Tuesday Sports Report - Soccer

Last Tuesday, we started soccer up again to continue our sports tradition (we skipped the last round of basketball). Our favorite coaches were back and the weather has been great, so that's nice.

And, Will remembered the routine. When Coach Jim blew the whistle, he immediately ran for the group (didn't even look to see where I was) and got ready to stretch. This session of soccer was crazy busy - there were 64 kids signed up! Yup - 64 3 and 4 yr olds (plus their parents and siblings) - just insane! So, instead of stretching all together, they separated the 3s and 4s - we told Will he was 4. And, what a difference a year made!


Last year, we couldn't get Will into the group to stretch, let alone pay attention. Now, he stands in the group and actually stretches - it's awesome! My favorite is still jumping jacks (most of them are not quite coordinated enough to get it right) - video to come.

After stretching, Will was placed with our favorite coach, Coach Steven. He's very patient, organized, and laid-back with all the kids. He's telling them the 3 rules of soccer here:
1) No hands
2) No pushing
3) The whistle means stop

After the rules, he had them run, practice stopping the ball, practice dribbling (aka little kicks) into the net, and then the tried a kick-off - more on that below (it was even better yesterday than last week.) Will had a great time.

This week we lucked out and were paired with Coach Steven again. He tried to do more running this time, but was thwarted by the kids from the play ground distracting his crew. So, after he gave that up, the kids practiced little kicks and stopping the ball again. All good fun, but not that exciting.

Then, they moved onto a new game - Red Light/Green Light (remember that one?) Luckily, the kids and I had been playing that outside lately, so I thought Will might be into it (or at least understand what was going on). Well, this picture shows Will's starting position . . . and his middle position. I think he actually left the fence and started moving on the 3rd green light. And, he actually didn't finish last - his friend, Reid, thought Coach Steve meant little kicks for this game and it took him FOREVER to get to the end point. So funny - all of us parents were cracking up. I tried to take video, but forgot to charge the camera. Next time!


We kept laughing when Coach Steve turned them around in the middle of the field (to go back to the fence) and told them to pretend there was a fence there and turn. These 9 kids were pointing every different direction - he finally had to turn them around one by one and place them in a line-up. Luckily, Will got the concept this time around and did great.

After Red Light/Green Light, he moved back to the "numbers kick-off." While he was trying to separate them into 2 groups and explain the game, he told Will's group to "tell each other your names and where you go to school; you know, just talk." Seriously, these were his instructions to a group of 4 yr olds! :) Reid's parents and I were dying! After this, Coach Steven assigned each kid a number; however, they each kept telling him, "No, I'm 4!" The parents continue to laugh . . .

Coach Steven finally gets them ready to kick-off and calls out "Number 1!" One kid scrambles up from one side, and Will's side just sits there . . . They finally get someone moving and they both try to see who can kick the ball in the net first. There was a lot of parental prompting for this game. We thought it might be better the second time around, and it was . . . mostly. Coach Steven got distracted after #2, and when he came back, he yelled out "Number 3!" All of us parents yelled out, "NO! Number 3!" (especially me, since Will was a 3). Coach Steven just gave us a look (like he meant to call #4 and we should just shut-up) and we were all laughing again. It was just a fun, fun thing.

We'll actually be in PA next week, so the next update will be in 2 weeks. I hope Will doesn't forget it all. :)

Tuesday Basketball Update

Sorry this update is behind - we've been busy, as you'll soon hear all about. Last Tuesday was the first time Brent got to watch Will play basketball and they were both really excited about it.

Since we finally knew where we were going, we actually got a parking spot in the lot - score! And, while we were waiting for warm-up, a little boy walked in and Will got super excited and started waving. This was a new one for me, since I didn't know who that boy was. It worked out well though - his name is Reid and his mom and I really got along so I see some future playdates, which is nice.

Will and Reid ran off to get some balls while his mom, Jaime, and I talked. Then, they warmed up and then split up into lines to shoot hoops. Will's getting better at shooting it up. And, the coaches got smarter about keeping the kids in-line while waiting; they put little spots on the floor and have the kids move up in turn. Very good plan.



After shooting, they got in a circle on the floor again and practiced dribbling. I'm still not clear on why they need to practice while sitting down - maybe I should ask Coach Jim.

Based on the time, we thought they would be done after dribbling - we never really get the full hour (but based on what we pay, we don't complain). But, they went into lines to practice passing the ball again. Will was doing a lot of talking and wasn't really paying attention, so he didn't get too many turns. Maybe next week.

To celebrate the great time we had, we went to Chick-Fil-A. The one near our house offers free kids meals on Tuesday nights, so we were all over that. It was awesome and quite the event. We pulled up and the cow mascot was out greeting people in the drive-through line - Sofia kept trying to get out of my arms and was going, "Moo, Moo!" We get inside and it's a party - there were balloons, a "mad scientist" doing dry ice experiments which both kids loved, and a prize wheel. Every person in the family got a turn - I won a stuffed Elvis cow and everyone else got breakfast food coupons. Awesome! And, we learned that you can trade in your toy for an ice cream cone, so we finished our fun with ice cream cones. I feel a Tuesday sports tradition in the making!

Tuesday Sports - Starting Basketball

Tuesday was our first day of basketball! Will was really, really excited and talked about it most of the day. We tried to get out of the house early, as we were going to a new Parks and Rec locale and they are very, very hard to find (more on that later) but Fi was still sleeping and we had to wake her up. That did not go over well. Oh well - I got the troops locked and loaded a little after 5 and away we went.

True to our "let's find t-ball" expedition, this turned out to be much the same. I did think it would be easier this time as I had an actual address (which we lacked for t-ball - luckily, soccer was in the same place as t-ball). However, with as windy and curvy as Greenville is, when the GPS said "You have arrived," there was nothing there. There were houses, businesses, and some other streets in the area, but no Park Avenue Gym. I had written down the cross streets and tried to see them on the GPS map, but I couldn't find it. So, we tried driving in the general area and then I spied a police car. I thought he was stopping, so I took off after him. He lead me into the county jail where the posted signs said no unauthorized vehicles. Oops! I did manage to ask a nice man in blue where the gym was and he gave me directions. I high-tailed it out of there and, luckily, the directions were great. I found it - it would have never happened without asking as it's tucked in behind the county transportation barn, the recycling center, and a cemetery.

Because of where the gym's at, there was very little parking to start with, and by the time we got there, we were #8 on the curb. Except there was no curb and I had to park up on the embankment. Will asked me," Mommy, why did you park up here? Why is the car leaning?"

Coach Jim welcomed us to basketball (we weren't too late) and Will trotted to the circle for warm up. I recognized some kids from t-ball and soccer, and so did Will - that was nice. After warm-up, they took the kids over to some medium hoops to let them try making shots. This one kid was a ringer! They kept moving his "stand here" circle backwards, then off to the sides . . . He hit every shot. Look out!

Will had about 3 kids in front of him when they decided to move all the 3 yr olds to a different group (with smaller hoops). The only issue with this was there were a lot more 3's than 4's, and they had 3 hoops set-up on wall that was probably 9 feet across. Not a lot of space for that many little kids.

They did let Will shot first, which I appreciated. He missed a few and made a few - we'll have to work on it when we get our own hoop back. Then, they moved Will's hoop and group to a different area of the gym. It was much better for everyone that way.

Then they gathered all the 3's on the floor and gave them each a ball. With them sitting on the floor so that their legs kept the ball in place, they worked on dribbling. This had Will laughing most of the time and he did pretty well.

After a brief bathroom break, we came back to the group for passing (see short video). Will's done this before too, but he wasn't quite catching the way the coach wanted. He was very good at throwing it back though - he almost took out the coach! I think it was pretty funny.

After basketball, we celebrated with McD's nuggets and a playplace, since neither of the kids had eaten. Will had fun playing with some boys that showed up. I was inspired by Brent letting Fi run around when I was on my cruise, so I let her tackle the playplace. She really only went up and down the spiral stairs, so I only worried when she was trying to climb down them (she's still working on that part). Then, she really worried me when she found she could hang from the back edge of the top step platform and swing. She did this for awhile, with me saying "Fi, SIT. Fi, DOWN." the whole time - I was freaking out and she was cracking up and gave me her little grin every time she finished. Argh! I might have to find her a gym class too . . .

So, first day of hoops was good fun. I'm excited that Brent will be back next week so he can see all the fun.

Last Soccer Update

Today was our last day of soccer, and to be completely honest, it was a bust. Last week was much more engaging and awesome. Today, they barely did anything and gave out awards after only 40 minutes. It was quite a bummer, especially since Brent couldn't be there last week.

Oh well. Will had a lot of fun - you can see him doing a victory jump/dance after scoring a goal (done before practice started). He warmed up today but instead of running from the fences, they ran from lines today. After almost 12 weeks of fence running, it was a bad change in the routine - for all the kids. Then, they lined the kids up against the fence for stopping the ball. It was not organized at all and the kids were running amuck - climbing the fence (Will and friends), climbing the foul ball pole (Will's friends, not him) . . .



While this madness was going on, Sofia was making friends and playing soccer with Ben's parents (Ben's Mom, Michelle, and I are going to play next week, which I'm totally excited about, but I don't know her husband's name). She was very charming and was having a lot of fun.










Fi also learned how to put the buckles together on her stroller. She's been working on this at every soccer practice, but today, she made the breakthrough and got them together.

The good news for me is that she hasn't figured out how to get them apart. It's bad enough she can now escape from the shoulder straps - I need to have her contained somehow.







At the end (again, way early - it's not supposed to end until 6:30), the kids all gathered around Coach Jim and got their real soccer ball awards. Will now has a size 4 ball to add to his collection. Aunt Linda and Uncle Mike got him his first ball, a 3 (the smallest they make), when he was 1.

After the awards, we played at the nearby park for a bit and then went for traditional post-soccer/sports milkshakes. Good times.

Basketball starts on Tuesday - I'll let you know how it goes!

Soccer Update

Because of preparing for the cruise last week, I wasn't able to give you a soccer update. So, you'll get two weeks worth of updates in one today.

Last week, we were late for the fun - poor Brent had to work late to make up for taking a vacation day Friday. So, we missed warm-up (which isn't that bad since he normally doesn't want to do it anyway) but Will ran right to the fence for running. He did a great job. Then, they worked on stopping and passing - great job again. Finally, they dribbled the ball into the net. He was unfortunately last in line, but waited without getting into too much trouble. He finally got to shoot his goal and was very excited.

Today was another great soccer day - I'm not sure if it's going so well because we've been doing sports with the same people with almost the same routine for almost 12 weeks or if soccer's just been easier to grasp.





He actually warmed up the whole time today - it was hilarious! Arm circles are tough when you're 3. He really loved doing rocket ship blast offs (crouching down and then jumping up) - he even kept doing them when the rest of the kids stopped.

From there, he ran to the fence and waited for the rest of the running to start. He did all the high fives and was excited when he came back to me for a water break.

They broke into small groups then for stopping and passing. As you can see from the first picture, although he managed to stop and pass the ball, he chatted the entire time. He was going on and on to the coach about who knows what. It was funny and she was a good sport about it.

From there, they kids lined up and took turns dribbling the ball (little kicks, as the coach tells the kids) into the net. He did a good job. (I'll be saying this a lot, but it's true.) Since the kids did well with this exercise, the coach decided to throw the balls into the field, have the kids pick one, and dribble it into the net. It was going well, except once the kids got the balls into the net, she started blocking the net (it's really small) so they couldn't get to it. She was only trying to put the balls back into the field, but still.

I'm not sure if they got tired or ran out of things for today, but after the last water break, they all sat in a circle and played duck, duck, goose. It was the first time (as far as I know) that Will played it and he was just laughing watching the kids run around the circle - we all were, since most of the kids didn't understand that they were to sit down in the open spot once they found it.

While we were laughing at this, Fi decided to do some cleaning up. She was going around grabbing all the soccer balls and started putting them into the net.

I kept telling her to kick the ball and to not use her hands - not so much. It was really funny.

We had a great time today (the rest of our day will be in the next posting) - next week is our last day of soccer. I'm sure that will be great too.

School and Soccer Updates

I was hoping to have a picture for this one, but it's just not in the cards tonight. Sorry.

First - the school update. Will is loving school and is doing really well. He always gets a smiley face report card at the end of the day. And, Tuesday, one of his teachers called as a courtesy to let me know that he's always smiling and laughing, and chatting and playing well with the other kids. She said he's a delight and we love having him in our class. As a parent, that's just so exciting to hear - we're so darn proud of him - who wouldn't be? :) Today, in the car-pool pick-up line, the other teacher put him in our car and told me "Today was all smiles." He's done some crafts lately too - a real first for him since I could never really get him to sit still long enough to color, ect. Tuesday he used finger paint and made a W - he complained to me later that there weren't any brushes. I guess he's taking after Jerry and wants to be neat. He's always excited about the train table and cars at school and today talked about playing in the gym with Coach Good (that's really the guys name). I'm so excited he loves school.

We finally had a sunny day today, after much gloom, and I decided to surprise Will when we picked him up with a picnic at the zoo. The kids really liked it and it was nice to hit the zoo at a different time of day. There were fewer people (thanks to early naps) and the animals were doing different things too. The lemurs were running around and playing (Madagascar, the movie, anyone?) and we saw the baby orangutan, Baby Bob, climb up the ropes and swing around while his parents napped. It was awesome and the kids really liked it too! From there, we went to the playground and hung out for a little while. It was just nice to be out again (even if it was super muggy).

Now - soccer update. We were late today, as Brent was wrapping up some stuff (see next blog for details), but that's OK. Will just missed the warm-up and he really doesn't do much of that anyway. I was pretty worried how he would do, since I had to wake him up from a nap and that puts him in a terrible, whiney, awful child mood. But, armed with a milkshake bribe, he readily joined in the rest of the kids for running. After running, they worked on stopping the ball again today in little groups. Then, they broke off into two groups to kick the ball into the net with small kicks again. It's so funny for kids to watch the "small kicks" idea - they mostly just want to kick the ball as hard as they can and get it in the net. Will had several tries and did a good job. He was rewarded on the way home with a milkshake. :)

After our busy day, both kids tuckered out early tonight, which is good - we all have a very early morning tomorrow to get Mommy on an airplane.

Soccer Super Star

Isn't that the most handsome soccer player ever? :) And, as hard as it is to believe, he actually got himself into that pose AND I actually had the camera ready to snap it. Never in a million years would it happen if I actually tried to set that up. Good stuff!

This past Thursday we had our 3rd soccer practice, under threat of rain - it's been quite gloomy and rainy lately here in Greenville. We were very glad the rain held off, though, as Will did awesome! I was very glad too, as I did this practice solo (Brent had to go to TN for work).

First, he ran out when Coach Jim blew the whistle and
actually stayed out there to stretch and warm-up; something he hasn't done with soccer yet. Yeah - progress.

Then, the kids split up by age again and headed to the fence to run. And, he ran! Every time.



Towards the end, it was really cute because he'd be one of the first ones up to "give five" before heading back to the fence. But, instead of pushing to get to the coach, he waited his turn (so he was almost last) before doing it and heading back. Then, when he got back to the fence, he was giving the other kids five and cheering for them. It was so cute and I am so proud off him.

The next part was new - the coaches throw a ton of balls in the middle of the little field and told each kid to go get one. They were supposed to use "little kicks" to get the ball into the net.

Will did great with this (which is surprising since last week, when they introduced the little kick idea, he was kicking the ball as hard as he could). Except . . . he headed for the wrong goal. I thought he had some good logic though -- all the other kids were mobbing the one goal and he headed toward the one that was free and clear. The coach got him turned around and he cheered when he got it the goal. They did this a couple more times and it was pretty funny watching all the kids run to balls and then mob the little goal.

The final lesson of the evening was stopping the ball and passing. Will was in a group of 4 and was too busy talking and playing with his neighbor to worry about listening to the coach. He did stop the ball and pass it back to the coach when it was his turn, but that was about it.

He had a great time and I really hope this coming week goes just as well. We'll keep you updated!

Tuesday T-ball Update - The Finale

So, Tuesday the 11th was our last day of T-ball. And, amazingly, it was the best one. We were wondering how it was going to go since Jerry and Carlene were visiting (and of course, we figured he'd want to do anything but play ball). But, it was awesome. You could really see how far the kids have progressed in 6 weeks.

For starters, Will actually did all the warm-up. He only ran back to us once, and then he went straight back out to the group when we told him he had to join his team.




Then, wonder of wonders (seriously, this one still amazes me), he actually ran with the kids. Not once, not twice, but all the running from the fence. It was awesome. Then he ran the bases with everyone. Go team!

Next up was catching. And, again to our amazement, he stood up and caught the ball. If you'll remember, once he learned grounders, he decided he didn't need to stand up straight to catch the ball anymore. But, he did today and he did a great job (also, kudos to the coach who actually got the ball in the glove - not easy). And, when the time was right, he squatted down for grounders and did great with that too.

At this point, the Maxwells are thinking that I'm totally crazy with what I've put on this blog about how he doesn't participate and is a sports diva. But, I swear it was true - all the other times. This performance gave me hope for soccer.




Right before batting, Sofia decided to get in on the action (we decided we had enough people around to let her out of the stroller). She headed straight for the cones on the field and decided they would make a great hat. It was hilarious! She would put them on her head and then take them off again. Good times!

So, onto batting. Will got to be in the group that batted first and sat quietly on the sidelines. Then, after the first boy hit, he started clapping for him and got everyone else to clap too - I'm so proud of my little cheerleader! He kept it up for everyone. Will did a fine job hitting - Jerry actually has great video of it but I didn't get a chance to download it before he left - and he did great running the bases too.
In the outfield, he (as usual) had no interest in fielding the ball. He did talk non-stop to one of the coaches and had them cracking up the whole time.





When everyone had batted, Coach Jim called them into the circle (now when Will blows the whistle, he says" Calling all players! Did you have fun?" which is just what Jim said). And, they all got awards - a real baseball. Will received his last (they went alphabetically, by first name), so we were getting a little worried (paranoid parents). But, he was really happy and ran to show us his baseball.

All in all, it was a great experience and we all had a lot of fun. I can't wait to see how soccer goes.

Tuesday T-ball Update

This past Tuesday, I was on my own for t-ball and boy, was I scared! We normally need one parent to watch Sofia and keep her happy and the other parent to chase after Will and make sure he's at least attempting to join in. He did a good job to start out - he did almost the entire warm-up by himself and only ran back to me once. He ran back out to the circle when I asked him, so that was good. He went to the field for running, and, as usual, sat on the fence and watched the other kids run. Not too bad - at least I wasn't needed at this point.

Then, Coach Jim changed things up on us and had us move to the field closes to the real ball field. This turns out to be a bad move for Will (and me). Will ran the bases with the other kids, so that was good. And, I have to say, I was starting to feel a little relieved at this point. Sofia even found a little friend close to her age - Greyson wanted to check out Sofia's snack food and stroller. The girls were really cute looking at one another and smiling.

Will got a little more distracted during catch - he ran back quite a few times and didn't really want to catch the ball. But, the weather started to work for us (if you want to look at it that way) - it had been really hot and humid, but all of a sudden, the wind whipped up and it cooled off like 10 degrees in about a minute. So, Coach Jim started to worry about a storm and wanted to make sure all the kids got to hit at least once.

Will, of course, loved that part. He started in the outfield and had no interest in fielding the ball - the other kids (especially one little guy whose name I don't know) were all over the ball. Will used the opportunity to put his glove on his head. He started recruiting others into his game too. So, to restore order, the coaches moved him into the hitting line-up. He did well and was into it until he saw an older boy digging on the real pitchers mound. Will wanted to dig too. So, he ran to home base after hitting the ball and then made a bee line for the pitchers mound. He quickly came back because it was time for a water break. After the break, instead of getting back in line to hit, he decided to go dig some more and wouldn't come back. I ran after him, laughing the whole way. I couldn't get him back in the game, but at least I stopped him from digging - the field is all SC red clay and the bottoms of his shoes are still red.

They called everything shortly after that (about 15 minutes early) because they were worried about the weather. Now, originally, I had told Will we would go play at the playground by the ball field but with the change in the weather, I had to tell him no. Tantrums ensue, and all the parents got to stare at me because we were right by the gate to leave. Good times. Like most things, we fixed it with the promise of going next time and a milkshake. Will even asked for one from Chick-Fil-A - I guess even he likes those better than McD's shakes now.

Next week is our last t-ball game. I hope the weather co-operates and we get a full hour this time, and that Will wants to run and catch. :)

Tuesday T-ball Update

T-ball on the 28th was very, very short - the weather was very overcast and dark. We remained hopeful as we went through the t-ball routine -- stretch, run, run the bases, catch, and hit. Will was playing catch with Hunter before we started and then one little boy brought out a monster truck - it was all over for interest in t-ball for Will at that point. He just wanted to play trucks. He did warm up a little bit and even ran 2 times, much better than his usual none. He ran the bases and got ready to catch.

They taught the kids grounders on the 2nd day - since then, Will always squats down when they practice catching. Maybe he'll be a catcher . . . He loves to through the ball back, but we can't get him to stand up now. Something for Daddy to work on at home.

Because of the weather, Coach Jim had everyone start batting so that all the kids got to bat at least once. It's a good thing he did because shortly after Will batted for a 2nd time, the weather got bad. It started to thunder and lightening, so Coach Jim called it and we all went home. Will, of course, wanted to keep playing; Brent talked to him on the bleachers about why we had to leave and told him that we would come back next week and play some more. (Don't you just love that picture? I totally do!) It seemed to work. Well, that and a promise of a milkshake on the way home.

T-ball Tuesday Update

Tuesday the 21st - T-ball at Howell Park (thought I'd put the date in since I'm behind)

We had a nice treat this Tuesday at t-ball - Mom was there (more on her visit later)! It was especially nice since Brent was actually in MI and I'm not sure how I would manage both the kids by myself at t-ball.

Before we went this time, we told Will that if he wanted to bat, he had to do everything. And, to sweeten the deal, we brought his bat. So, we got there a little early and set-up our camp in the usual place. We sit next to Hunter and Cale's parents. (Side note: I have no idea why it is, but I know all the kids names and none of the parents; the same thing happens at the playgrounds and parks too. And, I know I'm not the only parent doing this either.)






Will and Hunter started playing catch - we remembered to bring a ball too - and were having a good time. Then, when things started, they both went off to warm-up together. I thought that I might actually be able to hang out and just watch for once. I did - for about 2 minutes. Then both Will and Hunter came back to the parent fence and I led them back to the circle. We did pretty well after that and then it was off to our little "orange shirt" ball field.

The boys lined up on the fence for running and Will ran - twice. :)





The coaches tried to get him to run some more and he decided to tell them all about his new car carrier instead. They were pretty amused.

Then, it was time to run the bases. He did most of this too (without help from me) and was really excited to come back in for the water break.

At water break, we met Camden (his mom camps next to us most days) who has the same attention issues that Will does. They were a great match for one another as they headed out to catch.




Will decided to change-up catching groups - 2 or 3 times. He started out with Cam and Hunter. A ball went by him and he decided to join Ben. Ben and Will played catch by putting their gloves on each others heads and running around. It was really cute and kept cracking everyone up. The coaches finally gave up (since they couldn't reel the boys in, and the boys were encouraging others to join them) and called for another water break. (Having dealt with kids from my swim instructor days, I know that some of the breaks are just to let the coaches regroup and I can totally appreciate it.)





We finally got to batting and had our diva melt down - Will wanted to his "his" bat, not the other bat. I told him he couldn't bat now with his but we would do it when t-ball was all done. He calmed down a bit (only a bit) and hit well a few times. As promised, when things were all done (thank goodness they don't start cleaning up right away), we let him bat twice and then headed home.

All in all, it was a good t-ball day. As much as we joke, all the kids are getting better at taking direction from coaches and playing. So, we think it's been a good thing. I can't believe it's half-way through already!

T-Ball Tuesday Update

I have to apologize (again) for my video clip - not only is there no sound (cuz it's from the digital camera) but I can't rotate it. So, you'll just have to turn your head and watch the fun. Sorry - I will get better at this, I promise.

In any case, this is your T-Ball Tuesday update. This time, Will totally exercised his baseball diva personality - at the ripe old age of 3. He wouldn't warm-up with the kids, or with me, or with Brent. He just sulked back by the fence with Sofia. Then, when we split into groups again, he refused to run with the other kids. He decided to climb the fence (and got in trouble) instead. He didn't want to run the bases either. He just kept saying, "I want to bat!" and pouting. Finally, we told him that he wouldn't get to bat unless he did all the other things. That seemed to work and he ran the bases one time before they started catching practice.

He did pretty well in his group of 3 for catching, but the coach wasn't nearly as good at getting the ball in their glove as the guy he had last week. Oh well - he did pretty well and was introduced to the concept of "grounders." He was good at squatting down (probably from all the practice he got at the sand box - he refuses to sit in the sand for some reason and always squats.)

Finally, the coaches got everyone organized for a mock game. Will started out by 2nd base, and did a good job of standing there. They didn't actually want the kids to field the ball (thank goodness); they just wanted to get the idea across. So, one kid would hit and advance a base, then another. Everyone got to bat 3 times and go through the bases. There was one kid, Braden, who does nothing all day but hit baseballs - you could tell. He cracked the ball each time way past all 3 of the fields. He has little cleats, baseball pants, a batting glove, an aluminum bat (we usually use the foam one), and a mitt. Braden will be pro in 3 years, we're sure.

Then, it was Will's turn to bat (one turn is in the video above). The first at bat was good - he hit it to 2nd base and then decided to run there, instead of to 1st. But, we got him turned around and then Brent helped him along the bases. His 2nd at bat was a bit of a whiff, so they let him go again. It was a nice little bunt (let's just call it that). His 3rd at bat was good too - another towards 2nd base and he actually ran to 1st and stopped there this time.

After we were done, the coaches all remarked at how much of a talker Will is - he kept telling them about the police car outside the fence, the clouds, the grass, the other kids . . . They thought it was funny.

To celebrate our 2nd day of T-ball, we decided Will needed some stuff to practice with at home. So, we went to Dick's and got him a mitt, bat, and tee. He played with Brent last night and had a blast. I just hope next time he's less of a diva and does his warm-ups - we'll let you know!

Let's Play Ball!

T-ball that is! Will officially started T-ball last Tuesday, and it's a laugh riot! Greenville Parks and Rec bravely offers 6-week sports classes for 3-4 yr olds. The sport changes with the seasons - right now is baseball. Next is soccer (I know Aunt Linda and Kim will be really excited about that) and after that is basketball. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

After driving aimlessly (we were given a very bad map and no street address for the park), we finally found Holmes Park. Luckily, we knew we'd get lost and left early(we really miss the grid road system of the North), so no biggie there.
We joined the rest of the parents and kids on the bleachers and waited for a coach/authority figure to show up. Coach Jim arrived with a lot of gear bags and showed us where to check in while he started creating 3 small little ball fields.

We got checked in and Will got to pick a t-shirt. Brent was very proud that out of red, brown, and orange, Will chose an orange short. So, he stayed with Tigers colors while wearing his Detroit Tigers cap.

After everyone was checked in (there were about 30 kids there) and the extra high schooler coaches were ready (this totally made me think of all the swim lessons I used to teach), all the kids got into a circle for stretching. This started the laughter. Will did not want to stretch, but he did stand in the circle as long as I stood with him. He did decide to do jumping jacks - Will style. He flaps his arms up and down like a bird and hops up and down with both feet. Super funny!

The kids were then split up by ages - two groups of 3 yr olds and one group of 4 yr olds - and then sent to the different ball fields. Each ball field luckily had about 5 coaches Will's group lined up against the fence and was told to run to one of three coaches, give him/her 5 and then run back to the fence. One coach blew a whistle and yelled, "Run!" All the parents echo, "Run!" and watch - Will runs past all the coaches and into the other ball field. Brent and I yell, "Stop!" and he looked at us like we were silly. We were cracking up, and so were all the other parents from our group. We finally got him turned around, but that ended his running.

After that, the coaches walked them through the bases and then had them run the bases a couple of times -Will wanted me to run with him, so that was fun. They went from running to catching. Will borrowed a little mitt from the City equipment stash, and joined a group of 4 kids. The coach told them how to hold the mitt and then to catch the ball with both hands by doing an alligator chomp. Will thought this was pretty cool and did pretty well - I was really impressed with how well the coach got the tennis ball into the little mitts (since the kids really aren't ready to field anything). From fielding, they went to batting. Unfortunately, our teenage coach didn't know we were almost done with our time, and only 3 kids got to bat. And, of course, Will wasn't one of the 3. And, of course, batting was all he talked about all day when I told him we were playing T-ball. So, a major tantrum ensued. Luckily for us, the coaches left the equipment out and Will got to hit a couple (which he did really well).

It was a lot of fun and I'll try to post weekly updates on his T-ball experiences.