Play Ball!

Ryan is back playing baseball this summer but it seems he has moved into "the big leagues" if you will. In years past he started out with T-Ball and then moved on to coach pitched ball. It was pretty laid back and the boys all wore matching t-shirts. Pretty low key. This year we signed Ryan up for baseball with the Maple Grove Parks and Rec and quickly discovered this was serious ball.

First off the boys wear a full uniform - shirt with name on the back, pants, socks, hat and shoes. The most "interesting" part of the uniform is the athletic cup we had to purchase for Ryan and explain its use and purpose. Of course in typical last minute fashion for Bill and I, we approached the first practice with the pitching machine and the warning to "have a cup or you can't bat" with no cup and Bill working. What to do, what to do. To make this even funnier we had just seen only a week or two earlier an episode of "America's Funniest Home Videos" where a little girl grabbed her brother's athletic cup from his closet, asked "what's this" and promptly put it to her face like a mask! :-) I consulted about what to do with another mom at work who promptly laughed her way right out of my office. This was not going well for me. So in a panic I called Bill and he said let him miss the pitching machine if necessary and that he would take Ryan "shopping" the next day. Big sigh - saved by the man of the house!

Now the other indication that this is serious stuff is the fact that there are games two nights per week (Tuesday and Thursday) AND practices the other two nights. Luckily we get Fridays off but we didn't get Memorial Day off. And today as I was perusing the web site it appears there are playoffs too. There are also optional Saturday clinics for pitching, etc. and a fee based clinic to hone your skills. Unfortunately I think this has turned out to be a bit more than we realized. But the important thing is that Ryan is having a great time and has made some new friends. So while he isn't the fastest runner or the best hitter I think he would give all his team mates a run for their money on best attitude. Play ball Ryan, play ball!