Becoming a Baseball Family

We got to go to a Royals game last night with the staff from Indian Creek.  The Royals won and we had a fun time.  We are becoming a baseball family.  At least four of the seven days of the week right now, our family is doing something baseball related. I never would have imagined this in our BC (before children) years because I didn’t care much for the sport. I think I only played a couple of summers as a kid, and in my teenage and adult years, I think I can count less than 10 times I’ve played on a softball team.  Regarding those early years of base/softball, I seem to remember catching the ball with my face more than with my mit.  So baseball was never a sport I much pursued.

All this changed, when Kyron at four years old began showing interest in baseball.  In my proud dad opinion, he had a remarkable ability of hitting the soup out of his little tot ball.  Picture fat red bat and softball sized plastic ball.  After two seasons of T-ball, he is playing on a coach-pitch team this year.  Several of the boys have been together all three seasons.  He’s loving it, and let’s just say that he got none of his baseball-genes from me!  His coach has put Kyron at first base every game so far, and he is becoming a regular ball magnet. I was super proud of him this past Thursday night when he made a double play, catching a pop fly and then stepping on first base before the runner could tag up.

Raylee is getting in on the baseball action too.  She’s playing her first year of T-ball, which I’m learning, is just as much about the hairdos, ribbons, and socks as the fundamentals of the sport.  She loves following in the footsteps of her big brother.  And I have become keenly aware that she wants to be praised as much as her big brother.  I think she is secretly keeping track of how many “I’m proud of you’s” I tell her and KNOWS when I’ve said it to Kyron more than her.  Haha!

Those words are like magic.  And any dad out there reading this take note.  Your kids need to hear you say it.  I don’t think there are many other things that build confidence in young children than a dad’s (or mom’s) supportive smile and those simple four words.  “I’m proud of you.”

Time to get the kids up.  We’ve got a T-ball game this morning…