C’s first t-ball game
Well, C’s Bulldogs team had their first official game last night. Since every player gets to bat in each inning (there were only 2 innings since the game is maximum of 1 hour), there is no official score keeper or score. However, after the game is snack time - so all the kids win!
This was the first time that C wore his uniform. His team has red shirts with Bulldogs written on them and blue and red hats. I got him some youth white baseball pants since Coach Scott wanted them all to wear white pants. Poor little C - the extra small youth pants were still too big for him. I ended up sewing a 1 inch pleat (folded material took up 2 inches) into the back waistband to make them fit. All the kids but 1 are taller than him - some by as much as 10 inches. I’m sure he will catch up. As B pointed out, C will be 5 next month and some of the kids are 6 or 7 years old.
At the start of the game was the announcement of the players and C ran out like a pro and stood with his coaches and team. Then came the national anthem and C stood still with the others for most of the music - at one point he turned and waved at Daddy.
C can really hit the ball! I was quite impressed. He also gently dropped the bat instead of throwing or swinging it hard when starting to run to 1st base. C knew his bases and followed the 1st and 3rd base coaches’ instructions. Once on 3rd base, C waved at me and called out “I love you!” Sweet boy!
All of this made up for his lack of enthusiasm in the outfield. C preferred to run from his place in the outfield to the second base and prevent the other team’s runners from getting on base. Not quite sure what that was all about. I told him that he was supposed to gather the t-ball into his glove and throw it to 1st base, but his only comment was that “running to the base was fun.” Coach Scott was really gentle about guiding C back to his position in the outfield.
All in all, I was really thrilled at C’s performance. He obeyed the coaches and was nice. At the end of the game, the teams lined up to “high five” each other. I don’t think C has ever seen this done and ended up playing with his hat instead. We’ll discuss it before the next game to help him mentally prepare.
This reminds me - about hats… The batter wears a helmet to bat and keeps it on throughout their run on the bases. C is so little, including his head that the hat he had on (over his baseball cap for extra filler in the helmet) still kept falling forward or backwards on his head and, of course, he liked to help it move forward and backwards. This was quite a distraction for him while on base. Today I took him to the sporting goods store and bought him a helmet that fits his little head. He loves it! C even wore it in the car tonight to go get tacos. I told him he could take it to rest time and bed time too. (When he finally fell asleep at rest time, he didn’t have it on. I guess he figured out that it wasn’t comfortable to sleep in.)
Little fella is growing up. He has an amazing throwing arm. A couple of days ago, B and I took the boys to the ball field to practice. I asked C to throw the ball to me and I had my glove ready. B told me to back up or I would get hit. I backed up a few steps and thought I was ready. I wasn’t. I realized that as the ball went sailing past me!
Another amazing thing… C is right handed and throws right handed. The little thing feels more comfortable batting left handed! It is a sight to see! The assistant coach set him up to bat the second inning and positioned him to bat right handed. C was quite awkward until the coach heard the audience yell to turn him around. The coach let C turn to bat left handed and Swing - Contact - Run! Go C!!!!!
For those of you reading this… when you see C in the major league, you can comment that you knew him when he was just a tot playing t-ball!