T-Ball

Jack's preschool class organized a preschool T-Ball team this Spring. His team was named the "Star Bears" and was a mix of kids from his Teddy Bear class with a few kids from the Starfish class - hence the name.

They received a great red baseball shirt and embroidered black hat and I bought him a little glove that came with a soft baseball. The team practiced each Thursday and had a game most Saturdays.

The Saturday games were amusing demonstrations of organized chaos. There were four volunteer coaches and a bunch of nudgy kids which made for a constantly moving and crowded field. Differently from the Star Bears, the other teams wore matching baseball uniforms and sometimes didn't even use the "T" in T-Ball and were able to bat at hand-thrown pitches. Nonetheless, everyone cheered on their kids - even when they often hit the ball off the T and ran furiously to third base. Or picked flowers in the outfield. Or chatted up the opposing team's first baseman when they made a run and had to be prompted to Run, Run, Run to second base. Everyone got a chance to be at the bat and to run around the bases. The games lasted an hour, no matter how many innings that turned out to be.

Jack definitely liked the idea of being with his friends and meeting new friends. He was the one chatting up the first baseman or twirling in the outfield or loudly yelling "MOOOOMMMM, I'M THIRRRRRSTY!" from the other side of the field during the game. He often watched the ball roll by until it occurred to him to chase it. Needless to say, he wasn't chosen to man a base or placed in the infield, but he definitely had fun in the sun and so did I.

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