First Practice

We had our first practice last night! I went straight home and picked up Devin and the kids, who had everything ready! We had our big Anderson tote full of our bat, gloves, balls, snacks, papers I had for the parents, sunscreen and a mini first aid kit! We also had our little ice chest and our tee stand. We went and picked up Phil and headed to the fields. We found our field and headed to it. Everyone was on time and only two did not show, which we knew they wouldn’t. Lots of parents were out there and even brought extra family members with them! Devin rounded all 9 kids up and met the ones he hadn’t at the Parent’s Meeting and then we started! 5:30 means 5:30! They all went near the middle of the diamond and did warm ups. They stretched, touched their toes, did arm circles and then lined up at home to run the bases. They all ran together around twice. We then worked on them running all the bases individually and getting familiar with the name of the base. Talk about precious. Devin was at home and I was at 1^st and would make sure the kids touched the base and continued on. Everyone cheered on their teammate and high fived them as they got home. The kids ran their hardest and were so excited and proud as they ran to each one with everyone calling their name and cheering them home. I seriously love this age. I wanted to pick up and hug each kid and kiss their cheeks due to their adorableness. I was afraid that might seem awkward now, but give me a few weeks. Awkward or not, these babies are too cute to not! We then took a break and we opened the ice chest and let the kids get their mini bottled water. We also had a big tub of animal crackers for everyone. We will take the crackers and water to each practice for them. One less thing a parent has to worry about or I have to ask them for. We did make a signup sheet for parents to bring snacks and drinks to games and it is completely full. I was so thrilled. We appreciated them helping with that so much. After a 5 minute break, it was time to practice throwing! Devin had all the kids in the middle of the field and told them to move their arms like they were swimming. I had never thought of that! They were told to swim swim swim and then that is how they will move their arm to throw. They all got on one knee and threw him a ball. He helped any with form that needed it and actually all of them did really well! He then had them line up on the white line between third and home. Devin asked the kids to stand arms length apart. They were all huddled together lol it was cute. We shifted them down and everyone was set. Each child was given a ball and told to hold it and not throw it until he asked them to. Did you know, out of nine 3 and 4 year olds, in the whole 15 minutes we spent on this, only one ball was thrown before he told them to? One! That is impressive! He went down the line having each child throw the ball. They did great! Again, he reminded a few of their form and they did awesome! Once everyone had thrown theirs, they were told to run and grab a ball and run back to the line. They all grabbed a ball and we only had one kid cry thinking someone took his ball but everyone pointed to the last one left out there and he ran to get it. His teammates helped him! One little girl also handed Aikman a ball and then ran to get another one. It was sweet. A little boy named Caleb had quite an arm on him. Devin called him Rocket Man and he loved that! You could see the pride in his little face! We did that a few times and then it was another small break and then batting time! It looked like a storm was moving in, so it was overcast and not hot at all. I was so thankful for that! After a 5 minute break, we worked on batting!  Devin showed each child how to stand and had them do practice swings without a ball and then put the ball up there. He would tell them to make sure to wait until he told them to hit it and each child listened. I am telling you, we got a great bunch! The other kids were lined up by the back of the dugout and to the side and cheered for their teammate. As each kid batted, they would run to first and wait for the next kid to bat to advance. Just like they would in a game. A parent stood on each base to be able to help direct and cheer on the kids as they advanced. I was at home. We went through our entire team and everyone was high fived as they crossed the home plate! We will work on positions and stopping the balls next week, this week was just to learn basics and get to know everyone. I seriously couldn’t be more proud of all the kids! I got several hugs after and my girl Sirena even jumped in my arms! She is adorable!

The parents were so encouraging and very enthusiastic about their kids playing. I am so grateful for that. Everyone cheered and offered to help and take bases as needed. We really appreciated that. Devin was so sweet with the kids and they really enjoyed him. He made them laugh and really helped them and encouraged them. He taught them but made it fun! We had a little team huddle afterwards where he told everyone what a great job they had done and how proud he was of them. When he asked if they had fun, they all screamed “yes!” Mission accomplished. I did laugh a few times because sometimes Devin talks to them like they are adults. He was reminding them how we don’t play with the bats and how we only use them to hit the balls and not to play with. He said “we need to use caution when we have the bats and be aware of our surroundings.” That just made me smile. They all listened! I only had to tell two kids to not hit the dirt with the bats and that was it! They also never threw their bats after they batted. They set them down and then would run. Oh and the helmets they wear, stop yourself! They were insanely cute! These tiny bodies with these bulky helmets. Precious! We look forward to our next practice and next Saturday will be our first game! Eek!

Our only negative thing was there are no bathrooms nearby. We would have to walk across a huge field to the ones by the park or go in the Y, which is just as far. I told the parents that with kids our age, we will just have to let them go behind the trees out there if they need to. It will be harder for the girls, but we only have three so hopefully we can make it work. Every parent was on board with that! We get our jerseys Monday or Tuesday. The Y will call Devin and he will pick them up and then we can hand them out Thursday. Everyone said Devin did a great job and one of the dads was pretty impressed with him. I always am, but yesterday I was especially proud to call him mine. Something about seeing him with all the kids was so amazing. We left the fields so excited and looking forward to the season even more! I didn’t get any pics this time, but we will soon! Monks said he had a great time and he was too cute for words out there. He said he likes all his new friends on his team. Sweet boy. I told Devin as we ate dinner afterwards that I wanted to have a little party after the season. Like a pizza one or something. Guess what he said? “Oh yeah, I was planning on that.” My hubby planning a party? He really does enjoy this! Here’s to a great season! Go A’s!