After work this evening I spent a couple of hours at my local ball park watching #3 son at baseball practice. Here in Washington, fall is a waaaaay better time of year for baseball than spring (I have spent countless spring days freezing and shivering, with an umbrella that is practically useless turning into a Mom-sicle at various baseball practices and games). Fall ball is more relaxed, more about honing skills and keeping them sharp, learning new stuff, trying out different positions... and this year, we went from being the oldest and biggest kid on the team to being the youngest and smallest (ah those age group jumps are killer). Ry's league age is 13 (he won't actually be 13 until January) so he's playing with the guys up to age 17. This presents a rather motley assortment of teenage boys...some have grown, some haven't. But, it's a team, and they do all work well together. This is my 10th year as a baseball mom...deliciously ironic if you enjoy that sort of thing. You see, I very much dislike baseball. Never watch it. HUGE football fan, but professional baseball bores me. Naturally, the sport my sons are interested in playing is baseball. (I grumble, but the truth is I like watching my kids play...but don't tell them, I want them to think it's a huge sacrifice for me to be there.)
I don't know if Ryan will play official Little League this year--he can play at his junior high and he wants to, so that may be his game from now on. He's not bad--been a first baseman two years now, and he was the starting first baseman this last Saturday (shocked me--he is the youngest and shortest on the team, but he did a great job). We're at a different level now--a lot of kids play on the select teams. Those have buy-ins of upwards of $3K and then you have to pay for travel during the season. Unfortunately, there's no way I can do that right now. It's bad enough that the bats for kids at his level are $200-$300 and have more engineering than the Space Shuttle. OK, that might be stretching it a bit, but seriously!! Remember when bats were either wooden or aluminum?
This weekend I'll be at yet another baseball game. We might win, we might lose...either way its another chapter in the sporting life of my son. I just hope that when he's older he remembers that his Mom loved him so much she got a major case of bleacher butt every season. Even though his sport of choice was baseball.
I don't know if Ryan will play official Little League this year--he can play at his junior high and he wants to, so that may be his game from now on. He's not bad--been a first baseman two years now, and he was the starting first baseman this last Saturday (shocked me--he is the youngest and shortest on the team, but he did a great job). We're at a different level now--a lot of kids play on the select teams. Those have buy-ins of upwards of $3K and then you have to pay for travel during the season. Unfortunately, there's no way I can do that right now. It's bad enough that the bats for kids at his level are $200-$300 and have more engineering than the Space Shuttle. OK, that might be stretching it a bit, but seriously!! Remember when bats were either wooden or aluminum?
This weekend I'll be at yet another baseball game. We might win, we might lose...either way its another chapter in the sporting life of my son. I just hope that when he's older he remembers that his Mom loved him so much she got a major case of bleacher butt every season. Even though his sport of choice was baseball.
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