Little Slugger

Baseball (as in Jay throwing the ball and Jake hitting it and then running around pretend bases) has been something that Jay and Jake have done together literally since Jake could walk. Jake has been dying to actually be on a baseball team, but Jay's afraid that starting him too young won't really give him a good feel for it and will turn him off to it altogether because it might seem boring to him. And, if you know Jay at all, you know that he lives and breathes baseball. He thinks that the people who find baseball boring are the ones who don't truly understand the game. He loves to say that baseball is like church...many attend, but few understand. Anyway, he really doesn't care if Jake plays it or not, but I think that he at least wants him to get a real feel for what it's like. Now that Jake's six-week intro to basketball is over though, he has been begging to try baseball. Our community offers the same sort of six-week intro to baseball, so we decided to let him give it a try. It's the same setup - a half hour practice followed by about a half hour game each week. There are no outs, and each kid gets to bat until he actually hits the ball. It is coach-pitch, but they bring out the tee if a kid can't hit it after several tries.

Well, let me just say, I think that Jake has found his sport. I realize, of course, that after only one half-hour practice and one half-hour game, that that is a very premature statement. But, for the first time, Jake was the "stand-out" on the team. He clobbered the ball every time it was thrown to him during practice and during the game. (To give you a little insight into Jake though, he didn't notice in the least that he was better than anybody else. For him, it's just all about having fun. I love that quality about him.) Unlike in soccer and basketball, he doesn't have to be aggressive (which he is SO not) to get his shot at the ball. He gets his turn, and gets up there and just whacks it. I don't think there was another kid on either team that could do that every time. He's really good at throwing as well, and is now obsessed with working really hard to learn how to catch. After the first game, he said that baseball is definitely his favorite sport so far, followed by soccer and then basketball. I honestly think that Jake would like absolutely any activity we put him in that involved being on a team or in some sort of a group with other kids, but it's nice to have one that he can shine at a little.

And, of course, our always loyal little cheerleader was there cheering on her big brother.