First day of Baseball Practice

John had his first t-ball practice tonight. He woke up looking at his pretend watch and saying "I got baseball in 30 minutes!" All day he wanted to know if it was practice time. Can you say he is eaten up with it??? It cracks me up. He insisted looking the part so at 4:00 (practice was at 6:00) we had our baseball pants and belt on, shirt and jersey on (a St. Louis Cardinals one, I am surprised they let us into practice!) and I convinced him that the cleats could wait until closer to time. He told me that we could NOT be late. 

To be honest, I love that he is so passionate about something. At this time, he breathes it. A lot of the time, when he wakes up, he says "Let's go play some ball!" I remember my brother being so excited about baseball and I didn't really understand why. My parents were the same way...and I always moped around because it was another baseball game to go to. At one point I told my parents that baseball was ruining my life. :) I understand why my parents got so excited...it is exciting to see your child be passionate about something. I felt like a baseball mom - even though it was only a t-ball practice- I had everything packed and ready to go. I have to admit...I liked it. 

The program that John is participating in is called Smart Start. There is no competition and it teaches fundamentals and skills that players need to know for the future. It also teaches parents how to help their kids out with practicing. We even got a manual with key terms and pictures in it! The kids do stations around the field helping them with different skills. On the last practice, they have a "graduation party". It is 6 practices - all through the month of June for 3-5 year olds. If you want some enjoyment, you should come out because there are around 30 kiddos out on the field - all different ranges of abilities. 

I think it would be fun to see the little ones play a game but the program really supports the no competition idea while the kids are young..and I have to admit that it probably is a good idea. 

Wednesday is our next practice and I need to get a picture of John and his buddy Jenna playing ball together. Enjoy the pictures. 

He is ready to go! 

He is showing me his gum in his mouth and saying "Mom, you have to have gum to play ball."

Scooping up a grounder!

Hitting off a tee- this is probably his least favorite part. He doesn't understand why he has to hit off a tee when he can hit the ball being thrown to him.