Baseball Wrap-Up (kind of)

So we played our last Spring game last night. Tanners team lost, only their second loss of the season. Probably a game we should have won. Our first loss was to the division directors team. She is a great coach and had a bunch of good kids (we will get to face them next year in AA as both of us and most of the boys are moving up). But last nights game was a frustrating way to end a great season. We just didn't hit and made some fielding errors that we normally don't. Oh well. We went to Sonic for the end of the season party and like it does for most kids, ice cream eased the pain. 

I had a great time coaching this group of boys and all of them want to play for me again in AA next year, so that is a plus ( alot of them are REALLY good for this age - Tanner included). 

Jake had a very Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type of season. His team stunk on ice this year. He had too many boys who hadn't played enough baseball, where things that should be ingrained by this age weren't (IE. when you pick up the ball in the outfield you don't stand there with it while the runner is rounding third etc.). There were some much better teams and they just got pounded on. They could play some good baseball but not consistently enough or for long enough stretches to keep themselves in games. HE on the other hand played played lights out. He pitched (and was the best pitcher on the team - I think he started every game he was eligible), played catcher, 1st, 2nd and short (no outfield this year) and hit well (not strongly, but consistently). He also played EVERY PITCH of EVERY GAME. That was the big key for him this year. He could have moved up, but would have seen a lot of the bench. Staying down gave him the chance to play all the time, shine a little bit and get his confidence. He just loves baseball so much, all the other coaches and parents say to me all the time, 'Is that your kid? I just love watching him play.', which is great to hear. 

We are ramping up for Summer Baseball and AAU Summer Basketball for Jake. Jake and Tanner will play on my Summer Ball team (The WARRIORS - yep, we get to pick whatever we want for Summer), but we have a couple of weeks downtime while I get the league up and running. So I'll unpack my baseball gear for a few weeks, get the garage organized and jump back into it for another six week season. 

That doesn't mean the BASEBALL is over however. The league is in the middle of All Star craziness (Jake ISN'T playing this year), hosting a District Tournament, getting Summer Ball up and running and trying to re-fill board positions and chase down volunteers for next season already. I am one of the few returning Board members for next year and am trying to change the league into more of a year round commitment for people so we can continue to grow. THAT is taking a lot of my free time these days. I'm sure it's the same in all all-volunteer organizations, but 20% of the people involved do 90% of the work. We have some creative solutions that we are working on, but we are still struggling to get parents to realize that you don't get to just drop off your kid and NOT get involved. For boys anyway, the Little League experience is such a touchstone as they grow older, it's important to make it as good as we can, for as many kids as we can. 

So for those following at home, it goes; baseball, baseball and basketball, football, basketball, Christmas.....break for Dad.