Thursday, September 4, 2008

Tee Ball

Jon and I decided to have Liam try tee ball this summer. We both thought that it would be good for him to stay a little busy this summer and also to try something new that he has never done before. The program was a little over 8 weeks long with practices every Wednesday nights from 6pm - 7pm and games every Saturday morning. The games lasted an hour with 3 innings. Each team would be in the outfield 3 times and each child would go up to bat 3 times. Liam did very well for it being his very first sport to try. After he was able to play the game on his own without mommy being out there, it seems as though he had much more fun. All of the children were between 3 and 4 years old, and with Liam being 3 1/2, he was a little scared and intimidated. Mommy would run the bases with him and field with him as well. The last two or three games, Liam was able to do all the fielding and sit in the "dugout" waiting for his turn to bat all by himself. He did so well and we all truly enjoyed ourselves.
He played tee ball for the YMCA. He had his own little glove, cleats and jersey. He borrowed the helmet and the bat from his coaches. The coaches were all parents of kids that were on the team with him. We had moms and dads both coaching. I am very happy with what he got out of this experience. He was definitely able to learn even more patience because of having to wait for his turn to bat and to get the ball when it was hit by the other team.
As you can see in the middle picture, Liam looked like a bobble head doll when he had the helmets on. The helmet looked so big on him, but just about fit him perfectly. It was cute to see. I was able to get some pictures when Liam let me sit on the sidelines to watch. For awhile, he liked to play just in the dirt, but his coaches were good at trying to keep his interest in the game. The last picture Liam is at the pitcher's mound waiting for the ball to be hit from someone on the other team. The coaches taught them all sorts of strategies. Jon and I were also playing tee ball with him at our own homes in order to keep his interest as well as help him learn and remember some things. He did such a good job! Enjoy the pictures!

6 comments:

librariane said...

That middle picture is adorable! Do you think you'll have him try other sports? I know lots of parents have kids in swim or gymnastics pretty young, and there probably is a young soccer league.

Karen Thompson said...

Thanks! Yes, I will definitely have him try other sports. He tried gymnastics at the beginning of the summer right before tee ball. I am going to post some of those pictures as well. I was going to have him do soccer this month, but with how busy my schedule is, I just wanted to be able to spend quality time with him instead of sports. Definitely next summer though. Swimming is at the top of the list.

Unknown said...

swimming at the top of the list... does that mean you're gunning to have the next Michael Phelps?!

Karen Thompson said...

If it happens then that would be awesome! He love swimming! We have been in pools a lot this summer, but we didn't do swimming because we were already doing tee ball and we didn't realize how much he liked it until well into the summer. Thanks for checking out the site, Ry!

gianna said...

Liam is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO cute! you gotta be a proud mama!

Karen Thompson said...

Thanks, Gianna! I am very much so! Yours are pretty darn cute as well though!