Caleb played kid-pitch fall baseball this season. And since Caleb played fall ball, Sarah went to a lot of Caleb's practices and games throughout the season. She always brought her glove and wore her cleats to the games/practices and, thanks to some really great coaches, was often given the chance to warm up with the team. She loved being out there with her brother and all the other 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders.
On some of the weeknight games throughout the season, the team sometimes struggled to field a full lineup. As we got closer to the end of the season, after Sarah had become a mainstay of the pregame warmup, the coaches often joked that if they didn't get enough players for a game, they'd just put Sarah out there.
On October 22nd, in their next-to-last game of the season, the Alexandria-Potomac Little League Yankees only had eight players. And since Sarah had, yet again, brought her glove and wore her cleats (and wore one of Caleb's uniforms from a past season, to boot), the coaches asked her if she'd like to play right field. I don't think I need to tell you how she answered the question.
Sarah played right field for the first two innings and moved to left field for the final two innings. When she went out to play right field, one of the coaches told Sarah that the right fielder is responsible for backing up any throws toward the first baseman. Needless to say, for the first two innings, Sarah backed up any throws made to the first baseman.
Sarah was placed at the bottom of the lineup and in her two at-bats, she drew walks (remember, this is kid-pitch and Sarah just recently completed her first t-ball season). In fall ball, to give the kids a chance to work on their fielding, if a kid is walked, the coach comes in and gives them "soft toss" pitches to try to get the ball in play. In both of her at-bats, Sarah connected on her "soft toss" pitch, but got thrown out at first. The first base coach said that you wouldn't believe how big Sarah's smile was as she was running down the baseline after putting the ball in play.
And just when we thought it couldn't get any better for Sarah, it did. Sarah got the game ball for being the player who was the most focused defensive player on the team. And, since she had played a complete game as a player for the Alexandria-Potomac Little League Yankees, they gave her a hat to let her know she was part of the team.
As a parent, you develop mental pictures of your kids during different points of their childhood. Honestly, I think the picture of Sarah playing left field in her "baseball ready" stance is something that will always be etched into my memory.
On some of the weeknight games throughout the season, the team sometimes struggled to field a full lineup. As we got closer to the end of the season, after Sarah had become a mainstay of the pregame warmup, the coaches often joked that if they didn't get enough players for a game, they'd just put Sarah out there.
On October 22nd, in their next-to-last game of the season, the Alexandria-Potomac Little League Yankees only had eight players. And since Sarah had, yet again, brought her glove and wore her cleats (and wore one of Caleb's uniforms from a past season, to boot), the coaches asked her if she'd like to play right field. I don't think I need to tell you how she answered the question.
Sarah played right field for the first two innings and moved to left field for the final two innings. When she went out to play right field, one of the coaches told Sarah that the right fielder is responsible for backing up any throws toward the first baseman. Needless to say, for the first two innings, Sarah backed up any throws made to the first baseman.
Sarah was placed at the bottom of the lineup and in her two at-bats, she drew walks (remember, this is kid-pitch and Sarah just recently completed her first t-ball season). In fall ball, to give the kids a chance to work on their fielding, if a kid is walked, the coach comes in and gives them "soft toss" pitches to try to get the ball in play. In both of her at-bats, Sarah connected on her "soft toss" pitch, but got thrown out at first. The first base coach said that you wouldn't believe how big Sarah's smile was as she was running down the baseline after putting the ball in play.
And just when we thought it couldn't get any better for Sarah, it did. Sarah got the game ball for being the player who was the most focused defensive player on the team. And, since she had played a complete game as a player for the Alexandria-Potomac Little League Yankees, they gave her a hat to let her know she was part of the team.
As a parent, you develop mental pictures of your kids during different points of their childhood. Honestly, I think the picture of Sarah playing left field in her "baseball ready" stance is something that will always be etched into my memory.
RSS Feed