In the Waiting Room but won't belabor that....Had a fun evening at the Little League park. My son Bobby the coach had his bride Erin and me as his assistant coaches. Erin (a former All-American volleyball player) was an impressive presence. I was bench coach and just enjoyed the kids' enthusiasm. Their team is the Orioles and they defeated the Yankees in an exciting game. Two of our gritty little pitchers can throw strikes consistently -- a HUGE asset in Little League. There were some errors in the field of course, but there were also some great plays, including inning-ending and game-ending tag-outs at home and at third base.
It is a delight to see my grandson Grayson taking to the game. For a couple of seasons, he seemed to be up to bat just looking for a walk. Took a lot of called third strikes. But now he's aggressively swinging the bat -- with good results. The other night, he blasted one over the outfielders' heads and off the wall for an RBI double. Last night he got good wood (well, metal) on two tough pitches, and he cheers for his teammates. Plays a good first base, too.
All this brings back memories of my magical first year of coaching my son Bobby in Little League back in the '80s. League needed a manager badly so they persuaded me to take it on and let Bobby, just 8, play "up" with the 9 and 10 year olds instead of in a lower division. Well, we lost our first two games and some busybody parent got on me about my coaching. I told him to buzz off. So I got my pitching rotation in order and we won our next 27 games in a row, winning the first half and second half championships, and the post-season one,too. Bobby hung in there, made some nice plays at second base, and managed to bang out a few singles against the bigger guys. We had three pitchers who could throw strikes -- the main key to our success, not my coaching. My son himself would become a pitcher later in high school, and earn a Division I scholarship that covered his college, as he became the team's closer. He was winning pitcher in the thrilling conference championship game.
So these memories just come pouring out. Tonight we will go watch our 4-year-old grandson Brooks play teeball. He is quite the slugger, often hitting balls to the outfield fence.
Okay, this has been one big nostalgia wallow and grandfatherly bragfest....So just starting the week on my happiest note....love to hear from all yawl good folks!
Cheers,
Superbob
It is a delight to see my grandson Grayson taking to the game. For a couple of seasons, he seemed to be up to bat just looking for a walk. Took a lot of called third strikes. But now he's aggressively swinging the bat -- with good results. The other night, he blasted one over the outfielders' heads and off the wall for an RBI double. Last night he got good wood (well, metal) on two tough pitches, and he cheers for his teammates. Plays a good first base, too.
All this brings back memories of my magical first year of coaching my son Bobby in Little League back in the '80s. League needed a manager badly so they persuaded me to take it on and let Bobby, just 8, play "up" with the 9 and 10 year olds instead of in a lower division. Well, we lost our first two games and some busybody parent got on me about my coaching. I told him to buzz off. So I got my pitching rotation in order and we won our next 27 games in a row, winning the first half and second half championships, and the post-season one,too. Bobby hung in there, made some nice plays at second base, and managed to bang out a few singles against the bigger guys. We had three pitchers who could throw strikes -- the main key to our success, not my coaching. My son himself would become a pitcher later in high school, and earn a Division I scholarship that covered his college, as he became the team's closer. He was winning pitcher in the thrilling conference championship game.
So these memories just come pouring out. Tonight we will go watch our 4-year-old grandson Brooks play teeball. He is quite the slugger, often hitting balls to the outfield fence.
Okay, this has been one big nostalgia wallow and grandfatherly bragfest....So just starting the week on my happiest note....love to hear from all yawl good folks!
Cheers,
Superbob
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