You win some, you lose some but you always learn …
It was a week of baseball frenzy for our little leaguer, this was his first time at the AAYBA World Series tournament. The tournament started of with a day of festivities, after registration the team did a cook-out, traded pins with other teams, participated in Home run derby, Fungoman fielding challenge, team throwing relay and just hung out.. boys beings boys.
From day 2 there were games held in different ballparks around the metroplex. Some teams were on a pro level, others had kids that were twice the size of my son, some teams were loud and unruly and some were just enthusiastic kids wanting to play ball!! D played for the Dallas Patriots team this season and this was first year playing tournament ball. The organization works on not only baseball skills but teaches them to be better men – the kids were always in their best behavior, respectful, finished every game with prayer and gratitude. The coaches have such a positive attitude and did not just get hung-up on winning games but focused on honing the teams skills. We were really excited that D joined this Select team founded by Logan Stout that emphasizes on commitment to excellence and is passionate about development!
There is so much these kids learn in team sports –
- friendship and camaraderie
- cooperation and teamwork skills
- leadership skills
- discipline
- appreciation of different abilities of team mates
- respect for team mates, opponents, officials
- a sense of belonging to the team and sport
- social interaction skills
- physical skills
- self-esteem and self concept
- team goal-setting skills
- self-discipline, patience and persistence
- resilience, not every game goes your way
- and most of all having fun!
As a baseball mom I’m glad to see my little man passionate about something, setting goals for himself, being accountable for them, working tirelessly on getting there.. Yes he has MLB dreams like any other little leaguer playing ball but for now we as parents are happy to watch him score some runs, get on the mound and focus on the pitches and make some awesome plays on the field! He looks forward to game days, packs his bag with all the necessary gear, steams his jersey, eats his eggs and banana without fussing and brings us the car keys and lets us know its time to drive him to the game… so if nothing else I see passion, discipline and accountability!
We played about 10 tournaments and finished the season off with the AAYBA world series tournament. With the season coming to and end I can already see withdrawal symptoms on the kid! We were proud parents this season… watching him get some hits, run the bases, get on the mound and throw strikes, get some strikeouts, zoning out all the noise and focusing on his pitches when trying to hold the other team from scoring. The last game was a nail biter, score was 9-9 with D pitching, he pitched 2 scoreless inning and kept us still in the game. The opponent team was loud and howling, we sat there wondering how this boy can focus with all the noise and drama around, he zoned everything out and pitched, all of us glad that it was not us on the mound with that responsibility on our shoulders. The opponent team stole a run and we lost the game. The 12U Dallas Patriots Zach team did not win any trophies this year. D is several shades tanner after all that mid afternoon games. Daddy is worn out driving him to games, practices and juggling work. But we were major proud when a couple parents chanted MVP when D made some amazing outfield catches, pitched 3 up and 3 down innings and the coach from the opponent team gave him kudos for pitching a great game! What more can a baseball mom ask for!!
Until Next time, Love..
Privin