Of mice and men...

I feel like I should be starting this post as though I am confessing : Forgive me blog-readers for I have not blogged since SEPTEMBER!!!! Rest assured, many blog-worthy thoughts were forming, and many conversations on sidelines had me inspired to write many, many posts....they just never came into being!

Since last posting, we have completed the little-guy's season in winter-ball pinto, which was a great time. The feeling of switching gears when you have just FINISHED Pinto, and moved up to Mustang with one child, but then being able to take yourself back to simpler-younger baseball is odd, but nice too! The frequent complaint of parents at the Mustang level is that the games are long, and rather drawn-out as you watch the kids learning how to pitch, throwing more balls than strikes.....Not the case in Pinto, where the games can be filled with excitement! Also, I was noticing how I felt as though I had done this before, and even during the intense week leading up to the turkey tournament, I felt I handled the "parental stress" aspect in a very different way this time around! During my oldest's first year doing tournaments and all stars, I honestly thought I needed prescription-medication to get me through the waves of emotion whenever he got up to bat, or the ball was in his part of the field! With Kid #2, I have to confess that all though I was elated at successful plays, good sportsmanship and all the other positives of the game, I was much better able to say "oh well, next time!" at the down-sides of the game! I was much more able to joyously embrace the wonderful experience it had been for my son to play in a tournament (finally it was his turn too!), and not feel disapointment on his behalf for any on-the-field areas where perfomance had been lacking!

We are now also in the "final frontier" of travelball, and getting all set for our "big tournament"....this is the only one where TRAVEL is actually involved!
 On a side note here, I LOVE the way our travel ball team really doesn't travel far. I sometimes wish they would have different names for teams such as ours, so that people not in the same baseball circles could diffrentiate at the level of craziness we were involved in! What I mean by this is: Our team, in my opinion, has good balance - we practise moderately - not too much, not too little. We have local games, and enter local tournaments, and gain good play experience WITHOUT leaving the state or even the county on a regular basis. In my opinion, all of this is definately age-appropriate expectations.......on the flipside, I have heard stories of other teams where they do some SERIOUS travel. Airplanes, roadtrips to destinations, big-deal tournaments out of state, the whole nine yards. As well as not fully understanding how one funds such amazing-ness for just ONE child out of the family, I have to wonder if such an overwhelming amount of "big deal" is counter-productive in one so young, possibly resulting in burn-out rather than a love of the game.....
 As I was saying.....our "big" tounament is approaching, and our family is very excited about the experience! Watching our team journey along, learning, learning, learning is SUCH a neat thing to be a part of. I realise how each of our players has different parts of their game where they either have taken to it like a duck to water, or it's just not working for them...YET. The game has changed from the one they played at Pinto, and now there is more work involved! As with everything in the world of a nine year old, work isn't always what they feel like doing but still we press on! What I observe as they learn, is that the penny seems to drop at different, un-predictable moments with each of them. For some, hitting has been rough - the ball now is un-predictable, and maybe you're going to get hit. They each approach this a different way......for some they've been hit and just don't care, for others they will do what they can to AVOID getting hit, sometimes at their own expense (they don't make contact), for others it's more a confidence thing, and with each pitch that they successfully hit their confidence increases, and all of a sudden their hitting improves. It's been neat too, watching developments in their pitching. Kids who could pitch one inning can now pitch for longer. More strikes are coming across the plate, and balls are at least close to the strike zone. Also watching their ability to handle themselves when maybe there suddenly seems to be issues getting that last out of an inning. All these things in their learning curve are GREAT to be a part of.
 With Spring season fast approaching, I am sure there will be some interesting things to blog about! In the Spring, once more the balance will be tipped - new teams will form, different combinations of personailties will pour out onto the fields! Coach-friends will become friendly-rivals, kids we're buddies with could be on the "other team". I believe we are approximately a month away. What it shall bring, who knows.......my goal.....that my kids further their skills, and at the end of the season they still love the game!