Little league....from a mother's perspective

Dylan recently finished another year of baseball. I think this was his fourth(if you count t-ball). However, this year was a little different...especially for Mom. Last year he was still in the world of ..."we don't care who wins....you get as many pitches as it takes to hit the ball... we'll even bring out the T if you're struggling...and who's counting strikes and outs, etc..." This year, was a real contrast. We have now entered into the world of...try outs, real umpires, fast pitching from real people (not a machine that pitches slow and underhand), 3 strikes your out, and keeping score. Needless to say it was quite the shock to Dylan's system when he went to his first practice....and a real adjustment for Mom as a spectator.

Let me explain....as a mom I know that logically my kids must struggle in order to learn but it is sometimes torture to watch!!!! Dylan was the youngest on his team and most were in their second year for this league. It was a good thing that I did not go to his first practice. Mark's report included a few tears of frustration on Dylan's part and I'm pretty sure he even softened things a bit for me. Although, Dylan did come back looking like he had fun and wanted to go back so that was a relief. If you know Dylan...he typically doesn't like doing things if he's not great at it right away (Gee...wonder where he gets that from? :)) and many things, especially school, come easy for him. Mark assured me that he would be fine and that it was going to be a great learning experience for him. I knew he was right but I was definitely nervous. Mark signed up to be an assistant coach and spent hours practicing with him. Fast forward to his first real game...Dylan is up to bat for the first time and Mom is a wreck in the stands praying that he gets a hit so that he will have a good first experience. Pitch #1....SMACK right in his ankle!!!! Are you kidding me!!!! His first experience up to bat is getting hit by the ball? He tried to be brave but the tears came as he hobbled down to take his base. I'm thinking..."Great, now he'll never want to play again". I could also hear the scene playout in my mind from the movie Parenthood where Steve Martin imagines his son years after his horrible baseball experience shouting from the rooftops "You made me play second base" as he guns down his fellow students! His ankle eventually swelled up the size of a grapefruit and he limped around the house for the next week. But....he seemed to have no problem going back which again was a relief for me.

The only thing is that that experience left him a little skittish in the batters box. Even though he had no problem hitting the ball in practice, every time he was up to bat in a game, he would jump out of the batters box on each pitch and not swing. He would usually end up getting a walk, and being the 'thinker' that he is, eventually realized that he had pretty good odds of getting walked. Which I'm sure in his mind was probably better than the odds of getting hit by the ball. Of course every time he was up I would get soooo nervous for him I could barely stand it! Between my nerves and having to chase around a 2 and 4 year old with my pregnant belly at these sometimes 2 hour games twice a week... I began to wonder if I was really doing any good there. But I was so afraid that I would miss his triumphant moment when he actually got a hit that I never missed a game. Here's Tryg looking all cute and innocent.... Fast forward again to about 3/4 of the way through the season....still no hit but I think he probably held the record for scoring the most runs for his team without actually hitting the ball. Mark had spent many more hours practicing with him and having those father-son baseball talks like how Babe Ruth failed nearly 70% of the time he was up to bat. We even offered bribes for staying in the batters box and actually swinging at the ball to see if that would replace the fear and over thinking that he seemed to be doing. Good news is he seemed to be having fun, was learning about how to play the game, the importance of team work, and making new friends. All good things....but c'mon I just wanted him to HIT THAT STUPID BALL once!!!

Only a few weeks left in the season...Dylan is up to bat once again and after getting struck out because he didn't swing at the ball earlier in the game you can tell he's a bit frustrated now. As I sit there gritting my teeth and as every muscle in my body tenses up once again, I pray to myself .."please, please..just let him hit the ball!" First pitch....SMACK! Contact with the ball!!! WooHoo!!!I'm out of my seat cheering as I quickly put my sunglasses on because I could feel my eyes start to well up with joy for my little boy. And as Tom Hanks so eloquently says..."There's no crying in baseball!" I certainly didn't want anyone to see the ridiculous emotion I was feeling at that moment. I felt like Steve Martin again from Parenthood where he runs out to the field doing a happy dance because he is so thrilled his son actually caught the ball. Well...that was me....just a little more subdued. It's amazing how the little things in life give us the most joy! Well...he actually hit the ball hard, but right to the pitcher and got out but it didn't matter. When he got into the dugout he poked his head out and said with a big smile on his face..."Mom, did you see that?" He was so happy...which of course made me happy. He even got another hit next time up where he actually got on base. It was a good day!

By the end of the season he was catching pop ups like they were nothing and hitting the ball with no fear. His team actually took first place in the league which of course always makes a season better (at least for us competitive people :)). He wants to play again next year and has aspirations to pitch. After the season was over he got to go to the Padres Double AA Lake Elsinore Storm baseball game with his team and hang out with the players on the field which was a thrill for him. He loved it!

Dylan is a lot like me with regards to learning new things. Growing up, if I wasn't good at something right away I had no desire to learn how to get better and was never a fan of the whole team sport thing. Which is probably why I have stuck with running all these years...it works for me. I know that having Mark around to push him when he gets 'uncomfortable' is a blessing in his life. They also got to spend some real quality bonding time together. Mark was in the dugout for nearly every game and practice, leaving work early most days to be there. I know those times are some of the 'little things' that Dylan will remember later in life. For the record...Mark was right...it was a great learning experience for Dylan...and for me too.