Baseball

This year the boys were excited to play baseball and they all did very well! It was an interesting season, mainly because of the weather. We had so much rain that most of the first half of the season had to be made-up. This meant that we pretty much never left the baseball field when the weather was nice. The boys didn't mind though, they were anxious to get out and play. Tanner and Austin were troopers. They came to almost every game. Tanner didn't always want to be there, but I know Kaden, Trevor, and Devon were glad he was there!

Kaden was in live pitch this year. He was very excited to graduate into this league. Kaden had high hopes for this season. His coach told the team that this year wasn't about winning and that he would move them around to give them a chance to improve. Kaden was glad to hear that because he usually gets stuck out in the outfield because he is smaller than the other players. Unfortunately, for the first couple of games Kaden was put in the outfield and he got discouraged. We reminded him to do his best and work hard to show his coach how well he could play. Kaden did just that and was able to play second and third base occasionally. Kaden made some great outs at second!

We were always excited see Kaden in the infield. As a parent it is frustrating when you see your child not getting the same chances as the other kids. I know Kaden is small, but isn't that what little league is for, to give the kids a chance to learn and grow? Luckily, Kaden doesn't think that way. He always had a good attitude and we saw him improve this season. His throwing arm really improved this year. We are really proud of Kaden and we had a great time watching him play this year!

Trevor also started in a new league this year. He was in machine pitch on the bigger field. Trevor has been anxious to play in this league since he started baseball. He was excited to play with the big boys. Trevor's team was very young though. Many of the players were new to the league or had never played before. Trevor worked very hard. Many times after practice or a game you would find Trevor and Kaden (and sometimes Devon) out in the backyard practicing baseball.

Trevor often got to play third base. He is developing a really good arm. Throwing from third to first base was good for him. We saw Trevor improve a lot over the course of the season. Trevor is a fast runner, but he was a little hesitant at the beginning of the season. By the end he was able to overcome that tendency and really focus on getting to the base quickly. Trevor did a great job and we enjoyed cheering for him at every game.

Before the baseball season started I asked Devon if he wanted to play T-Ball this year. He enthusiastically told me yes and often talked about playing. When the day came to sign the boys up for baseball Chad asked Devon if he was going to play. Devon, of course, said yes. Chad was a little leery of Devon's answer though, because last year Devon played T-Ball and he just basically played in the sand the whole time. I assured Chad that Devon had been excited about playing, but just to be sure Chad reminded Devon that once signed up he had to play, even when he was tired, and he couldn't play in the sand, etc. I think this made Devon nervous because he quickly changed his mind and told Chad that he didn't want to play anymore. This made me nervous. I had a feeling that if we didn't sign Devon up he would want to play once the season started and his brothers were playing. I asked Devon several more times if he wanted to play and he kept saying no.

So what did we do? Well, we decided to sign him up anyway! To butter him back up to the idea of playing we bought him a "new" bat and helmet. The league has a yard sell of sorts during baseball sign-ups. People donate old equipment, then the league sells the equipment very cheap. All the money goes to benefit the league. Anyway, when we got home we told Devon we signed him up and gave him the bat and the helmet. Devon was a little unsure at first, but it didn't take him long to get excited again.

This year Devon was a very different player. He was one of the older kids on the team and he was really into the game. I don't think he played in the sand much, if at all! He used his "new" bat all season long. The bat had flames on it, so I think he thought it was a power bat! He did hit well with it though. Devon got to play in all the positions. He did really well at pitcher, 1st and catcher. Devon has a really good arm and he aims well. I think Devon's favorite position was catcher because he got to interact with the ball so much. It was fun to watch him! We really enjoyed watching Devon get into the game this year! We are excited for him to be in machine pitch next year.