if it just for a few minutes.
if hes alright with that, break him in slowly make sure you pay alot of attention to him- positive reinforcement, compliments and good praise will also help.
*** BUT make sure you go back to his "comfort zone" - which would be playing with just him you and his mother. you can tell him next time its just going to be you, me and mom! you dont want him to think hes losing that special time you two. my daughter doesn't like change either but i found if you slowly change things they'll get used to it rather quickly.
hope this helps.

Thanks, logtec. We have since moved on to Cub Scouts and he is doing "Ok" w/it. Tee-ball didn't go all that badly. Unfortunately for us, the summer of tee-ball was the summer he discovered his penis, this lead to some embarrassing moments but oh well. He actually does have on friend he plays w/consistently now, so he's getting it on sports (kinda, I fear he got my athletic ability which is to say, none).

nice thats cool,
you'll find it gets easier as they grow older... and more fun!
hey a little thing to remember- make sure you enjoy every moment with him and everyday because time will to fly by! my daughter is 9 shes in grd 4, i remember grd 4 like it was yesterday! where did all that time go?
when did my daughter turn "9"?
soon i'll be dealing with the whole boyfriend thing, i'll be waiting on my front porch with a shotgun...