Benny Bear Gets His Head in the Game: A story about staying focused, paying attention, and being there for your team

 

Benny Bear Gets His Head in the Game

A story about staying focused, paying attention, and being there for your team

The Moral of Our Story:

When you choose to join a team, bring your attention too. For others, count on you to care about the things you do. Listen closely to your coach and keep the play in sight. Be ready for your turn to help and try to do things right. When wandering thoughts distract you, gently bring them back. Remember where you need to be and get yourself on track. For fun and focus, grow together when you do your part, and every little effort shows the teamwork in your heart.

Benny Bear was six years old, and Saturday was baseball day.

He loved his blue cap. He loved his shiny bat. Most of all, he loved shouting, “Go, team!” so loudly that his cap nearly bounced off his head.

Benny played for the Woodland Cubs.

Their coach, Clara Cougar, had taught them how to hold a bat, throw toward a partner, and run through first base.

Today, she had another lesson in mind.

“Baseball has busy moments and waiting moments,” she told them. “But waiting does not mean we stop being part of the game.”

Benny nodded.

Then he noticed a cloud that looked exactly like a pancake.

A pancake with ears.

“Benny?” Coach Clara asked.

“Yes!”

“What should you watch when you are in the field?”

Benny glanced up.

“The pancakes?”

His teammates burst into giggles.

Clara smiled.

“The ball, Benny. Watch the ball.”

Soon, the Cubs trotted onto the field.

Benny stood near second base. Rosie Raccoon played shortstop. Felix Fox headed into the outfield.

For a little while, everyone looked ready.

Then the waiting began.

Benny scratched a picture in the dirt with his shoe.

It was going to be a magnificent bear riding a rocket.

Rosie pulled at the grass.

Felix sat down and began adjusting his socks.

At home plate, the batter swung.

Crack!

The ball rolled toward Benny.

“Benny!” Rosie shouted.

He was adding flames to his rocket.

“Benny, the ball!”

He looked up just as it rolled past him.

Rosie chased it and threw it back toward the pitcher.

The runner reached first base.

Benny stared at the trail the ball had left across his drawing.

“Oh,” he said.

After the inning, Clara gathered the Cubs beside the bench.

“Were we ready to play?”

A few heads shook.

“I was fixing my sock,” Felix said.

“I was picking grass,” Rosie admitted.

Benny shuffled his feet.

“I was going to the moon.”

Clara sat on the bench so they could gather close.

“You all have busy minds. Sometimes they wander. The important thing is learning to notice and bring them back.”

“Even when nothing is happening?” Benny asked.

“Something can happen on the very next pitch.”

She held up a baseball.

“When you are in the field, ask yourself three things. Where is the ball? How many outs are there? What will I do if the ball comes to me?”

Benny studied his glove.

“What if I don’t know?”

“Ask me before the next pitch. You are learning. That is why I am here.”

When the Cubs returned to the field, Benny decided he would pay attention harder than any bear had ever paid attention before.

He squeezed his eyes into a fierce squint.

He clenched his teeth.

He held his breath.

After a moment, he puffed out his cheeks.

Rosie looked over.

“Are you turning into a tomato?”

“I’m focusing,” Benny whispered.

From the sideline, Clara called, “Breathe, Benny! Bend your knees a little. Keep your glove ready.”

Benny let out an enormous breath.

Focusing, he discovered, did not require turning into a tomato.

The pitcher threw.

Benny watched.

The batter missed.

Benny watched again.

A butterfly floated over the grass.

His eyes followed it.

Then he noticed what he was doing.

“Back to the ball,” he whispered.

He turned toward home plate.

Crack!

A ground ball bounced between Benny and Rosie.

“Mine!” Rosie called.

Benny started toward her, then remembered Clara’s practice lesson. When Rosie went for a ball, he could move behind her to help if it got past.

He hurried into position.

The ball bumped against Rosie’s glove and skipped sideways.

Benny scooped it up.

He threw toward first base.

His throw bounced twice, and the runner arrived before the ball.

But Rosie grinned.

“You were there!”

Benny grinned back.

He had helped.

At the next break, he bounced beside Clara.

“We didn’t get the out.”

“No,” she said. “But you watched the play, remembered your job, and helped your teammate. That matters.”

“Even when it isn’t perfect?”

“Especially while you are learning.”

Later, Felix stood in the outfield with his glove on his head.

Benny almost laughed.

Then he remembered the ball rolling past his rocket.

“Felix!” he called kindly. “Next pitch!”

Felix pulled his glove down and turned toward the batter.

“Ready!”

During the final inning, a batter hit a slow roller toward Benny.

He saw it coming.

He bent his knees.

He lowered his glove.

This time, the ball rolled right into it.

Benny picked it up and threw toward first.

“Out!” called the umpire.

The Cubs cheered.

Benny’s smile stretched from one furry cheek to the other.

When the game ended, Clara gathered everyone once more.

“Today, we practiced being present,” she said. “That means giving your attention to what you are doing right now.”

“And keeping your glove off your head,” Felix added.

Everyone laughed.

On the walk home, Benny told Father Bear all about his play.

“I caught it because I was ready!”

Father Bear nodded.

“You gave yourself a chance.”

Benny thought about that.

At home, he put his glove beside his school bag.

“Tomorrow, I can practice paying attention when my teacher explains our work,” he said.

“And when we do something together here,” Father Bear replied.

Benny smiled.

His imagination could still take him to the moon.

But when his team needed him, he wanted to be right there on the field.

A Poem to Remember:

Keep your eyes upon the play.
Bring your focus back today.
Know your job and take your place.
Meet the moment that you face,
If your thoughts begin to roam,
Guide them gently, bring them home,
Have your fun and do your part,
Play with focus, care, and heart.

Let’s Talk About the Story:

1. How did Benny’s daydreaming affect his teammates, and what changed when he paid attention?
2. What three questions did Coach Clara teach the players to ask themselves while they were in the field?
3. When your attention wanders at school, at home, or during sports, what can you do to bring it back?

Bill Conley
America’s Favorite Children’s Storyteller and Author