What My Son Quitting Baseball Taught Me About Leadership, Reinvention, and Trust

Most people see quitting as failure.
But when my son walked away from the sport he’d played since childhood to pursue competitive gaming, I learned a powerful lesson about leadership, identity, and the courage it takes to reinvent yourself.

Why He Walked Away From Baseball 

My son had been playing baseball since he was five. By 14, he was a utility player invited to play on older travel teams. He was talented, disciplined, and had put in the work.

But after his travel team folded, he returned to our local league, and it just didn’t feel the same. The coaching was different. The pace was slower. His friends were great kids, but not pushing at the same level. He didn’t complain, he just started pulling away.

Instead, he came to me one day and told me he wanted to quit baseball.
And build a gaming PC.
To play Fortnite.
Competitively.

How I Reacted, and What I Learned 

I panicked.
I even brought it up to my therapist, because, deep down, I felt like I had failed as a parent.

I had this unspoken story in my head: Good parents don’t let their kids quit things they’re great at.

But that was my story, not his.

He wasn’t giving up on discipline. Or growth.
He was just choosing a different field to play on.

What Competitive Gaming Taught Him About Discipline 

He built the PC. Entered online solo and team tournaments. Made friends from Vancouver, BC to Los Angeles.

He studied his gameplay.
Watched film.
Practiced relentlessly.

And by early 2020, we flew to Anaheim for DreamHack—one of the biggest competitive gaming events in the world. By then, he had become one of the top Fortnite players in the United States.

The Moment That Changed Everything 

On Day One, I was standing in line and started chatting with a young guy who was in his early 20s, super friendly. He asked who I was there to watch. I told him my son was competing and he asked for his gamer tag.

When I said it, his eyes lit up:

“Wait......you’re Nolan’s mom? He’s so cool. I love watching him play.”

I stood there stunned.

My kid—the one who had walked away from baseball—had built a name for himself doing something he loved. He had earned respect not through reputation, but through performance.

One of my favorite photos from that event is Nolan in full focus, while a crowd of players—those who didn’t advance—stood behind him just to watch him compete.

The Full-Circle Moment 

After three years away, he returned to baseball his junior and senior years, on his own terms.
He trained hard.
Earned a spot as the designated hitter.
Played with grit.

And that final season?
He hit a walk-off home run in a district game that sent his team to Regionals.

He finished strong. Earned the Coaches Award. And walked away with pride, not burnout.

What This Taught Me About Leadership and Reinvention 

Today, he’s an entrepreneur.
Still close with the boys he met online, now best friends who push each other to grow, build, and live fully.
Still disciplined. Still driven. Just not in the way I ever could’ve imagined.

And me?

I walked away from the belief that quitting is failure.
Because sometimes, walking away is the most strategic move of all.

The Business Tie-In 

This story shifted how I show up in my own business.

As a strategist for property management business owners, I work with leaders who feel boxed in, by outdated systems, unscalable teams, or ideas about success that no longer fit.

Sometimes the first step toward building the business you actually want…
Is letting go of the one you thought you were supposed to build.

Have you ever had to walk away from something, even when it looked like the “right” thing on paper?

I’d love to hear your story in the comments.