D's Notebook

Tag: softball

Spring Sports

May 19, 2016 /

You know what you all need? You all need a damned spring sports update, that’s what you need!

Kickball

This was our first season with two kickballers. Which made for all kinds of scheduling fun, believe me. Fortunately, thanks to having friends on both teams, the girls always got to all of their games, even if S or I couldn’t be there.

M had her best season yet. She was very excited that, since no St. P’s sixth graders were playing this spring, they put all the fifth graders on one team. It wasn’t really an A team – their division had quite an assortment of talent – but she liked to think she was finally on an A team.

The night of M’s first game, I was keeping score at C’s game. The coach who was giving M a ride was supposed to call me when they got back to her house. When she called, we were in the middle of an inning, having a discussion with the umpire about the run rule, so I let it go to voicemail. About 10 seconds later, my phone rings again. This time it was M’s head coach. Why would she be calling right after the other coach called? I had a moment of panic as I swiped to answer, worried that M was hurt.

“Hey, this is K. I was just calling to let you know…that M had the best game of her life tonight!”

My heart leaped, dropped, then leaped again. The coach went on to tell me that M kicked the ball over the outfielders’ heads twice and made three great defensive plays. Afterward, M told her coach, “I wish my dad was here to see it!”

Yep, it was a little tough keeping score the next half inning.

M continued to have a great season. She kicked better, and harder, than she’s ever kicked before. She often played Suicide, the spot next to the pitcher that has to be ready to field hard-kicked balls quickly. She threw out girls at first from deep down the third base line. She even caught a few popups, which she had never done before.

Her team did well. As I said, their division was rather interesting. There was one team that was almost all sixth graders. Another team had mostly fourth graders. M’s team lost just two games, both to the mostly sixth grade team, both times by two runs. In the second game they had a five run lead with two innings to play and let it get away. Their best kicker came up in the last inning with the bases loaded, and two outs, and made her only infield out of the year to end the game. Those two games were a lot of fun to watch. Where C’s games often took as long as 90 minutes, these two were both done in about 35 minutes. When the girls understand how to play defense to changes everything.

Then they also beat the poor team with fourth graders by 52 runs one night. In just five innings.

But the girls had fun. And I think Meghan enjoyed it more than every since she contributed so much more than in the past.

C had a good season, too. The third graders are mixed with fourth graders in the spring, so the games aren’t complete disasters as they learn how to play, and she got three of the best St. P’s fourth graders on her team. When they won, they won big. I think they run-ruled three different teams. But when they lost, it was always in frustrating manner. They lost four games, all by one or two runs, every time falling behind/losing in the last inning.

C’s performance fit her personality perfectly. Offensively, she was really good. She can kick the crap out of the ball, then fly down the line. Her problem was she often popped the ball up and the defense would catch it. But when she got on base, she almost always scored, as her coach usually had her kick right before the fourth grader who usually kicked 2–3 home runs a game.

In the field, C was kind of a spazz. If the ball was kicked to her, she was never sure what to do with it. Throw it to first? To the pitcher? To the nearest base? You could see her panicking as she faked herself out by considering every option. Then, after she got rid of the ball, she would turn, flip her hair, and act like nothing happened. Like I said, kind of spazz. Most of the first-year players struggle with that part of the game, so she was not alone.

She finished off her season well. In her last at bat of the year, she came up with the bases loaded, kicked the shit out of the ball, and got a grand slam. The first official B girl kickball home run![1]

My favorite part about that kick was her previous time on base, she scored from first and clearly missed touching third. I was keeping score and stand right behind third base. After the next pitch, I called her over and whispered, “Nice running! Make sure you touch the bases, though. You missed third.” She nodded and got back in order. She most definitely did not touch third on her grand slam, but luckily neither the other team, their scorekeeper, nor the umpire noticed.

Soccer

L is again in the U8 league, again often playing against bigger kids. And she’s had another good year personally. But there was some turnover on her team’s roster. The two kids she played best with decided to play baseball and softball this spring, so for the first time in three seasons she was without them. The good side of that was they were replaced by St. P’s kids; seven of the eight on the team are first graders together. That meant there was a lot of silliness during games. And losing those two good players hurt the team. L had only lost one soccer game in her life coming into this season. With one game left to play, they’ve lost at least four times this year. Last year she and those other kids worked really well together. One would draw the defense and pass away to an open teammate. I’m not sure this year’s team has made more than five intentional passes all season. They all just put their heads down and barrel toward the goal.

She’s continued her goal-scoring. She has scored at least two in every game. One game she had 7 or 8. She is still really good at controlling the ball and at taking it away and then getting it up the field. But the second graders seem a little bigger this spring than they were in the fall, and her entire team has struggled at times to match up physically. Last Sunday they were getting shoved all over the place. L scored two goals but no one else could get close to the box.

After that game, during the handshake line, we noticed the other coach said something to L. We asked her what afterward and she said “She asked me where I went to school.” Was the coach just interested? Did she recognize L from somewhere? Or was she recruiting? I was taking pictures during the line and had to laugh when I was editing them because there is a series where that coach is clearly talking to L while she’s shaking other kids’ hands.

Softball

C is in her second season of softball. As expected, with the move up to kids pitch, it’s been a struggle. She can still hit the ball pretty well when she makes contact. But that contact part has been tough.

It’s not necessarily because of the speed of the pitches. I think it has more to do with the wildness that comes with kids pitch. One pitch is over your head, the next bounces home, then the third is right down the middle. I think C has had a hard time staying locked in when so many pitches aren’t worth considering. If you get to ball four, the coach comes in to pitch. All but one of her hits this year have come off the coach. She’s also got in a bad habit of bailing out on any pitch that is close to inside. She’s been called out on strikes several times this year when she’s had her front foot out of the batter’s box as she stepped away from the pitch.

On defense she’s spent most of her time in the outfield, so she hasn’t seen a lot of action. She’s complained to me about that, but when she’s been given a chance to play third or shortstop, she’s not always paid the closest attention to the game and let a few balls get by her.

Compounding all this is her team’s record: they haven’t won a game yet. A week ago they tied, with C standing on third with the winning run and one out but unable to get home. We had hit the time limit and it was about to start pouring, so we ended the game knotted up at 9–9. One lousy hit and C scores the winning run. She was excited about the possibility.

“Dad! I could have won the game!”

Monday she got a hit and stole second. She was standing there, not really paying attention, and missed a chance to steal third.[2] After another passed ball she took off. Most teams don’t try to throw out the runner but this catcher pounced on the ball and made a really good throw to third. C was two steps away from the base but saw the third baseman reaching for the throw, so she turned around and ran all the way back to second. At least she’s fast.

She’s not been thrilled with this season. She’s not getting hits, she doesn’t like the long innings in the outfield, there’s only one St. P’s girl on her team, and losing sucks. She’s already told us she doesn’t want to play again. She wants to continue to run cross country in the fall, start track next spring, and do kickball both seasons. We’re fine with her sticking to CYO sports with their three-week seasons. But wish we wouldn’t have invested in a nice helmet for her before this season began. Oh well…

  1. M, as you may recall, had a “home run” last year when she bunted, the Suicide booted the ball 20 feet behind home plate, and M circled the bases before the defense could retrieve it.  ↩
  2. In this league, you can steal but only if the ball gets by the catcher.  ↩

(Near) Brush With Celebrity

April 29, 2016 /

I’ll run through a whole spring sports roundup next week. But one quick, funny story worth sharing now.

Wednesday L had soccer practice and C had a softball game at the same time, at the same complex. I dropped C off at her diamond, walked L over to her field, and then returned to the softball side and dropped my chair beyond the left field fence. The girls were still warming up and I heard a group from the other team talking, in excited, high-pitched voices, about something that had to do with the Indiana Pacers. I couldn’t quite get the details, though, so forgot about it.

The game began, C’s team batted first and scored a run. In the bottom of the first, she ran out to her spot in centerfield. She saw where I was sitting and kept going until she reached the fence in front of me. She had a huge smile on her face and her eyes were wide. Something had her wound up.

“Dad!” she said. “Monte Ellis is here watching his son play baseball! He signed the jerseys of the other team. YOU HAVE TO GO GET SOMETHING SIGNED FOR ME!”

And then she ran back to her spot.

I just shook my head. The kid has never watched a Pacers game. She has no idea who Monte Ellis is. But she heard other girls got his autograph and wanted one for herself. Which I had to laugh at.

Later I found out that Ellis indeed was a couple diamonds over. A dad I know from St. P’s said his son played Ellis’ son’s team and Ellis signed autographs for all the kids that came over between innings.

Which is pretty cool. Especially given what happened to the Pacers Tuesday night.

I’ve paid almost no attention to the Pacers this year. I bet I’ve watched a total of 60 minutes of their games. Seems like every time I turned on their games they were blowing a lead at the end. So I hadn’t developed any strong feelings about Ellis, who was their big free agent signing last summer. But based on how he handled a bunch of annoying kids the day after a crushing loss, he’s now one of my very favorite Pacers.

Silly Season Begins

April 13, 2016 /

Our spring sports season begins today. M and C both have their first kickball games, while L has a soccer practice. All at the same time. At three different locations. This is my life on Wednesdays for the next month. C is also playing softball, so there are a couple nights where she has both a kickball and softball game. Fortunately that happens just twice so she can miss one of each and we won’t offend either coach too much.

M is excited about her fifth season of kickball. No St. P’s sixth graders are playing, and they like to keep the teams big in the spring since so many girls are playing multiple sports. So she’s on the A team, and it is made up entirely of her grade-mates.

This is C’s first season of kickball. She wasn’t that excited about playing, but we talked her into playing this year since she’ll probably run track next spring.[1] I haven’t watched her practice but she says she’s doing well and enjoying it. They mix fourth and third graders in the spring so the third graders can play with girls who already know the rules and understand the game a little.

Her first softball game is this coming Monday. She moves up to kid pitch this year. She’s only been to two practices because of weather issues and our spring break, but in those practices she was still smacking the ball pretty well. She struggles a bit in the field. I really should work with her more on that. But she’s kind of like Ted Williams: she thinks about hitting all the time and would be perfectly fine if she never had to make a play in the field.

And L is on a soccer team that has eight first graders from St. P’s. Practices so far have been a big goofball fest as they all mess around the entire time. There’s one poor kid who goes to a different school stuck with this group. Fortunately, he looks like a pretty good player, so I’m sure they’ll adopt him without any issues. Her season begins on Sunday.

Next week is when we really get busy. Monday we have kickball and softball games at the same time. Tuesday is open. Wednesday we have kickball practice, a kickball game, and a soccer game. Thursday we have a kickball game. Friday we have a kickball game and softball practice. Saturday we have a softball game. And Sunday we have a soccer game. Then repeat through the first week of May when we hit the kickball tournaments and things should calm down a little. Fortunately I will have a lot of help from grandparents, aunts, and other parents so as long as I keep organized, every girl should get to every event on time.

As for baseball, I eased into this season. I was ready for it to begin, but there was also a part of me that didn’t want to give up on the winter of the Royals being World Series champs. Throw in us being out-of-town and the Royals odd scheduled the first week, and it was easy to put off jumping into the new year.

I watched the last 3–4 innings of opening night on ESPN, but didn’t renew my MLB.TV subscription until this Monday, so the next four games I only followed casually via Yahoo. But the last two nights I’ve listened to the game through the early innings, then turned the TV on once the girls are in bed. I feel those familiar summer rhythms rippling below the surface, ready to break through and carry me across the warm months.

As I told a few friends, I’ve had weird flashbacks to October as I’ve watched games the last two nights. Eric Hosmer hit a liner down the left field line Monday night. It hugged the ground and never threatened the wall, but when they showed the replays, all I could think of was his double in the ninth inning of game five of the World Series, the hit that turned the tide of the game.

A few of the faces are different – Johnny Cueto, Ben Zobrist, and Alex Rios are gone; Omar Infante is back after missing the postseason; Reymond Fuentes is new – but the team still has that vibe that they will always get things done. I’m glad they’re back.

And I have faith in them this year, which surely is a bad sign. Last year I didn’t think they would have the pitching to get back to the postseason, even with better offensive seasons from several players. Shows what I know.

I still think their starting rotation is very shaky. But if I’ve learned one thing the last two years, you never doubt this team. That Royals Devil Magic works all summer, not just in September and October.[2]

The Royals will win the AL Central, but with fewer wins this year. Let’s say 89–90. When the playoffs begin, Toronto or Texas or Houston will be the favorites. But the Royals will get hot at the right time and win their third-straight AL pennant.

It’s an even year, which means the San Francisco Giants have to win the World Series, right? They put off the Chicago Cubs dynasty one more year and get through to face the Royals for the second time in three years. Volquez beats Bumgarner in game one, the Royals crush Cueto in game two, and they finish up the sweep with a complete game, two-hitter by Chris Young.

Mark it down.

  1. CYO track begins in fourth grade.  ↩
  2. And November!  ↩

Change of Seasons

June 17, 2015 /

The Stanley Cup playoffs ended Monday night and the NBA Finals wrapped up last night.1 Winter sports are finally over! Our family’s sports are in transition, too.

Softball finally came to an end last week, albeit an earlier-than-expected one. C.’s team dropped their opening game of the tournament by four runs. They were down by 10 runs early, cut it to one in the 5th, but had the wrong part of the lineup up in the 6th and couldn’t get over the hump. It was a bummer because they had pounded the team they lost to two of the three times they played in the regular season. But, to be honest, I think a lot of the parents were not too upset that the season ended.

C. had a mixed night, too. She went 3-6 the three strikeouts. But she made two fine plays in the field. On one, she was playing third and the pitcher’s helper threw her the ball trying to get a force out. C. got her foot on the bag, stretched for the throw, and somehow hung onto it. After the umpire signaled “Out,” C. looked around it utter, delighted, disbelief that she had held onto the ball.

She really enjoyed playing her first year of softball. I didn’t start keeping track of her hitting stats until several games into the season, but by my unofficial count, she went 34-44 over the last two-thirds of the season. She had a 17 at-bat streak without making an out. She had a 6-7 game. She began the year deep into the lineup and ended the year hitting cleanup. Not bad for never having played before.

Two nights later the girls had their first swim meet of the year, an intrasquad meet to get times in the book for putting kids in the proper heats going forward. L. won two of her races, and would have won the backstroke too if she hadn’t stopped three times and looked to see how far she had to go. But winning is relative in Under 6; she may have had a year on some of the kids she swam against.

M. and C. are in the same age group this year. With only their team on the deck, that presented chances for them to swim against and with each other. In the butterfly, they were in the same heat with one lane between them. When they realized they would be swimming against each other, M. got a goofy grin on her face and C. started talking smack about how she was going to beat her big sister. In her eagerness, C. jumped in well before the starting beep. She didn’t hesitate, though, and built a quick lead on M. even as the other two swimmers left them behind. M. slowly closed the distance and they touched the wall together. A tie for last! Good times!

The girls also swam, together in the freestyle relay. M. led off with C. second. As M. approached the wall, C. waved her arms for her to swim faster. Then, when M. touched, C. just stood there and talked to her. After about five seconds she realized she had to swim, too, and jumped in. Fortunately legs three and four were fast girls and they salvaged third place.

Our first real meet is tomorrow, weather permitting. And Mother Nature has been kind of a bitch lately, so odds are it will either storm and rain the meet out, or be oppressively hot and humid. Or both.

  1. Doesn’t hockey start training camp in another week or so? ↩

Summer Begins

June 4, 2015 /

Day one of summer! It’s right at 8:00 as I start this. Two of the girls beat me out of bed, despite letting them stay up late and being told to sleep in, but one is still zonked out. Of course, we could still hear noise from that one’s room after 10:00 last night. I, happily, slept in until the time we would normally be walking out the door for the trip to St. P’s. And since Thursday is not a morning swim practice day, we get to lounge around for the first part of the day.[1]

So why, the question has been posed often over the past couple weeks, are our girls out of school so late? Especially since we’re still on a traditional schedule, rather than a balanced one. We started at roughly the same time last August as kids who have been out for a week or longer. Looking back at the calendar, we had a few extra Mondays off that public schools did not have. And there was a long weekend in February that was built into the schedule to make up snow days before Spring Break. But we had zero snow days this year. So that’s why our girls are out a full week after the neighbor kids.

At the end of every school year, I read through the girls’ report cards and say, with much enthusiasm, “Oh thank goodness, you passed!” For some reason they don’t think this is very funny. Which guarantees I will continue to do it each June.

I think all three had really good years. L. LOVED her first year at St. P’s. She loved her teachers, her friends, getting up in the morning and getting ready for school, Sunday nights because going back to school was one overnight away, etc. From talking to other parents who help out at recess, she is always in charge of games and spends just as much time with the boys as the girls. St. P’s doesn’t have a student council, but it did, I’d guarantee right now that L. would be class president one day.

One more funny note about her I can share now that the academic year has ended. Her teacher was new to St. P’s this year. At an early kickball practice the fourth graders got an sneak look at her before the rest of the school. When we picked M. up, she said to L., “I saw your new teacher. She is soooo pretty!” Turned out her teacher was indeed pretty. And about 15 years younger than I am. At some point early in the school year, L. told me that if anything ever happened to S., she would want me to marry her teacher. I told her not to repeat that at school. That’s how dangerous rumors get started. Which S. would just laugh at. But still, better to knock that shit down before my library shifts came with whispers that I’m the dad who wanted to marry Ms. H.

C. had a solid year, too. Her grades reflect her personality perfectly. They’re generally good, but kind of drift as her attention drifts. We know that she has been extra nice to a couple girls in her class who need a little help in school. She’s a friend to just about everyone, although we’re beginning to see some separation between her and the boys in her class. She’s getting more artistic every day, did terrific with math, and loves to read.

And M. had a tremendous end to her year. Her grades had been very good every quarter, especially back in the first quarter. But each quarter she had one grade that was relatively poor. She struggled with math a couple quarters. She blew one assignment in science and social studies in different quarters that pulled those grades down. But this quarter she rocked it. She missed one point total in both social studies and vocabulary. With one exception, all her grades were above 95%.[2] And she worked hard and kept her math grade above 90% as well. We were very proud of her work to end the year.

I think school sports were good for her, too. It really pulled that whole group of girls together. It’s nice that they’re all super close for just a while before they begin separating into groups.

Oh, and while we were leaving C.’s softball game the other night, a boy from M.’s class who was one field over was yelling goodbye to her as we left. Her cheeks got rosy and she had a weird look on her face. She did not respond. Now, I have no idea if he was just being silly, or if he wanted her to notice him. She’s shown no outward interest in boys. But it’s right around the corner. Shit.

So good academic years all around. The girls swam for the first time with their new team last night. Summer has begun.

Which is exactly what I need. My motivation to do pretty much anything dried up about three weeks ago.  ↩

That’s what you need for an A these days. Am I remembering wrong, but wasn’t it 90% and above to get A’s when we were growing up?  ↩

June???

June 1, 2015 /

Jeez. Another month that just flew by.

Games, practices, birthdays, the first couple lake weekends of the year. And the winding down of the school year. Cram it all into a 31-day stretch and we’re turning the calendar seemingly moments after we last did so.

L. wrapped up soccer yesterday. She enjoyed this season, but also developed some bad habits that were inevitable when she was, at times, playing against four-year-olds. Both she and we are glad that she’ll be moving up to U8 in the fall.

Her coach also coaches a U8 team and had her play with them in their final game of the season a week ago. She hung right in there, showing no fear against one kid that was much bigger than her.[1] When he had the ball, she dove in and tried to steal it. When he tried to stop her, she moved her body and tried to work around him. This was her first time playing against a goalie, so the couple times she got near the goal, she often shot from too-far out and the balls either went wide or were easily collected. She also made some great passes to space where other teammates could collect them. Late in her second quarter, she got the ball just inside midfield and took a mighty kick. It wasn’t a terrible shot as there was no one between her and the goal. And the goalie just happened to be staring at his belly-button.[2] Unfortunately the ball slid just wide of the goal. There was a gasp among the parents as they realized the tiniest kid on the field might kick it in from 40 feet away. In her final period, she got to play goalie, which she’s never done before. She came charging out when the best player on the other team had the ball and he whistled a shot over her shoulder and into the goal. But she handled a couple other loose balls well and made quick throws downfield that got her offense going. She had a lot of fun that night.

C. still has at least five softball games left. We’ve been rained out two of the last three weekends, plus did not play over Memorial Day weekend. So she got a bit rusty. After going through a five game stretch where she reached base 19-straight times, she took the collar and struck out in all three at bats last Tuesday. She was very upset after the game. We worked a lot over the weekend and she was back to smacking the ball over my head. Knock-on-wood she’s able to do that again tomorrow night.

I believe I mentioned a week or so back that M. has declared that she wants to run cross country in the fall. We pulled out good, old Google Maps over the weekend and plotted a couple courses through the neighborhood that she can begin run/walking with us. Her aunt and uncle just happen to live exactly a half mile away. So if we can get her able to run there-and-back she should be in good shape to begin practice in August and work up to the 1.8 miles she’ll need to be able to run in September. Of course, this is all theoretical at this point. She may hate it once we’re forcing her to run and yelling at her when she whines about being tired.

Memorial Day weekend was our first, full lake weekend. Gorgeous weather, good friends joining us, and a generally successful start to the summer season.

Now we’re in the final countdown of the school year. The girls get out at 11:00 am Wednesday. Today is desk cleaning day, tomorrow is field day, and I think there is a lot of movie watching in between. The girls keep asking why they get out a week after just about everybody else, both public and Catholic schools, around us. It’s those damn random Mondays we get off throughout the year, plus the mini-break that’s built into February to make up snow days before spring break. While the other kids on their swim team are in the pool this morning at the first practice, they will have to wait either until tonight’s session or Thursday morning. It all depends what the weather is like this evening.

Anyway, it’s June. Which is freaking hard to believe. We’ve been working on a list of things to do over the summer to keep us busy. The girls have been calling it their Summer Bucket List, which makes me laugh a little bit. I guess they are things we want to do before the summer dies, so that name seems appropriate.

This kid was a normal-sized 8-year-old. When our coach told a couple of his smaller kids to “stay close to the tall kid,” he turned and said, “Hey! I’m not tall!” I think we just taught him a valuable lesson about perspective!  ↩

Literally. He had his jersey pulled up and was picking at his navel.  ↩

Game Balls

April 22, 2015 /

I haven’t kept many mementos from my childhood sports days. There are a few stats sheets and participation patches hidden away in a box in the basement. But all my trophies were tossed out long ago. Nor are there any old uniforms or hats crammed into a cedar chest somewhere as reminders of my pre-high school sports glory days.

Among a group of six baseballs I have tucked into a drawer in our dresser, though, I do have two game balls that I saved from my YMCA/Little League days.[1]

One is dated June 24, 1981, a few days after I turned 10, with the notation “Cards 1st Win” inked onto it. I was catching that day, and in the last inning I took a throw from the outfield just before being absolutely drilled by a runner who was attempting to tie the game. I held on for the third out and, apparently, our first win of the year. I remember laying on the ground for several minutes after the collision, the wind having been knocked out of me, and gripping the ball as tightly as I could. I think my coach awarded it to me as much for my refusal to let it go as for making the play at the plate.

 

IMG 3722

The other ball is from three years later, June 4, 1984. This one reads “3 Great Catches. Won 25–8,” and is then signed by the rest of my team. I mostly played center field that year, and remember making one Lorenzo Cain-like catch in the game, running deep into left-center and backhanding a ball just before it hit the fence. I know I also made a catch running at full speed toward the infield and diving at the last second to collect a shallow pop. The third catch? Lost in time.[2] Clearly, given the final score, those catches were the difference between a win and a loss that day!

Why have I saved these balls for over 30 years when I’ve thrown away almost all other artifacts of my childhood sports career? I’m not really sure. Perhaps because of the power that a baseball holds over anyone that grows up loving the sport. There is something sacred about that leather-covered orb. Whether you catch a foul ball at a big league game, or are presented the game ball after your U–11 game, once you get ahold of a baseball you never want to let it go. It is a direct connection to George Brett and Nolan Ryan, Barry Bonds and Pedro Martinez, or Alex Gordon and Clayton Kershaw.

The game balls have rarely been moved in the seven or eight years since we purchased our dresser. I don’t think I’ve ever showed them to the girls, either. Probably out of fear that they’ll hunt them down and mess them up. They just sit there and take up space, pushed aside when I’m looking for the pill bottles the girls baby teeth are stored in, or looking for collar stays when I put on a dress shirt. But it seems wrong to ever throw them away.

There’s a too-much-about-me prologue to the real purpose of this post: C. earned her first-ever game ball last night; a first for all of the girls, actually.

Her softball season got off to a rough start last week. Her team, which is loaded with first-year players and first graders, got trounced 14–0 by a team with mostly experienced second graders. C. went hitless, as did most of her team, striking out in all three plate appearances.

Saturday, after her First Communion, we spent about 20 minutes outside hitting. It took almost five minutes for her to make contact, but eventually she was hitting line drives over my head.

Last night was game two, and it was a very different evening. They played a team that was more even to them in terms of age and experience. After a slow start, they strung together a bunch of hits in three-straight innings and got a 10–2 win.

C. struck out again in her first at bat.

In her second, she smacked a hit to the left side of the infield that gave her team the lead.[3] When she came back to the dugout between innings, she was fighting a losing battle to hide her proud grin.

Third time up, she got another infield single. “I can’t wait to hit again!” she told me while grabbing her mitt.

And in her final at bat, she lined a shot toward the shortstop that rolled to the outfield. “I LOVE hitting, Dad!”

All the girls were excited to get their first win. Their coach gathered them in the dugout to tell them how well they played and how proud he was of their improvement since their first game. Then he said he was giving the game ball to a player who had some really big hits, handing the ball to C. Her eyes bugged out and she had a silly, excited grin on her face.

Not going to lie. I had to take a little walk because there was dust or pollen or something in my eyes and I needed a minute.

Her teammates took turns signing the ball, which like her old man three decades ago, she held onto tightly as we walked back to the car. When we got home, she told me, “Dad, I want to play softball for a long time!” then she ran inside to show S. and her sisters. Of course, she said the same thing about being in Girl Scouts last year and now hates going to meetings. So we’ll see.

For now her ball is prominently displayed on her bedside table, and I’m sure she’ll show it to her buddy next door, with long explanations of how she earned it, at her first chance.

Maybe, in another 30 years, she’ll push it aside as she searches for a piece of jewelry or item of clothing in a dresser drawer of her own.

 

IMG 3720

  1. The other balls are: 1) A ball my step-dad gave me that has a bunch of very old players’ autographs. The most readable, and recognizable, signature is from Cardinals Hall of Famer Red Schoendienst. 2) Another is a ball the husband of an after-school babysitter brought me from when he worked in the bullpen at (then) Royals Stadium in 1981, signed by Rich Gale, Paul Splittorff, Ken Brett, and Dan Quisenberry. 3) A ball signed, to me, by Brooks Robinson that one of my sisters-in-law got when she met the Orioles Hall of Famer at a work event a few years back. Elsewhere in the house is a ball signed by Carlos Beltran and Jermaine Dye, and the two MLB foul balls I’ve collected over the years.  ↩
  2. Yes, I know it’s sad that I CLEARLY remember two catches I made in a Little League game 31 years ago. My athletic feats are few.  ↩
  3. Game Winning RBI!  ↩

Spring Sports

April 14, 2015 /

Several years back, as we were chasing likely just two toddlers around the yard, one set of our neighbors told us to enjoy those days. Because, they said, it wouldn’t be too long before our lives became this, and the husband pointed from our driveway, to the street, back to the driveway, back to the street. “You’ll be coming and going non-stop to practices, games, school programs.” They have two boys who are two years apart, both out of college now. But at the time they were still in the midst of high school sports. They spoke from experience.

Well, we’ve reached that stage.

Beginning last Monday, we are in a stretch where of the next 24 days, 21 have at least one kid activity on the calendar. Kickball, softball, soccer, First Communion related events. Swim team call out meeting. Study group for M.’s social studies project.

Several days have two events at two different locations. Last Thursday, for example, L. had soccer practice about 10 minutes from home. At the same time, M. had a kickball game 40 minutes away on the opposite site of Indy. Fortunately there is a family that has girls of the same ages, on the same teams, so we were able to split the transportation duties. Sunday I watched the first 15 minutes of L.’s soccer game then left to take M. over to her study group.

On top of the hassles of driving through construction zones and rush-hour traffic, there is the constant threat of bad weather endemic to the Midwest. Last Wednesday M. had kickball practice from 3:30–4:30, then C. had softball from 5:30–7. As we were driving home from kickball, the skies were darkening and the radar looked red and nasty to our west. I said to C., “I bet it starts storming right about the time we get to the fields.”

Sure enough, as we pulled up to the parking lot, her coaches were walking off the field waving everyone away. Then we raced back home and beat the hail into the garage by about 30 seconds.

At least M.’s kickball season only runs until May 1. If we had to do this for two full months, I might need some medications. Not that May is much easier.

We’re off to a good start, at least. M.’s team won their first kickball game by one run, scoring the winning run in the bottom of the sixth. They were down 8–2 early, had a four-run lead going into the sixth, then after giving up the lead got back-to-back doubles to get the win.

This season’s team is a little different that the past two seasons. Last spring they mixed the third and fourth graders so the third graders could learn the rules a but quicker. And in the fall, enough girls came out that there were two fourth grade teams. This spring, though, it’s just one team of only fourth graders. Which gives them 17 girls when everyone shows up. So the girls take turns playing in the field, but everyone kicks.

Based on one game, it also seems like the girls are better at fielding and throwing/catching at first base. You can’t dribble the ball to the pitcher and expect to automatically be safe at first. We’re desperately trying to teach M. how to put some ooomph in her kicks so she has a chance.

L. picked up where she left off last fall in her first soccer game. She scored seven goals, had two assists, and kept the other team from scoring any goals. We had hoped to move her up to U–8 this spring, along with two of her teammates from last fall. But the league kept all three in U–6 for another season. Our coach told the league commissioner that the kids were more than ready for U–8 and he was worried other parents/coaches were going to complain when our kids scored all the time. The commissioner insisted that would not be a problem. I’m not so sure.

C.’s first softball game is tomorrow. Because of weather, they’ve only had two practices. And about half the team has never played before. Which means tomorrow night should be very interesting. Based on practice, it looks like if you can get the bat on the ball, you will not only be safe, but you can run as long as you want. Not a lot of slick fielding in first and second grade softball. But getting the bat on the ball is easier said than done. C. made solid contact a couple times Saturday, so hopefully that will carry over to a game.

My biggest frustration with her is one common to any parent teaching a kid how to play base/softball: she always wants to catch with her glove facing up. I’m pretty sure I got corrected endlessly for doing the same thing 37 years ago. She can get her glove down on the ground, though, and has a decent arm.

L. begged me for a glove, too, just so she can throw the ball around when we go to C.’s practices. I got her a tiny tee ball glove that came with a cushy ball. Last night we were throwing it around and she did a great job. She has a good arm, but also struggled to catch. When she would get the ball in her glove, she had a look of amazement on her face after, like “How did I do that?”

I told her that I loved to play catch, my step-dad and I used to play for hours, and I hoped that at least one of the girls would learn how to throw/catch well enough to toss the ball with me. “I’ll play catch with you guys every night if you want to.”

“I’ll do it!” she said.

Of course she will.

Tourney Time

May 24, 2012 /

We’ve reached the manic, two-week period of spring in which all the high school sports cram their playoffs into the final days of the school year. Which means many chances for me to work. In theory.

This week I grabbed the plum assignment, the 4A softball sectional in which four of our teams were playing. Wednesday I was to cover both semifinals, including the #2 ranked team in the state (CG, one of our schools) and then the championship game on Thursday. The plan was for me to write a lengthy story for Friday’s paper not about just the final, but also CG’s quest for another state championship.

And then they went out and got beat Wednesday. Whoops. In the other semifinal, the team I was covering, FCHS, had a two-run lead going into the 7th and promptly gave up seven runs to lose. So I went from writing the feature story for the Friday sports page to losing my assignment for tonight since we had no teams in the final.

That disappointment aside, it was an entertaining night at the park on Wednesday. CG is a wonderfully balanced team that has great pitching, perhaps the best defense in the state, and a terrific offensive attack that features lots of speed and gap hitters. They were limited to a single run on five hits Wednesday, by far their lows for the season. The starting pitcher, who was 18-0 coming in, had a rough night, but still gave up just three runs. Most nights that’s enough for CG to win. CG was the host team, so there was a nervousness in the air as the innings passed and they were unable to score.

It’s not like they lost to a bad team. The winner is ranked #20 in the state, but CG had beat them 18-6 earlier this season. A big upset no matter how you look at it.

In the nightcap FCHS took on the #15 team in the state, NP. NP scored two runs in the first and left the bases loaded. It was looking like a quick game that would be run-ruled after 5. But FCHS pushed a run across in their half of the first, held NP through the next two, then took the lead in the bottom of the third. The teams went back-and-forth through the sixth, when NP scored two in the top of the inning and FCHS three in the bottom to take a 7-5 lead into the final frame. Which is when the roof caved in.

The top of the seventh began around 9:00. My deadline for writing about two games was at 10:15. That half inning took 25 minutes. Fortunately FCHS went quickly in the bottom of the inning and I ran out to my car without doing any interviews to crank out the story. I submitted at 10:14. It’s been a long time since I’ve cut it that close.

Adding insult to injury, the two non-4A schools we cover both lost Wednesday as well. So we went from having a state title contender in 4A and a top 10 team in 1A to nobody left playing in about four hours.

Baseball sectionals began last night, too, and there’s a chance I’ll cover a game on Memorial Day. But the way things have gone this week, I’m not going to count on it.

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