Showing posts with label Baseball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baseball. Show all posts
04 July 2012
Summer Nights - Cannon's Perspective
Cannon found our point and shoot camera at one of the girls' games. Out of 255 pictures he took these were a few I got a kick out of. :)
Yes, some of them aren't from the game itself, and a few may not have actually been taken by him, but I thought it was funny to see the myriad idiot faces he captured on camera. I wasn't aware he was taking most of them, obviously. My poor children. I am going to be a constant source of embarrassment to them. :)
These ones were pretty decent! I love that one of Chloe and I love the one of his hand. "Hmmmm....I wonder what THIS will look like in a picture?!"
Summer Nights Now Mean One Thing.....
Baseball! Well, two things: Baseball! and Tee ball!
Wow has it been insane to juggle coach pitch baseball for the girls (thank the heavens that they're on the same team!!!) and tee ball for Brigham. In June we were doing two practices per week each plus two games per week each. Thankfully, July has slowed down a little. Fewer practices, no games in this holiday week, etc.
Stanton and I have avoided extracurricular activities for our children thus far. Chloe did gymnastics for a time, but it was too much for a little 6 year old to have 6 hours a week of that, so we pulled her out. We've never done rec sports or anything like them. Well, a few rounds of dance here and there, but even that felt like too much!
We decided it was time to pull up our big girl pants and dedicate some time to helping our kids improve in sports and have a team experience. Baseball felt like the perfect fit for our first go around. I love that there isn't any school to worry about right now, so the nights can be more fluid. And the kids have LOVED this experience so much. They are learning a ton, improving, and having FUN. Their coaches couldn't be better and it's been an all around positive experience. I don't regret not doing it sooner, but I'm sure glad we did it now!
Maybe every parent feels this way about their child, but little Brigham seems to have a knack for baseball! He is very intent on the game, watching what's going on, wanting to get to the ball and make plays. He doesn't goof around in the outfield and (maybe a bit annoyingly to the other players!!) always has advice for his teammates. Of course, he hasn't mastered the fine art of catching the ball yet, but he's got his head in the game and has a pretty decent arm on him!
He lives for practice and games and thinks his coaches are pretty much the smartest people ever.
It's funny to be writing about this now that the season is almost over, because he's improved so much since then. But that first game was SOOO funny! Brig was so excited to be out there playing that he couldn't keep things quite straight. When he went up to bat, he hit a good little grounder and then, instead of running to first, he ran after his ball. We got him headed in the right direction and then did it with the next batter's ball instead of running to second! Everyone was yelling and laughing, etc., and he got really embarrassed when the second baseman got him out. We called him over with tears in his eyes and Stanton helped him figure out that when you have your glove on, you go for the ball, but when you have that batter's helmet on, your job is to RUN! He made the connection and didn't have a problem afterward. And really, I thought the fact that he was so intent on getting that ball showed that he has his head in the game and knows the basic goal - he was just a little confused!
That first night, his coach's mom came over to him, got down on her knees, and looked him in the eye. She said, "I have been a baseball coach for a lot of years and I know my stuff. You have hustle, you have heart, and you have ball smarts. YOU are a baseball player." Brigham's eyes were on fire with pride. She got up and said to me, "I mean that. He gets it and he's going to be a great ball player." I have to admit that my eyes might have sparkled a bit, too!
Baseball is one of those sports that Brigham can play even into the varsity level (as long as he wears a chest pad). It's awesome to see him actually maybe have a knack for it. I want him to be able to have a sport that he loves and can play long term. We'll keep presenting tennis and skiing and track along the way, of course, because those are life long sports...but having a team sport like this that is an option is just awesome. There aren't very many of them. Now, I have to clarify that at this point, he can play any and every sport without his heart being in danger. But any kind of contact sport (football, basketball, soccer, etc) will be a danger as it gets to the varsity level. Any big hits to the chest could hurt the electrical system defect that just isn't possible to fix. Because he can't play the other sports long term, we've shied away from encouraging him to explore them now. I don't want to have to pull the rug out from under him a few years down the road after he's fallen in love with something.
I honestly don't think about his heart very often anymore, but seeing him play tee ball and enjoy it so much has caused me to go back and reflect on that time and how precious Brigham's life is. And I love that there is something here that he can enjoy and love and be great in.
NOW, on to the girls!
This adorable picture was taken when she was playing pitcher and threw the ball to first....only to bonk the runner on the head with the ball! She got a kick out of that one. :)
They're old enough for coach pitch baseball, which is super fun. They're the only girls on their team and are on a team of boys that, many of them at least, have played for quite a few years and are pretty darn good. You'd think that might not be a positive thing, but let me tell you - it's been awesome. Their coaches are so kind and are only concerned that the kids learn skills and have fun. These dads who are the coaches are the dads of the boys that are really good. And even though that's the case, they are equally interested in every team member playing good field positions and having their turn at bat.
I'm making it sound like Chloe and Lily are terrible! That has been the funnest surprise of all -- they AREN'T!! They're actually pretty darn good! But I know that's due in part to coaches who have the absolute perfect idea of what rec sports should accomplish.
I do wish that we had maybe had the girls play tee ball for a couple of years, just so they'd be better at catching, but they're good little ball players! Chloe can out throw most everyone on the team (still working on accuracy and not lobbing it as hard as you can when the person is closer to you!) and they both really have their head in the game while they're out there. And it's so nice to not be embarrassed when they're up at bat. They're certainly not perfect, but they do connect with the ball most every time they're up. They've been really fun to watch and they're really having a great time playing this summer. I think they'll be bummed when the season ends! With games pretty much every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday night, you'd think I'd be ecstatic for the season to end, but somehow I won't be. This has been a really great experience for our family. And we've seen how great it is for the kids to be there cheering each other on. It's been really positive and I will actually miss it quite a lot!
Wow has it been insane to juggle coach pitch baseball for the girls (thank the heavens that they're on the same team!!!) and tee ball for Brigham. In June we were doing two practices per week each plus two games per week each. Thankfully, July has slowed down a little. Fewer practices, no games in this holiday week, etc.
Stanton and I have avoided extracurricular activities for our children thus far. Chloe did gymnastics for a time, but it was too much for a little 6 year old to have 6 hours a week of that, so we pulled her out. We've never done rec sports or anything like them. Well, a few rounds of dance here and there, but even that felt like too much!
We decided it was time to pull up our big girl pants and dedicate some time to helping our kids improve in sports and have a team experience. Baseball felt like the perfect fit for our first go around. I love that there isn't any school to worry about right now, so the nights can be more fluid. And the kids have LOVED this experience so much. They are learning a ton, improving, and having FUN. Their coaches couldn't be better and it's been an all around positive experience. I don't regret not doing it sooner, but I'm sure glad we did it now!
He lives for practice and games and thinks his coaches are pretty much the smartest people ever.
It's funny to be writing about this now that the season is almost over, because he's improved so much since then. But that first game was SOOO funny! Brig was so excited to be out there playing that he couldn't keep things quite straight. When he went up to bat, he hit a good little grounder and then, instead of running to first, he ran after his ball. We got him headed in the right direction and then did it with the next batter's ball instead of running to second! Everyone was yelling and laughing, etc., and he got really embarrassed when the second baseman got him out. We called him over with tears in his eyes and Stanton helped him figure out that when you have your glove on, you go for the ball, but when you have that batter's helmet on, your job is to RUN! He made the connection and didn't have a problem afterward. And really, I thought the fact that he was so intent on getting that ball showed that he has his head in the game and knows the basic goal - he was just a little confused!
That first night, his coach's mom came over to him, got down on her knees, and looked him in the eye. She said, "I have been a baseball coach for a lot of years and I know my stuff. You have hustle, you have heart, and you have ball smarts. YOU are a baseball player." Brigham's eyes were on fire with pride. She got up and said to me, "I mean that. He gets it and he's going to be a great ball player." I have to admit that my eyes might have sparkled a bit, too!
Baseball is one of those sports that Brigham can play even into the varsity level (as long as he wears a chest pad). It's awesome to see him actually maybe have a knack for it. I want him to be able to have a sport that he loves and can play long term. We'll keep presenting tennis and skiing and track along the way, of course, because those are life long sports...but having a team sport like this that is an option is just awesome. There aren't very many of them. Now, I have to clarify that at this point, he can play any and every sport without his heart being in danger. But any kind of contact sport (football, basketball, soccer, etc) will be a danger as it gets to the varsity level. Any big hits to the chest could hurt the electrical system defect that just isn't possible to fix. Because he can't play the other sports long term, we've shied away from encouraging him to explore them now. I don't want to have to pull the rug out from under him a few years down the road after he's fallen in love with something.
I honestly don't think about his heart very often anymore, but seeing him play tee ball and enjoy it so much has caused me to go back and reflect on that time and how precious Brigham's life is. And I love that there is something here that he can enjoy and love and be great in.
They're old enough for coach pitch baseball, which is super fun. They're the only girls on their team and are on a team of boys that, many of them at least, have played for quite a few years and are pretty darn good. You'd think that might not be a positive thing, but let me tell you - it's been awesome. Their coaches are so kind and are only concerned that the kids learn skills and have fun. These dads who are the coaches are the dads of the boys that are really good. And even though that's the case, they are equally interested in every team member playing good field positions and having their turn at bat.
I'm making it sound like Chloe and Lily are terrible! That has been the funnest surprise of all -- they AREN'T!! They're actually pretty darn good! But I know that's due in part to coaches who have the absolute perfect idea of what rec sports should accomplish.
I do wish that we had maybe had the girls play tee ball for a couple of years, just so they'd be better at catching, but they're good little ball players! Chloe can out throw most everyone on the team (still working on accuracy and not lobbing it as hard as you can when the person is closer to you!) and they both really have their head in the game while they're out there. And it's so nice to not be embarrassed when they're up at bat. They're certainly not perfect, but they do connect with the ball most every time they're up. They've been really fun to watch and they're really having a great time playing this summer. I think they'll be bummed when the season ends! With games pretty much every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday night, you'd think I'd be ecstatic for the season to end, but somehow I won't be. This has been a really great experience for our family. And we've seen how great it is for the kids to be there cheering each other on. It's been really positive and I will actually miss it quite a lot!
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