We put Tommy in t-ball this year and he LOVED it. He almost didn't get to play because of a miscommunication between the athletic director in Benton and myself, but after some investigating and help from my cousins, we figured out he was eligible to play and got him signed up!
I'm SO glad it worked out. He had the time of his life. I was a little nervous on the first day of practice because he was the smallest kid on the team (it's 4 to 6 yr olds and I think he was the only 4 year old on there!). But he held his own!
See him? 3rd from the left in the red shirt and black shorts? The tiny little guy stuck between two bigger guys? That's my boy :)
Tommy LOVED his coach. My sister asked him who his best friend on the team was and he said, "Brian!" So funny. He liked him so much that there were a few times he was being ornery and I said, "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to have to tell Brian you can't play t-ball anymore." Worked like a charm.
They were such a fun team with some spunky little boys on it! It made me nervous for the day Tommy is 8 or 9 and wants 15 friends over for a birthday party. Because, MAN can those boys be rambunctious when they're all together. Trouble, trouble, trouble. But I loved it.
He did pretty good with hitting. He usually hit the ball on the first or second swing.
He had perfected the "stance." His coach (Brian) taught them to get into stance--with knees slightly bent and ready to catch/stop the ball. Tommy created what I like to call the "extreme stance." It's very.....special. And kinda looked like he was pooping on the field. But he was SO dedicated to that stance and worked it whenever he was on the field!
Catching........well, that's something we'll have to keep working on. I have to tell a story that's going to make me feel horrible, but..........
A few days after Tommy's first practice, I was in the front yard playing catch with him with a real baseball (you can see where this is going, right?). He kept putting his glove over his face and when I asked why, he said because he didn't want the ball to hit him. I assured him it wouldn't and he caught the next few balls okay. And then I threw it and it smacked him RIGHT in the face.
Oops.
Now, we were only a few feet apart and I put absolutely no effort into throwing it so it wasn't going very fast or hard. But it hit his jaw and he. was. MAD. He started crying and threw his glove on the ground and pointed his little finger at me and said, "This is YOUR fault!"
Knife in the heart.
But then we had a little talk about accidents and using kind words and trying to be tough. And I apologized of course (even though it was really HIS fault because he should've caught the ball--amiright?!?). Just kidding.
Kind of.
However, this incident led to him being scared of the ball for quite awhile. The good news is...........it was a team of 4 to 6 year olds. So the skill level wasn't extremely high. So him being scared of the ball didn't ever really matter in the big picture! He did eventually get over it and started to get a little better at catching the ball or stopping grounders.
His first game was bittersweet. Awesome to watch him do something I loved as a kid, something I know will help shape him as a person and something he was INCREDIBLY excited about. But sad that he's already old enough to be playing!
His last game was bittersweet too (isn't EVERYTHING bittersweet as a parent?!?). I feel like he's gotten so much bigger already! And he's definitely learned a LOT about tball!
I am so, SO glad we got him into t-ball. I feel like it (of course) helped his athletic skills but it also helped his social skills SO much. He interacted with all the kids much more than I thought he would and had so much fun. We can't wait until next year!
I'm SO glad it worked out. He had the time of his life. I was a little nervous on the first day of practice because he was the smallest kid on the team (it's 4 to 6 yr olds and I think he was the only 4 year old on there!). But he held his own!
Tommy LOVED his coach. My sister asked him who his best friend on the team was and he said, "Brian!" So funny. He liked him so much that there were a few times he was being ornery and I said, "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to have to tell Brian you can't play t-ball anymore." Worked like a charm.
They were such a fun team with some spunky little boys on it! It made me nervous for the day Tommy is 8 or 9 and wants 15 friends over for a birthday party. Because, MAN can those boys be rambunctious when they're all together. Trouble, trouble, trouble. But I loved it.
He did pretty good with hitting. He usually hit the ball on the first or second swing.
He had perfected the "stance." His coach (Brian) taught them to get into stance--with knees slightly bent and ready to catch/stop the ball. Tommy created what I like to call the "extreme stance." It's very.....special. And kinda looked like he was pooping on the field. But he was SO dedicated to that stance and worked it whenever he was on the field!
Catching........well, that's something we'll have to keep working on. I have to tell a story that's going to make me feel horrible, but..........
A few days after Tommy's first practice, I was in the front yard playing catch with him with a real baseball (you can see where this is going, right?). He kept putting his glove over his face and when I asked why, he said because he didn't want the ball to hit him. I assured him it wouldn't and he caught the next few balls okay. And then I threw it and it smacked him RIGHT in the face.
Oops.
Now, we were only a few feet apart and I put absolutely no effort into throwing it so it wasn't going very fast or hard. But it hit his jaw and he. was. MAD. He started crying and threw his glove on the ground and pointed his little finger at me and said, "This is YOUR fault!"
Knife in the heart.
But then we had a little talk about accidents and using kind words and trying to be tough. And I apologized of course (even though it was really HIS fault because he should've caught the ball--amiright?!?). Just kidding.
Kind of.
However, this incident led to him being scared of the ball for quite awhile. The good news is...........it was a team of 4 to 6 year olds. So the skill level wasn't extremely high. So him being scared of the ball didn't ever really matter in the big picture! He did eventually get over it and started to get a little better at catching the ball or stopping grounders.
His first game was bittersweet. Awesome to watch him do something I loved as a kid, something I know will help shape him as a person and something he was INCREDIBLY excited about. But sad that he's already old enough to be playing!
Can I just note that by the way his ankle is turned in the picture above, I can't believe he didn't break it!
I LOVE this little face!!
One last group huddle
I am so, SO glad we got him into t-ball. I feel like it (of course) helped his athletic skills but it also helped his social skills SO much. He interacted with all the kids much more than I thought he would and had so much fun. We can't wait until next year!
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