The kids are playing T-ball with West Portage Little League (WPLL).
And we are so excited...
The kids are loving being out in the field with friends, wearing their new helmets and gloves. Jeremy is loving the fact they are in a team sport. I am loving that it's something I watched Kevin Arnold do and now my kids are stepping up to the plate and taking their turn to hit the ball out of the ball park (well they don't always hit it and when they do it usually just goes a few feet but it's early days!).
It's not all plain sailing though. Our sensitive 5 year old has fears she needs to conquer.
Fear of doing the wrong thing. Fear of being in the wrong place. Fear of the unknown. Fear of doing something new.
It breaks my heart because it's exactly what I went through (and still do at times) when I was a kid. As I sit on that bench, realising how the situation is unfolding, seeing the fear in her eyes, watching her face crumple and the tears start to flow. It makes me want to bundle her up and take her home. But this is good for her. She needs to learn that she can survive if she just asks for help. So I am trying to stay in my seat and let her figure it out.
I am hoping the coach will see the reward of spending a few minutes with her, building up her confidence, because when my daughter does something she loves she radiates that happiness. Her joy overflows and she is like a completely different person.
Toby is so different. He is still my baby and loves his snuggles but out on that field he is in his element. Jumping up and down in excitement. Bounding over the bases. Getting frustrated when he doesn't catch the ball! I can see a competitive streak in him, a desire to please and a desire to win. We'll see how that pans out over the next few years!
The kids are loving being out in the field with friends, wearing their new helmets and gloves. Jeremy is loving the fact they are in a team sport. I am loving that it's something I watched Kevin Arnold do and now my kids are stepping up to the plate and taking their turn to hit the ball out of the ball park (well they don't always hit it and when they do it usually just goes a few feet but it's early days!).
It's not all plain sailing though. Our sensitive 5 year old has fears she needs to conquer.
Fear of doing the wrong thing. Fear of being in the wrong place. Fear of the unknown. Fear of doing something new.
It breaks my heart because it's exactly what I went through (and still do at times) when I was a kid. As I sit on that bench, realising how the situation is unfolding, seeing the fear in her eyes, watching her face crumple and the tears start to flow. It makes me want to bundle her up and take her home. But this is good for her. She needs to learn that she can survive if she just asks for help. So I am trying to stay in my seat and let her figure it out.
I am hoping the coach will see the reward of spending a few minutes with her, building up her confidence, because when my daughter does something she loves she radiates that happiness. Her joy overflows and she is like a completely different person.
Toby is so different. He is still my baby and loves his snuggles but out on that field he is in his element. Jumping up and down in excitement. Bounding over the bases. Getting frustrated when he doesn't catch the ball! I can see a competitive streak in him, a desire to please and a desire to win. We'll see how that pans out over the next few years!
They had 3 or 4 practice sessions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and their first game was Saturday. We've had cold and windy practices but the sun was out and it was glorious weather for their first game.
I felt like half of Portage was there. It was a lot of fun just seeing a lot of our friends sitting on the bleachers, cheering on their kids and their teams.
We arrived with the kids in their new team shirts - they are numbers 6 and 7 (size 'small child' looks like a dress on Toby!), the team gathered round to decide on a name - Jaguars - and so began their first game of the season.
We sat in the bleachers cheering them on and trying to stay out of the way.
I cringed when Charlotte ran straight for the first base on her first turn and managed to take out one of the other teams' players! Whoops! Poor kid! But that was the first and last incident and from then on we enjoyed watching the kids batting, running and standing out in the field waiting to catch the ball.
At T-ball level, it is not supposed to be competitive. No kid is run or caught out. There are no winners or losers. Just 26 kids out on the field having fun and learning a whole load of new skills. At this level it is all new to the parents and the kids.
We love our coach - he is really good with the kids and is encouraging them without pushing them too much.
At the end of the match, all of the kids from both teams line up to give each other high-fives.
Happy days! Go team Jaguars!
I felt like half of Portage was there. It was a lot of fun just seeing a lot of our friends sitting on the bleachers, cheering on their kids and their teams.
We arrived with the kids in their new team shirts - they are numbers 6 and 7 (size 'small child' looks like a dress on Toby!), the team gathered round to decide on a name - Jaguars - and so began their first game of the season.
We sat in the bleachers cheering them on and trying to stay out of the way.
I cringed when Charlotte ran straight for the first base on her first turn and managed to take out one of the other teams' players! Whoops! Poor kid! But that was the first and last incident and from then on we enjoyed watching the kids batting, running and standing out in the field waiting to catch the ball.
At T-ball level, it is not supposed to be competitive. No kid is run or caught out. There are no winners or losers. Just 26 kids out on the field having fun and learning a whole load of new skills. At this level it is all new to the parents and the kids.
We love our coach - he is really good with the kids and is encouraging them without pushing them too much.
At the end of the match, all of the kids from both teams line up to give each other high-fives.
Happy days! Go team Jaguars!
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