Play Ball!

So, fatherhood for me lately has been a fairly constant diet of eating my words. For example, I have always said that I wouldn't be one of those short-tempered Dad's who gets upset with their kids for just being kids. But, when you child wakes up having, "had a bad dream", and has to sleep in your bed for the rest of the night for the 114th night in a row...I mean come on! That's just not possible! I am exhausted and sleep the sleep of the dead, how come they don't?

Anyway, the latest meal of paternal crow was served up when the T-Ball teams were formed. I have always said that I would be the Dad who comes to every game and practice, is encouraging and supportive, and SITS IN THE STANDS. I had no desire to coach, especially my own kids....in fact thinking about doing it always made me break out in a sweat. I refused to be THAT guy. I love sports and I think my kids will love sports, but it's up to them and I didn't want to insert myself into that process by being a coach and being an extra layer of thought if it's something they ended up not wanting to do.

Cut to Sunday night. We have been waiting for the T-Ball teams to be assembled for awhile, opening day is next weekend. I got a phone call stating, "the guy who is supposed to have been coordinating this hasn't, so we are three weeks behind and if you don't coach then there is no team.". So what else do you do in that situation? I said okay. All of the paperwork was delivered the next day, and come to find out that six other Dad's put down that they were willing to be an assistant, same as I did....I got PLAYED! Once they were all contacted, I got a chorus of "better you than me" and "thanks for volunteering"...so I couldn't get out of it.

So a week of fund-raising, meetings, paperwork and scheduling later, I sit here typing as the manager of the Hidden Springs Pirates. Thanks to everyone who bought raffle tickets!

I emailed my buddy Coach Dave, who has been coaching baseball at the High School level longer than I have known him, to ask what was appropriate to try and teach kids at this level, he emailed back, "Two words: Good Luck!". Thanks Dave, I think I'm gonna need it.....