Opening Day

Last Satuday was Boo Jr's first teeball game. I apologize for not writing sooner, but it's been pretty hectic around here lately. Even though Boo Jr's been doing well in practice (meaning he doesn't go running off into the woods), I was nervous about how well he would do during an actual game. I had visions of him getting konked on the head with a fly ball while he was busy drawing in the dirt.

In addition to Coach, there are five assistant coaches (including me). Coach did the positions and batting order and helped the kids when it was their turn at bat. Two of the assistants were defensive coaches (making sure everyone stayed in position and giving instuctions during a play). Two assistants were offensive coaches (first and third base coaches). This week was my turn to keep the book. It was my duty to make sure kids were ready to bat and keep tabs of outs and runs scored. An inning ends when five runs are scored or three outs. The game ends after 6 innings (if I remember correctly) or an hour and a half (whichever comes first). We ended up getting four innings in.

Our team was the home team so we were out in the field first. We have 14 kids on our team so 4 kids had to stay in on the bench every inning. Boo Jr started the game off in left field. He played right field during the second inning, sat on the bench during the third, and played left-center field during the fourth inning. Boo Jr stood there pretty good for the most part. He played in the dirt a little bit, threw some grass around some, and had his glove off at one point. When he had his glove off was the only time I yelled out to him to put his glove back on. None of the balls went my son's way while he played defense. I thought our team did pretty good on defense. We actually recorded two outs during the first inning (the only outs the entire game).

Boo Jr was towards the bottom of the batting order and ended up hitting twice during the game. He struggled hitting the ball during his first at-bat. He kept swinging low and hitting the tee. He finally hit the ball and started running to first base. He then proceeded to veer off-course and was heading towards second base. The entire crowd was yelling to run to first base. He straightened out his direction, but for some reason, he walked the rest of the way to first base. Boo Jr did a better job on his second at-bat. He scored runs each time he hit too.

Keeping track of the book kept me plenty busy, and time went by quickly. I hope that Coach rotates the assistant coaches around so I'm not stuck doing the book every week.

The game ended in a 20 - 20 tie. I don't think that Boo Jr grasps the concept of the game that there's a "winner" and a "loser", but that's fine by me at this point. He said he had lots of fun playing, and that's what's most important. We went to IHOP's for dinner to celebrate afterward.

My wife managed well during the course of the game. I thought she'd be really nervous since she doesn't attend the practices, and this is her first time seeing Boo Jr "in action".

I hope to post pictures of the actual game some time soon when I can find some spare time to download the pictures.