T-Ball

I signed Dylan up for T-Ball with the YMCA this year, because the games were in the evenings, and I wanted to be able to go. When I went in to sign him up, they begged me to be a coach. I really didn't want to do it, but my guilt won out, as usual. I played softball all through school, so I know the basics. So I said, oh, alriiiiiiiiiight....

And it has actually been really fun. I felt retarded at first, but now I feel less self-conscious trying to coach these kidlets in front of their fathers. It feels so good to throw and catch a ball again. The kids are so cute and funny. And they're pretty talented! They aren't scared of the ball, and some of them throw and catch pretty decently.

T-Ball is hilarious. If you are ever in need of some cheap entertainment, come to one of our games. It's a crack-up.

Here is me and the team:

Ugh. Just when I think I've lost enough weight, I see a picture like that. Dang.

Anyways, the team decided to name themselves the Eagles. Dylan was disappointed that they didn't name themselves the BLUE Eagles, and he spent the better part of a week trying to talk me into changing the name. I told him that it was a democratic process, not a dictatorial process. He looked at me quizzically.

I make our team do cheers before they go out on the field. At first, they thought I was nuts. Now it's all they want to do. I actually plaigerized their favorite cheer from a team I heard last year: "We are the EAGles! We're flying HIGH!!!" The lady who coached the Eagles last year (when Dylan played in the Iona league) did that cheer REALLY loudly. You could hear her clear across two fields: "WE ARE THE EEEEEEAGLES!!!! WE'RE FLYING HIGHHHHHH!!!" Nat and Arin, you remember.

I'm all paranoid about making sure that the kids get equal time in the outfield and in the infield, so I keep a pretty good record of who played what during what inning. Every kid wants to play first base, every inning. Except for my two scaredy-cat kids, who have now stopped coming to all practices and games. I rotate everyone equally. And everyone wants to bat first. I don't see that it really matters, but again, because it matters to the kids, I rotate the batting order.

Here's me, with my chubby belly. And a weird look on my face:

Perhaps I'm thinking, "What on EARTH have I gotten myself into this time??"

I love how the kids from opposing teams totally talk to each other while one is on base, waiting to run to the next base. They ask each other where they go to school, how old they are, what month they were born in (Just in case one is a teeny bit older than the other. Then they can enthusiastically point that out to the kid the next time he's on base), and if the runner plays first base. They don't ask names. They don't care about names.

Another funny thing is that the kids think that, because they play first, second, or third base, they are supposed to stand RIGHT ON THE BASE, like the kid in green is doing below:

Not so, my little green-shirted man. Not so. So we have been teaching our kids where their "area" is and to stand in the middle of it. They're doing well with not standing on their base, but they are very concerned about going into another kids' "area." If a ball is coming between two kids, they both look uncertainly at the ball and then at each other, and then neither kid goes for it. I think we'll work on "calling" the ball. And on hustling. They stand and wait for the ball to come to them. Don't we wish that was the way it works?

The way the field is situated, when you're in the field, you're squinting into the sun:

It's a good thing those t-balls are soft, because more than one kid has been beaned in the head because he couldn't see the ball.

Most of the kids are in la-la land when they're playing in the field. They don't pay terribly close attention, and they are never in the "ready" position. Dylan's demonstrating the stare-into-space look that most kids have when fielding:

At least he wasn't making nests out of grass, or throwing his mitt in the air and catching it. Those two are my team's specialty. And throwing grass at each other. And at me. I came home last night with a bunch of grass in my bra. Sigh. Dylan's not the only kid I know whom I suspect of ADHD. I'll just say that much.

Dylan, batting:

I've been working like crazy on their batting stance (being squared away so that you actually hit the ball into the field, instead of into the unsuspecting parents) and on holding the bat properly, and as you can see, Dylan doesn't really get it yet. Nor do most of the kids. I just keep positioning them and positioning them. It helps to draw a pretend square in the mud and tell them to stand on the two corners of the square.

We've got some crazy-good throwers on our team. One kid always overthrows the ball because he gets really excited and just launches it to first base as hard as he can. He reminds me of me. Overthrowing was always a problem for me. Which was why I made a good outfielder. This kid will be a really good outfielder someday. I keep telling him that when he complains about sometimes needing to play in the outfield. I keep telling him it's the best position, because you have to be the best runner and the best thrower. He doesn't believe me. I don't think he'll believe me for another few years, because I've seen the 2nd- and 3rd-grade teams, and none of them hit it into the outfield, either.

Dylan doesn't necessarily throw far, but at least he aims well. And he throws kind of pidgeon-toed, which is cute:

I really need to practice with him, one-on-one. I'm excited to do more one-on-one action with him when I quit my job. I will have the perfect thing to do when he's bored - practice throwing, catching, and hitting.

Spectators who have come to visit - Mom and Dad:

Micah:

Sadie:

Sadie makes a bit of a nuisance of herself when she comes to games. She wants to be by mommy. Often, when I'm in the field with the kids, she is next to me, holding my hand. She's such a lover.

And Lex:

The poor girl had to come in a wheelchair last week. And it was a hard day for her. Lex had knee surgery, as you may recall, and then she got pneumonia. It was a toughie. She's doing much better now, but it was a tough couple of weeks. Thanks for coming to our game, Tex. Love ya.