Porter played T-Ball this summer and Luke played baseball. Caden decided he wanted to play soccer, but not baseball. I pressed him several times on it (he has a good arm and some natural ability), but he would not budge. After the season started, he told me he wished he could play on a team like Luke. I told him he could have, but he had told me he was not interested. He disagreed...he was not interested in t-ball. It wasn't until then that I realized he thought he would have to play t-ball again and did not want to be hitting a ball off a tee. He wanted the real thing. I guess I didn't make that clear...oops. So, it looks like next year he will be back in baseball.
T-ball is one of my favorite things. There is no pressure. Just cute littles hitting off a tee and running bases. It's really quite adorable.
Luke wanted to play baseball this year, but it is possible it may not be his thing. Maybe he hasn't had enough practice. Maybe he doesn't want to put in the time it takes to become better. Maybe he just had a bad season.
David worked with Luke before the season began and he was gaining some confidence. Once the season started he lost all of it. David continued to work with him, but those sessions usually ended up with Luke not wanting to play and both dad and son frustrated.
Last year, Luke was on a coach pitch team and was able to hit the ball most times up to bat. This year it was player pitch. I got nervous every time Luke was up because most of these poor pitchers were terrible and I really wanted Luke to be able to hit one of those sporadic balls and gain some confidence. In the first 2 games he was hit in the head 3 times and dodged other balls. Needless to say, Luke was nervous whenever he was up to bat because he was "afraid of getting hit in the face". So much for confidence building. By the end of the season, he had struck out a couple of times, hit a couple of foul balls, but most of the time he was walked to first base. He never once hit a fair play ball. In fact, in his last game or two, he didn't make much of an effort to swing because he knew his chance of walking to first base was almost a guarantee if he just stood there and let the balls fly past.
It is exciting to watch our kids learn, grow and become good, better or successful at something. It is hard to watch them struggle. It is hard to watch them lose confidence in themselves. It is hard to watch them not meet their own expectations or desires. I recognize that our children will have discouragements, disappointments and failures and that we can't (and shouldn't) shield them from those. They have to learn how to handle those situations, pick themselves up, and move on from them. I have to admit there were times David and I wanted to tell Luke he didn't have to go to a practice or a game, but we wanted him to finish what he started, even if it was hard. So he finished. But he has made it clear that he doesn't want to play next year. We respect his decision, but I hope he won't always have a bad taste in his mouth when it comes to baseball. I hope, at the very least, that he can find joy in something more low-key...like playing catch in the comfort of our backyard.
T-ball is one of my favorite things. There is no pressure. Just cute littles hitting off a tee and running bases. It's really quite adorable.
Dodgers Team
Coach showing Porter how to position his feet.
A smile for mom on 3rd Base.
Outfield.
I love the corn in the background...I must be becoming a true Wisconsinite! Actually, all of us love the corn, kids included. We get a kick out of watching it grow. There is great excitement in May when it first peeks up out of the ground. The kids love when it rains because it helps the crops grow. As we drive around, there are always shouts in the car like, "Mom! Look how much the corn is growing!" or "Mom, check out those crops!" When we returned from Utah the kids were overjoyed that the corn had grown to over 6 feet while we were gone.
Here is when the corn was about as big as Porter.
Luke wanted to play baseball this year, but it is possible it may not be his thing. Maybe he hasn't had enough practice. Maybe he doesn't want to put in the time it takes to become better. Maybe he just had a bad season.
Team of the Tigers.
David worked with Luke before the season began and he was gaining some confidence. Once the season started he lost all of it. David continued to work with him, but those sessions usually ended up with Luke not wanting to play and both dad and son frustrated.
Last year, Luke was on a coach pitch team and was able to hit the ball most times up to bat. This year it was player pitch. I got nervous every time Luke was up because most of these poor pitchers were terrible and I really wanted Luke to be able to hit one of those sporadic balls and gain some confidence. In the first 2 games he was hit in the head 3 times and dodged other balls. Needless to say, Luke was nervous whenever he was up to bat because he was "afraid of getting hit in the face". So much for confidence building. By the end of the season, he had struck out a couple of times, hit a couple of foul balls, but most of the time he was walked to first base. He never once hit a fair play ball. In fact, in his last game or two, he didn't make much of an effort to swing because he knew his chance of walking to first base was almost a guarantee if he just stood there and let the balls fly past.
It is exciting to watch our kids learn, grow and become good, better or successful at something. It is hard to watch them struggle. It is hard to watch them lose confidence in themselves. It is hard to watch them not meet their own expectations or desires. I recognize that our children will have discouragements, disappointments and failures and that we can't (and shouldn't) shield them from those. They have to learn how to handle those situations, pick themselves up, and move on from them. I have to admit there were times David and I wanted to tell Luke he didn't have to go to a practice or a game, but we wanted him to finish what he started, even if it was hard. So he finished. But he has made it clear that he doesn't want to play next year. We respect his decision, but I hope he won't always have a bad taste in his mouth when it comes to baseball. I hope, at the very least, that he can find joy in something more low-key...like playing catch in the comfort of our backyard.
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